Sylvester Stallone returns again in RAMBO(2008).
© Lionsgate/Rogue Marble

Mania Grade: B+
Title: Rambo
Rated: R for strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images and language
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Paul Schulze
Written By: Art Monterastelli, Sylvester Stallone (characters) David Morrell
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Distributor: Lionsgate

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RAMBO

This is ‘Rambo’. If you don’t understand what “this is Rambo” means or all that it encompasses then do not see ‘Rambo’. It isn’t a film for you. If you know that Rambo will live “day by day” or that all he wants is for his country to love him as much as he loves it then you are ready to see ‘Rambo’. Sylvester Stallone capitalized on the success of his final Rocky movie, ‘Rocky Balboa’ and got the fourth Rambo film green lighted. Taking a gamble on the other character that has made him famous the world over. Stallone with his headband tightened and giant knife in hand took us out for one action packed blood soaked adventure.

Now you know the plot isn’t going to be very deep. In a nut shell John Rambo lives a solitary existence in Thailand, living day by day as a river boat captain and snake wrangler. John is approached by some missionaries who want to pay him to take them up river to Burma. John straight out tells them no and that they wouldn’t change anything. Sarah (Julie Benz) the only woman in the group of missionaries persuades John to take them up river. Sarah convinces him that maybe he should start living for something instead of just living. Of course this strikes a chord with John and he decides to take the missionaries up river to the worn torn country. 

After a run in with river pirates (a quick fix to satisfy the action junkie who maybe growing bored) John brings the missionaries to the destination and heads home. So by this time, albeit quick, you are ready for the missionaries and their people to get into harms way. It isn’t very long before Stallone’s execution of the chaos and mayhem by the Burmese government is put into full swing. These soldiers are monsters and brutal killers all who deserve the wrath of Rambo. As the chaos continues and many of the nameless missionaries start to die, I realize that out of all of them there are none I care about except Sarah. Perhaps this is a choice by the writer/ director to streamline the characters? Nevertheless, Sarah is the one that needs saving and she is the one that we care about. Because she has not only made John care about what’s going but us as well (because in all honesty, we’re here to see Rambo kick ass).

John is approached by the missionaries’ pastor to take a team of mercenaries to the exact location where he left them and bring any survivors home. There are small but important moments that develop the mercenaries. Thankfully Stallone did not make them as cookie cutter as their missionary counterparts. The addition of the mercenaries also brings up Stallone addressing his age and showing that John is not a one man army anymore. That he will indeed need help. This brings about a plausibility that has not existed since the first ‘Rambo’. John isn’t Superman, but he can be persuasive enough when the mercenaries want to turn tail and head back to civilization.

The final twenty minutes of the film is one action packed slaughter fest. The action junkie will not be disappointed by ‘Rambo’. What I found to be completely refreshing in this installment of the Rambo Saga was the film lacked any cheesy one liner’s. Nor a big final fight between the bad guy and John or even the bad guy’s big henchmen (there wasn’t even such a character). Stallone even left any kind of love story out of the film. Refreshing to a genre that often spends way too much time on something the audience doesn’t want or care for. Yet, Stallone’s most brilliant decision to humanize his onscreen persona is to have the character of Rambo addressed by his first name. This simple touch brings him further into the real world and erases the Rambo/ Superman persona enough to make him a human being.

Stallone did his homework and brought the character of Rambo into the twenty first century while giving the fans of the original trilogy everything they wanted. He gave us story about an old warrior who was finally able to embrace what he is. This gave the character the dignity to go home.