Yes there is an old post about this one, but I just got around to seeing it. I ignored it when it was released because I quite frankly the Rambo II &III seriously stunk.
I saw First Blood when it was first released and really liked it because I had read the book years earlier.
I know everyone likes to talk about the action and the gore in the movie, but I was also impressed by the point the story. The young woman in the missionary group wins Rambo's trust, but she is unaware of why he hesitant about taking them up the river. He is hiding from his tortured past and the monster that he thinks himself to be.
She doesn't realize this until they are confronted by river pirates and he shoots them down mercilessly. He is basically trying to hide from himself, but in the end has to accept what he is and as he tells the mercenaries when they try to back out of the rescue, "they have to live for something or they will die for nothing".
I like the scene at the end where he looking down from the hill at the carnage and the missionary lady is looking up at him and realizes what they had done to him by getting him involved with them.
It's a great action flick, but it's also more than that. I had some real sympathy for the character by the end of the movie. It's a fitting last episode to the Rambo franchise and hopefully they won't tarnish it with a dopey sequel.
I think I did post about this on the other thread, but it is a great film. I was very wary when it came out and held off from going to the cinema. But, when I finally did see it it blew me away. It has quite a straight-forward story, yet one that opens up many questions about the characters involved, in particular John Rambo. I wasn't expecting the level of graphic violence used either. I think it tops the previous films for that.
I liked it a hundred times more than Rambo III, but I still prefer the first two....And btw, Stallone is making Rambo V. (Sorry Trek) :smile:
Rambo was a big surprise, the gore factor was way beyond what I had expected even from the R-rated preview. I think it did really did a lot though to bring the Rambo character full circle, and the slow walk at the end to his father's house was perfect.
If the next one gets made in my mind there is only one actor who could possibly be Rambo's dad, and that is William Smith who played Conan's father in Conan the Barbarian, Clint Eastwood's nemesis in Any Which Way You Can, and the bad guy in Red Dawn.
I think Stallone salvaged both the RAMBO franchise and the ROCKY franchise with RAMBO and ROCKY BALBOA. It would have been a shame to end them with the dreadful RAMBO III and ROCKY V. I wonder if there's any chance of him making sequels to OVER THE TOP or PARADISE ALLEY in the near future? :buggedout:
I liked it although I generally try to run away from films that have the names Avi Lerner, Danny Lerner, Trevor Short and Danny Dimbort in their credits. Those guys almost wrecked the SA film industry in the 1990s.
The latest Rambo has quickly become my 2nd favorite in the series. It's the first real spiritual sucessor to the first (and best) Rambo film. Along with Rocky Balboa, Sly shows that even in his early 60's he still has more than what it takes to make truly great films.
Quote from: Monster Jungle X-Ray on August 16, 2009, 12:11:24 PM
Rambo was a big surprise, the gore factor was way beyond what I had expected even from the R-rated preview. I think it did really did a lot though to bring the Rambo character full circle, and the slow walk at the end to his father's house was perfect.
If the next one gets made in my mind there is only one actor who could possibly be Rambo's dad, and that is William Smith who played Conan's father in Conan the Barbarian, Clint Eastwood's nemesis in Any Which Way You Can, and the bad guy in Red Dawn.
Good call with William Smith! :cheers: As most people I went in thinking that Rambo 4 was going to be another slaughter fest, but there was a very human side to Rambo, and I think that that was established slowly from First Blood and on..but it came full circle in a way noone expected.
Love the part where he blows away the river pirates with the Colt M-1911 .45. That church guy screaming that it wasn't the answer despite what Rambo said would have happened to them, that guy was so funny.