RAMBO . . . a mathematical analysis

[The Burgomaster]

Last night, I watched RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II (see my "$5.88" thread for more details).

Anyway, as Charles Napier is reading Rambo's file, he mentions that Rambo was born in 1947. Since the movie took place in 1985, Rambo was 38 years old. So, if we do some quick math for the upcoming sequel, Rambo will be . . . oh, boy . . . 56 years old. I have no idea what the new sequel will be about, but are you telling me that the U.S. government cannot find anyone under the age of 56 to go on a deadly mission?

Is Stallone becoming the new Charles Bronson? Will he be running around well past the age of 70, kicking ass and blowing things up? When will this insanity end?

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[Neville]

I don't think they'd bother to explain it. After all, the main reason why Rambo was sent back to Nam in "First blood part II" was that a computer mentioned his name (!). Looks like a rather poor reason to me.

[Dolph Lundgren]

C'mon guys, it's RAMBO.  Pure escapist entertainment at its best, not exactly known for its realism.  Personally, being a huge fan of the Rambo series, I hope that they do make a sequel.  But they sure as hell better make it R, because PG-13 just won't cut it.  Unfortunately, the way movie trends are going now, I could see the studio execs wanting to cut stuff out just to get that PG-13 rating.  After all, PG-13 = more bucks.  

Either way, I don't think Stallone will end up like Bronson.  If he did, that'd be a-ok with me, but I don't think he will.  I know I'll get flack for this, but Stallone does have acting ability within him.  It's just a matter of being willing to reinvent himself as he gets older.  Look at Copland, for example.  Something tells me we haven't seen the last of Sly.  If given the chance, he could be great in some sort of dramatic role.  But will people be able to give him that chance?  It's hard to tell.  Either way, I think he'll fare much better than Bronson.  

By the way, I'm not saying that Bronson can't act, it's just that he didn't bother to try to reinvent himself, so people got tired of his schtick.  

Just one b-movie lover's opinion.

Nick

[The Burgomaster]

Dolph Lundgren wrote:

 "I know I'll get flack for this, but Stallone does have acting
 ability within him. "

I totally agree. Stallone suffered from instant fame and fortune and I think he made some really bad acting choices (i.e. he grabbed as much money as possible and exerted very little effort to earn it).

He was great in the original ROCKY, and was also very good in COPLAND. I liked him in ASSASSIN'S, too. One of my favorite "sleeper" films is THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH. Check out Stallone's performance in that movie. He is brilliant, especially in the pool hall scene and the jewelry store scene. And what about DEATH RACE 2000? Sure, it was campy. But it was supposed to be, and he played his part perfectly. I disagree with anyone who thinks he is a bad actor. I think he is a good actor who has turned in a lot of bad performances. He just needs a wake-up call.

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[Fearless Freep]

I think he can be a good actor but he keeps picking up roles where he really doesn't have to act.  I also like him in Rocky and Assasins.  I thought the self-parody in Demolition Man was pretty good, but you also have Judge Dredd

On a related point.  I'm noticing that as time passages, the ability to be able to have a character who has a past from the Vietnam war is getting harder to support.

[Damien01]

Stallone is a great actor... I love Tangle and Cash and I think Demolition Man is a SF classic.

His role choices are ok, it just that he tries to recreate the Magic of his successful films and making him into a ham... He killed Rocky and Rambo by doing this, but he is still able to bounce back with his other "Better" movies...

I dont think he will ever learn, why would he... He has proven to be a very successful action star and a fair actor. (and many actors [Even Bronson] would love to make half as many block buster films that Stallone has made.)

Also, Bronson was a big action star in the early 70's... its just that he was over shadowed by Clint Eastwood, Chuck Noris (Noris was big until the late 80's), Bruce Lee (even after his death), as well as the cast from the Godfather.

[Ash]

Wow!

 I can't believe what I'm reading!

Other Stallone supporters!?

I thought I was the only one here who liked most of his work!

I thought everyone here hated him.

I'm glad to be wrong for once!

[Dolph Lundgren]

No way Ash!  There are certain actors that I'll defend 'till the day I die, and Stallone is definitely one of them.  Even his worst movies I'll watch at least once.  Critics and people who hate Sly always give him a bad rep, and I think it's really unfair.  They tend to focus on his less-than-stellar work (Stop or My Mom Will Shoot!, Judge Dredd, etc.) instead of giving him respect for his best work, which they always tend to dismiss.  Sly just needs to do a couple of films that will reinvent him as an actor, THEN he can go back to Rambo 4.  Along the same lines, it'll be interesting to see how good of a movie Terminator 3 is, and if it'll resurrect Ahnuld's career.  

As a side note, I think it's about time Sly and Ahnuld team up for a movie.  They should be old enough to put their egos aside.  Tell me you guys wouldn't go crazy if John Rambo and Matrix (or Dutch) teamed up to kill entire countries.  I don't know exactly how this would work, but it'd be cool as hell to see.

Nick

[The Burgomaster]

Another interesting tidbit about RAMBO that I forgot to mention:

The screenplay was written by Sylvester Stallone and . . . James Cameron!

I might have known that before, but I definietly forgot about it until I watched the movie again last night. Small world. Maybe we should play "Six Degrees of Sylvester Stallone."

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[JohnL]

>I think it's about time Sly and Ahnuld team up for a movie. They should be old
>enough to put their egos aside.

Everything I'd heard/read says they're good friends, which is why in Last Action hero, Stallone was the actor  shown as starring in The Terminator and in Demolition Man, Bullock mentions the Shwarzenegger presidential library.

[Chadzilla]

The Burgomaster wrote:

> The screenplay was written by Sylvester Stallone and . . .
> James Cameron!
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>

Kevin Jarre wrote the treatment, which Cameron then turned into a script.  Stallone gave it a 'polish' prior to filming.  Remember, those are only the individuals who received screen credits.

[Dolph Lundgren]

I thought it was amusing that Cameron helped write Rambo II as well.  Can you imagine him winning an Oscar for his brilliant work in Rambo, and then him shouting about being the king of the world?  Nah, neither could I.  But if it were up to me, he would've won.

Nick