RAMBO

"War is in your blood"

A group of missionary's led by Michael Burnett (Schulze) and Sarah Miller (Benz) arrive in Northern Thailand to find passage across the border into war-torn Burma to bring aid and spiritual healing to the innocence civilians caught up in the civil war. Reluctantly agreeing to take them on his boat, John Rambo (Stallone) drops them across the border warning them that only weapons could make a difference in that disaster of a country. A week later Rambo discovers that the missionary's have been captured and their church has employed mercenaries to get them out and the war-wary veteran agrees to take them in.

The 1980s was the decade of the lone warrior taking on everyone the bad guys could throw at them but can one the most famous of them all, John Rambo, make a return almost thirty years later?

After resurrecting his most famous character 'Rocky Balboa', Sylvester Stallone brings his action hero persona that made him so popular in the 1980s, John Rambo. Thirty years after his last outing when he took on the entire occupying Russian Army in Afghanistan in 'Rambo III', Stallone returns to the character that turned him into one of the biggest action stars to ever grace the silver screen. The big question on everyone's lips is can he still produce the same amount of energy and action now that he is of pensionable age and the answer is a definite yes.

Co-written and directed by Stallone himself, 'Rambo' sees the action superstar take us back to the heyday of the excessively violent action film and brings us a film that is very much of the 80s. The kill ratio on this movie is extremely high with graphic recreations of Burmese troops slaughtering innocent villagers and Rambo and the team of mercenaries taking the fight to the pursuing troops as try to rescue the missionaries. Bodies exploding, decapitations, arrows through heads, limbs blow off, torture and even rape are all present, with Stallone and his creative team showing all the graphic brutality of what is happening in Burma and what happens when modern weapons and explosives are used with real cruelty.

Many fans and filmgoers alike were wondering if a man in his sixties could still cut it as an action star. After returning to the ring for Rocky's last bout, Sylvester Stallone showed he still has the muscles and could hold his own in a boxing match but returning to all out action is a completely different prospect. The good news is that Stallone is up for the job. While he might not be as ripped as he was in Rambo's second and third adventures, he still manages to keep up with the much younger mercenaries and take the fight to the Burmese army. There are moments where you think that back in the 80s he would have done much more but this takes nothing away from the action. The supporting cast are fine, with Julie Benz and Paul Schulze playing believeable do-gooders that you know are going to get in trouble. Matthew Marsden is good as sharp shooter School Boy and Graham McTavish hams it up as ex-SAS mercenary Lewis.

'Rambo' is an old school action movie that harks back to the glory days of the 1980s. While the story is basic, the action is first rate and is some of the most brutal to hit the big screen in a long time. Sylvester Stallone proves that sixty is the new forty and John Rambo is definitely back.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary with Sylvester Stallone
The writer/director gives a very informative and intelligent commentary for the fourth 'Rambo' movie. The legendary action star talks about setting the film in Burma, the real life problems that ravage the country and the reason of raising awareness of what is happening in the country, as well as many stories from the set of the film. This is a good commentary from the veteran actions star and one that fans will enjoy.

Featurettes
Writer/Director Sylvester Stallone, producer Kevin King Templeton, John Thomson and Avi Lerner, editor Sean Albertson, composer Brian Tyler and stars Paul Schulze, Julie Benz and Tim Kang contribute to the featurettes for 'Rambo'. Entitled 'It's a long road: Resurrecting an icon', 'A score to settle: The music of Rambo', 'The Art of War: Part 1: Editing & Part 2: Sound', 'A Hero's Welcome: Release and Reaction', 'Legacy of Despair: The Real Struggle in Burma', these featurettes cover most aspects of the film's production, post production and release.

Deleted Scenes (13.21 mins)
Entitled 'Do you believe in anything', 'Who are you helping', 'Boating ride' and 'Let's keep going', these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary track or introduction mean we cannot know why these scenes were removed.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Rambo' is one that fans of the action star will really enjoy. Stallone provides a great commentary and the featurettes over all aspects of the film's production. This is a good single disc DVD treatment.

DVD

First Blood

Rambo: First Blood Part II

Rambo III

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2008