OK here it is: I think Rambo is freaking awesome! And I am not ashamed to say it.
Rambo has evolved over the years. I always limited myself to watching only the first Rambo film, as it has some merit as an anti war film and surprisingly only one person dies. But then last year I saw a 4 minute trailer for Rambo (the fourth film in the series) which revealed it to be possibly one of the most violent films ever made. In this trailer people were blown in half, shot in half, chopped in half, exploded, mashed up and generally dead-ed. I was filled with the same primeval exhilaration of a teenager watching an 18 certificate for the first time. I remember the visceral thrill of seeing Terminator in secret at a far too young age (or maybe exactly the right age). And then my dad coming in just as Arnie plopped his eyeball out into the sink…
I went to see the first Rambo film in 20 years in a practically deserted cinema on my own – all my friends pussied out. This could have been something to do with my forcing them to come and see Aliens versus Predator: Requiem. By the way AVPR is the worst film ever made and I was wishing it to be even slightly bearable – but no – its the worst. Boyed by the fact I was going to see 2 people die every minute and it couldn’t possibly be as bad as AVPR I found myself gripped by by one of the most unabashed orgies of militaristic violence committed to celluloid for – well probably 20 years.
As silly over the top action films go Rambo is by no means bad. It has a suitable plot involving rescuing people with a team of spec-ops hardmen in tow – reminiscent of some of the better computer games out there. Rambo is like a Solid Snake in a Call of Duty 4 forest scene. The military action plays out like an extreme story you’d read about the SAS and allows suspension of disbelief in a way the likes of Commando and Rambo 3 merrily sacrificed. And like all the Rambo films it has politics. Politics with the subtlety of a sledgehammer but apparently the Burmese freedom fighters, who feature in the film in a somewhat cartoonish fashion, have adapted Rambo’s line ‘Live for Nothing, Die for Something’.
Ultimatley Sly Stallone has come along and put the likes of Segal, Lungren and Van Damme at the back of the queue with this cinematic feat. I think the statistics say it all:
click image to see stats
Score: 9/10*
*I would like to point out that this is a points based score.
