I don't really have any history with the Rambo movie series, outside of some viewings as a kid, but most of my memory just remembers the cool ways that Rambo was able to hide in the woods, pop up and then kill someone. So its with little expectation that I went popped the Netflix dvd in and decided to give it a chance.
The movie is a surprisingly good watch. As an action film, Rambo really delivers, and from what I rememeber of the series, it really fits nicely into the mold. Sylvester Stallone was able to craft a solid entry into the Rocky series back in 2006, and again he shows that he really understands what the Rambo series is all about, and he truly delivers it.
The film is really formulaic, yet it because it knows what kind of film it is, it takes it's cliche's very seriously and really imbues some seriousness into the setup, which really makes the all-out action ending very satisfying. Thats really what this movie is all about, the buildup to Rambo springing free prisoners (this time its Christian missionaries), and it really is an engaging event. I enjoyed the central theme that a soldier shouldn't run from helping people (and that means killing enemies, in extremely brutal ways apparently), because thats the nature of a soldier. Its an admirable theme, but its been done before (in this series no less), and its really just a movie about action. For that, I give the film a solid B
The movie is a surprisingly good watch. As an action film, Rambo really delivers, and from what I rememeber of the series, it really fits nicely into the mold. Sylvester Stallone was able to craft a solid entry into the Rocky series back in 2006, and again he shows that he really understands what the Rambo series is all about, and he truly delivers it.
The film is really formulaic, yet it because it knows what kind of film it is, it takes it's cliche's very seriously and really imbues some seriousness into the setup, which really makes the all-out action ending very satisfying. Thats really what this movie is all about, the buildup to Rambo springing free prisoners (this time its Christian missionaries), and it really is an engaging event. I enjoyed the central theme that a soldier shouldn't run from helping people (and that means killing enemies, in extremely brutal ways apparently), because thats the nature of a soldier. Its an admirable theme, but its been done before (in this series no less), and its really just a movie about action. For that, I give the film a solid B
A brief and insightful review. Reminds me of a comment the Part-Time Critic once made about Stallone's Expendables: "It's a good movie - for what it's going for."
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