First Blood (1982)

4 / 5
Tagline:  One war against one man.
Directed by:  Ted Kotcheff
Written by:  David Morrell, Michael Kozoll
Actors include:  Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy
Genre:  Action 
Length:  93 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:
For those times when you just want to see everyone get decimated...  I wasn't sure this would be the film for me but it was actually beautifully filmed out in B.C. with views from the mountains.  It also did have a paper thin plot that was easy to follow, but it didn't matter because it jumps right in with the action and doesn't let up until the end.  Sylvester Stallone plays John Rambo, an ex Green Beret who wanders into a quiet town only to be pushed out by the Police.  He doesn't want to leave, so once they try to force him things get bloody.  He wages war with the Force killing or maiming everyone in his path during a thrilling adventure hiding out in the mountains.  It's got violence out the wazoo of course, it's beyond simple and nobody is really in the right there though of course you are going to want to side with Rambo.  I haven't seen any of the sequels yet but I probably will after this, a better made film than I had anticipated.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

4 / 5
Tagline:  No man, no law, no war can stop him.
Directed by:  George P. Cosmatos
Written by:  David Morrell, Kevin Jarre
Actors include:  Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier
Genre:  Action, Adventure, Thriller
Length:  96 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:

Well, it's far more over the top feeling than the original, but I enjoyed both about the same.  Both are rather nicely filmed, and both are violent (though I think this one with the rocket launcher and exploding arrows takes the cake) and both should make any action film fan happy.  This time Rambo is in jail breaking hot rocks in the sun when he's offered an out, if he goes to Vietnam and takes pictures of any POWs he can find he may receive a pardon.  Of course he volunteers, and quickly finds where the POWs are kept and he goes on a rampage killing and blowing up everyone in his path.  It's pretty exciting and action packed and yes the body count is very high.  He can't follow instructions and neither can the Army so things get out of control of course.  The actual character of Rambo could use a little personality but I'm sure that's just a small quibble since to most it won't matter.  I enjoyed it and so will most, it's exactly what you think it is.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Rambo III (1988) aka Rambo: First Blood Part 3

3 / 5
Tagline:  The first was for himself. The second for his country. This time it's to save his friend.
Directed by:  Peter MacDonald
Written by:  David Morrell, Sylvester Stallone
Actors include:  Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge
Genre:  Action, Adventure, Thriller
Length:  102 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:
Well to say this is lazy rehash would be entirely accurate but at least once the boring story is established (his commanding officer in Vietnam Colonel Trautman has been captured and only Rambo can save him) this at least has a comical level of violence. The one-liners they've given to Sly (actually I just found out that he was the screenwriter...maybe that was the problem?) were ridiculously stupid. Yes I did approve of watching tons of shoot outs and even one death I haven't seen before, but it wasn't enough to make this worth watching ever again. Definitely cookie cutter action sequel with bare minimum effort, but fans of the series that aren't looking for a masterpiece may be amused.


Availability:  On Blu-Ray & DVD

Rambo (2008)

3.5 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: Heroes never die.... They just reload.
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Written by: Sylvester Stallone, Art Monterastelli
Actors include: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden
Genre: Action, Thriller
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
If you want to see a movie with an insanely high body count and little else, then this is your film. I applaud it for being fast paced, and for jumping right in to the cruelty and violence. The thing is, one doesn't watch a Rambo movie for plot (I'd hope), so most who came to this expecting an action killathon will be satisfied. The plot has Rambo working as a snake capturer when he is recruited to drive a boat to war torn Burma by some religious do-gooders. He reluctantly agrees, but 10 days later when nobody has heard from the religious folks he meets some mercenaries assigned to bring back the missing folks. He wants to help, they don't want to let him help so he helps anyways. Big "plot" huh....but any how there are so many exploded people and carnage that any action lover should be pleased. At least Rambo hasn't gone soft after all these years...in fact this has to be one of the bloodiest movies ever!

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray