RAMBO!

Daniel Scillieri

Personal Grade: C+/B-


For anyone who has grown up in the last 30 years, one of the biggest action names in the industry has been JOHN RAMBO. This series promises explosions and ridiculously high kill counts and one of the most bad ass heroes ever. The fourth installment of the Rambo series doesn't miss a beat in the action packed, one man vs. an army genre. Sylvester Stallone, age 62 remember, plays the character just as well as he did almost 20 years ago. Now the personal grade may seem a bit low, but do not be fooled this movie kicks some serious ass in the ridiculously big gun, unlimited ammo, over sized knife, unstoppable killing machine style that only a few can pull off. So here is the Pros and Cons of RAMBO...hope you enjoy

THE PROS:
What is not to like about this movie, If you are a fan of action films this is a MUST SEE. John Rambo has once again fallen off the social grid and is trying to find peace in a lifetime of war. Following the story of his life, he can never seem to escape what he is, an ultimate killing machine. The beginning of the movie starts off slow but once Rambo agrees to take a group of missionaries to a war zone up river, the action really takes off. One scene, he drops half a dozen pirates before you can blink an eye. From that point on, it is one crazy action sequence after another. The biggest thing you notice in this movie is the realism of bullet's impact. Everyone who gets shot or hit by a mortar falls to pieces. Some of the guns are huge and it literally tears people to pieces. This gives a very graphic but realistic sense to what a high powered weapon would probably do to a human body. Rambo joins a group of hardcore mercenaries after hearing the group of missionaries he dropped off have been attacked and the ass-kicking begins. The team sneaks into the camp to free the survivors, silently killing multiple guards and are back out in less than 15 minutes. Not to bad for hired guns and an aged special forces soldier. One of the guards gets taken out by Rambo in a very gruesome way that made me whisper to Scott "well that would not of been my first quick kill option but effective non the less." The next morning all hell breaks loose when the surviving soldiers discover their prisoners are missing and the hunt is on. This leads up to one of the best all out gun fights in recent cinema history with Rambo laying suppressing fire down with a turret mounted machine gun and one of the mercenaries head shotting everyone he sees with a 50 caliber sniper rifle. Yes, their heads would definitely explode like that. This extended action sequence which starts off with a ridiculously huge explosion (a favorite action event of Team Talking In Movies) fits perfectly into every expectation of RAMBO. One last thing, Rambo's Skill with a High Powered Bow...WOW!

THE CONS:
The cons begin to build up even before you enter the theater. The idea that Sly Stallone is remaking all his great films but at a much older age makes you hesitant from the start. It almost prevents you from having a positive outlook on the movie, similar to what happened with Rocky Balboa. Once you get passed that aspect of the film, minor events of the movie were the only thing that held this action films's grade down. The classic action film "unlimited bullets" makes an appearance, allowing the heroes to drop a ton of enemies without ever reloading. Fans of the Rambo series (including myself) missed the special forces combat knife, which was replaced by a crude self made machete. I was hoping to see the classic Rambo scene where he holds a massive machine gun in one hand, the chain of bullets wrapped around his other arm, and accurately hitting dozens of bad guys while screaming the infamous Rambo war cry. A series of quick silent kills, showing Rambo's training would of been a very good addition, similar to Rambo 2. Eddie Boza (Head of The Team Talking In Movies office in Florida) agreed with me by saying a showdown between Rambo and a super soldier brute would have been an amazing addition to the film. Who doesn't love when the hero takes on a giant bad guy who can't be beat in a 1 on 1 death match. The final con I had with Rambo is more comical than a flaw. As said earlier, everyone in the movie who gets killed literally crumbles under the fire of bullets and explosions. When Rambo gets hit by the same bullets he is mauling people with , it cleanly goes through and doesn't leave him in pieces. He simply just covers it with his hand and doesn't seem to feel pain. Man, Rambo is such a Bad Ass


To wrap things up, Rambo definitely gives you your fix of action and gore. Those who are fans of non stop gunfights and hardcore soldiers will definitely walk out of this movie with a smile on their face. Though it may not be a good movie to take the kids or a date to but going with a bunch of friends is an excellent viewing choice. I suggest going to see it on the big screen, and I will definitely add it to my collection of great action films. Thanks for checking out Talking In Movies, Hope to see you again soon..


Special thanks to Rick Bencivenni (Talking In Movies Trainee) and the woman in the lobby who served me my delicious White Cherry Slushie, it makes the movie better.