Rambo

Rambo starring Sylvester Stallone

When I was younger, I thought that the Rambo flicks were totally awesome. In a way, they were, though at that time I really had no idea of the story they were telling in the background. They weren't really much of a follow-on to Rocky either, though they did break Stallone away from that stereotype, I guess.

Stallone, of course, deserves plenty of ridicule for being mono tonal and relatively boring to watch in close-up or while doing anything that's not action oriented. He's got a lot of energy and a remarkable understanding of some things, however. More than he usually gets credit for, I think.

Considering that he wrote the script for most of the Rocky flicks, wrote the scripts for Rambo, and even directed this one, he's got more going on than some of us might think.

This movie shows that off. I will warn you: I have never seen a movie with more gore, violence, or blood than this one. Sly went with pure realism when he made this movie. You'll see arms blown off, women raped (more or less, clothes ripping and beatings, anyway), people blown to bits, and someone gets eviscerated. On camera. Plain sight. No creative movie coverups.

All of that aside, though, the violence isn't really gratuitous. It's part of the story and the theme behind the plot.

Without explaining every detail of the plot line, the basic theme is that soldiers (warriors, really) are what they are. They are good at violence, good at warfare, and good at killing. It's what they do. The question isn't whether they commit acts of violence: all warriors do. The question is for what purpose they do so.

Some do it for power, as exemplified by the bad guy in this movie. Some do it for money, as shown by the mercenaries hired to go in to save some people at another point. Finally, some do it because it's what they know how to do and in order for the good in society to exist, someone has to stand up against the bad.

The story is extremely well told, the camera work is really awesome, and the location, scenery, and acting are all nicely done.

In the end, this is a movie well worth watching. Especially given some of the realities of our world today. If you aren't good at blood and gore and don't like Stallone, though, you can skip this one. I do, however, consider it well worth the time to watch.