John Rambo

Far better than it ever should have been, the eponymously-titled "John Rambo" or "Rambo 4" to everyone else other than Sly, is balls-to-the-wall, eviscerating and most importantly brainless fun.

In deepest Thailand, near the Burmese border and area of conflict, John Rambo (Stallone) lives a life of peace and tranquillity, trying to forget his past as a highly-trained soldier whose life unravelled after the Vietnam War. However, his past life is brought into focus after a group of Christian missionaries get captured up river, having asked him to take them into Burma, and the embittered veteran sees his chance to do some good and save lives one more time.

Sylvester Stallone writes, directs and stars in the second revisit of his old classics (the first being "Rocky Balboa") and despite his poor choices throughout the '90s ("Daylight", "Demolition Man" and "Driven" were diabolically dreadful if harmless films) he shows he's capable of revisiting the acting skill that was shown so promisingly in "First Blood" and "Rocky" back in the day, though a sensible self-editing of his own dialogue levels presents the all-too clear idea that the man knows he’s not good at speaking much on film.

Julie Benz is probably the female 'star' of the film, being but a hint of a love interest for ol' Johnny, and the actress does well in what little time she has onscreen (which is more than most, but no-one seems to hold the screen here but Stallone). She also plays damsel-in-distress and needy Christian as well as can be expected, but is nothing special.

I really liked the male supporting cast here, if only because they are both the predominant gender presented in the movie, and because there are some great little performances as well. The leader of the mercenaries is a foul-mouthed British guy played by an ACTUAL British actor, which from a British point of view is brilliant for two reasons: he's not an American playing a Brit, and he's not the bad guy. Same goes for some of the other mercenaries; not every Brit has to be an enemy! The leader of the Burmese soldiers is disgusting, the character a stereotypical evil leader with a particularly horrific penchant for young boys, just in case you didn't hate him enough already. I guess though that this actually makes the performance that much better though.

Filmed near to where the real atrocities are occuring, the film, until the latter stages, is a surprisingly level-headed presentation of the horror present in Burma, and Stallone fools you into thinking that he's aimed for a politically-oriented, serious movie. As it is, when Rambo strikes back, the film becomes that much more insane, and it's presented fantastically by Stallone, who really knows how to shoot action, and could become quite the director in years to come. “John Rambo” and "Rocky Balboa" have not only reinvigorated their respective franchises but remind us how the man is not just muscles and lisp, but quite the action star and action director. I was genuinely taken aback by how good the film was, location-wise, action-wise and the serious nature of the plot. Here's hoping Stallone can get some more directing jobs (not necessarily to star, but as a director he could totally reinvent himself).

The dialogue here however is rubbish, as you'd expect unfortunately. The opening narration is sensible and fact-based, but afterward much of it is variations on 'I don't wanna fight', much, MUCH profanity from the Brit mercs, and missionary shtick. The film's so much better when it's action that you come to dread watching the dialogue-heavy scenes. Jerry Goldsmith's awesome theme is present, and to me that shows that Stallone knew he needed to remind people of what made the other films so popular, bringing the music in and allowing the film to enjoy the spirit of the previous three movies. Visually speaking, Stallone excels, the lush jungles and harsh weather of Southern Asia a far better setting than any studio could be. The action, as shot, is fantastic, and the gore that goes with it is probably more realistic than many people would want to admit, but this is a strength, and is pulled off with style in the insane final act.

Nowhere near the seriousness that "First Blood" aimed for, "Rambo" nevertheless manages to tackle a fairly political situation in Burma with a semblance of seriousness and sensitivity, despite the ridiculous conclusion to the movie. Hopefully Stallone can build on the film’s strengths and make a career out of his direction; if not, this will be remembered as the film in which Sly showed us he can still do it; act, direct, and most importantly of all: blow sh*t up.

7/10