ViewGuide

Created Oct 18, 2008 08:48AM PST • Edited Oct 18, 2008 08:48AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Perfect 5.0

   Who would have thought that in January of 2008 that a franchise started in 1982 that officially shot itself in the foot by 1988 would not only find a resurgence twenty years later but also put forth what may be its strongest installment? not I, and I am a diehard sylvester Stallone and Rambo fan. the opening scenes put you into a real life situation of the ongoing situation of burma, and while the film does seem to become more and more like a comic book as it progresses, the action rarely lets up and you will find yourself immersed in one of the most violent and brutal displays put to film by the time the end credits roll. and get this…you’ll have fun.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   As is par for the course, the action is not so terrific in a Rambo film. somehow, in this one, it is far better than average. Sylvester Stalone slides into the monotoned delivery of John Rambo again without much effort, and the rest of the cast fills the given role nicely. Other cast includes Matthew Marsden, Julie Benz, and a great supporting role by Graham McTavish. But this movie is all about Rambo and Stallone knows it, making his transition from lowly “boatman” to his former killing machine feel all too real.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

   There is only one star of this film and that is Rambo. sylvester Stallone takes the role he made famous twenty-six years ago and gives it an all new flourish that nobody watching the film had been expecting. he feels much more human than he had in Rambo III all of those twenty years ago. this is due to Stallone taking triple duty in the film but also because it is the perfect way to bookend the rambo legacy.

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

   Julie Benz is the only female role worth mentioning (is she the only female in this movie? No wonder Rambo is so apt to protect her. she’s the future of the human race!) and she portrays her role as well as she could. the damsel in distress role is rather thankless, but at least she gives it more heart and soul than this kind of movie would typically deserve.

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

   Matthew Marsden isn;t known as a gifted actor just yet, but this film is a step in the right direction. His character if “Schoolboy” goes through the movie as being one of the two mercenaries that you actually remember. Graham McTavish, as Lewis, is so perfectly over the top as the accented mercenary who continuously runs his mouth will have you gasping and laughing at the same time.

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    Rambo may not have the highest budget for a Rambo film (that dubious honor goes to the horribly bad Rambo III) but every dime is on the screen, and that shows. every grue soaked frame of this film costs money, and it is obvious that Sylvester Stallone wanted the perfect send off for such an iconic character. the direction is the finest of its kind, the music is wonderful, the dialogue is stilted perfectly, visuals superb, etc. this is Rambo the way modern audiences are meant to see it.

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

    Sylvester Stallone has directed before (Paradise Alley, Rocky II, III, IV, Balboa, etc.) but he may have outdone himself with this film. this is action direction at its most kinetic, frenetic, and brutal. When you see a 50 caliber gun going into a leg, you almost feel it. Stallone has crafted an action gem that looks and feels real. I certainly hop we see him direction action again in the near future because he has mre than proved that he is up to the task.

12. Play Great 4.0

    More clever than a typical Rambo film (Stallone writing does help, although he wrote them all), this “final” installment features some of the better lines in the series. “Live for nothing, or die for something” being one the finer lines in the film.

13. Music Perfect 5.0

    the original Rambo theme…enough said. iconic and powerful in a way that modern themes rarely seem to be these days.

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0

    On the budget…wow. there is so much for the eyes to take in at [oints that it may take multiple viewing of simply the final twenty minutes just to see all of the violence and viscera on display. but boy, is it worth it. Kudos to the team involved with this film.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.5

    the good news is that is little to know sex in this film, with the exception of somebody talking about rape at one point, and its only for a second. the other news is that this film is rude and violent…and boy is it. With decapitaions, disembowelings, explosions, gunshots to the head, arrows to the head, sharpshooting, throats being torn out, a visual feast of guts with a 50 caliber gun, legs being blown off, etc. And it never gets boring, but at the same time it can be a bit much for some viewers. consider yourself warned.

17. Sex Innocent 1.5

18. Violence Monstrous 4.6

19. Rudeness Nasty 4.4

21. Reality

    Surreal 3.0

    Rambo living in thailand at 62 years old? I’ll go with that. Rambo helping missionaries into burma despite not wanting to? Ok, i’ll buy it. rambo helping retrieve them once they are in trouble? He feels to blame so ok i’m with you. Rambo becoming a killing machine again unlike anything we’ve ever seen? Far fetched but fun regardless. An arrow jutting completely through a skull from 50 yards away? I don’t know but maybe. Rambo destrpying everything with a massive gun from a hilltop? that one I can believe. Rambo rescuing the missionaries with the help of mercenaries? It’s feasible. Rambo going home? Sure. Rambo’s dad maybe still alive at the end? Hmm…you lost me, sorry. but anything is possible.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 3.0

23. Biological Surreal 3.0

24. Physical Surreal 3.0