Rambo 4: Regreso al Infierno

With a gap of 20 years between "Rambo III" from 1988 and "Rambo" from 2008, then expectations were quite high for me towards this movie. And having grown up as a teenager with the likes of the "Rambo" trilogy, then the 2008 "Rambo" movie was long awaited.

And now having seen "Rambo" a couple of times, I can with all sincerity claim that this 2008 movie was great. It is a good addition to the "Rambo" franchise, and it is right back in track and in tune with the old movies, although a hint of political correctness can be seen throughout the movie. But wanting to add a new layer to the "Rambo" movies, was an okay change of pace for director Sylvester Stallone (also starring in this 2008 movie).

In this 2008 movie the story takes place in war-torn Burma. Vietnam veteran John Rambo is living a reclusive life in Thailand, away from his past and the life of a soldier. But trouble always has a way to slither back, and manages to do so again when Rambo is tracked down and asked to help a group of mercenaries trek into Burma.

The story in "Rambo" was good, as it has been in the previous movies. But it is not the story which is the main attraction here, it is the abundance of action, of course. And "Rambo" offers more than enough action to satisfy us old fans of the franchise, as well as catering to a whole new audience.

The acting in "Rambo" is what you would and could expect from a movie of this type. You know exactly what you get here, and people do not disappoint. Sylvester Stallone does what he does best here in this 2008 movie, and he proved that he was more than up for the task of bringing new life to the "Rambo" franchise.

"Rambo" was missing Col. Samuel Trautman (played by Richard Crenna in the previous three movies). But given his death in 2003, it was of course not possible. I just think that the Trautman character was almost as much a part of the "Rambo" franchise as John Rambo himself. But of course, it is a matter of personal preference.

I thoroughly enjoyed this 2008 movie, and it is right at home next to the other "Rambo" movies in any movie collection.

I saw this at an advance screening in Oslo, and going in, I didn't expect it to be any more than a cheesy and somewhat gory tribute to eighties actioners by a star/director/producer/writer who was desperate to relive past glory. That latter may or may not be true, but my former assessment was plain wrong. This movie is authentic, shocking and unlike any other comparable movie.

Given its genre, the movie is a masterpiece. The story is simple but solid, and works on several levels. The action scenes are unparalleled, more intense than "Black Hawk Down", "Saving Private Ryan" and "Stalingrad" put together. The level of brutality and gore will shock and fascinate, and no doubt cause some level of controversy.

Stallone proves himself to be an excellent director, as well as in excellent shape for his age. I had little faith in him going in, and I stand corrected.

This is a Rambo who has come to terms with who and what he is, in a movie that holds up when compared with the original "First Blood". Well done, Sly. Well done indeed.

Take the first 20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" - with soldiers limbs being shot off at the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach, add some magnificent jungle scenery and action a la "Tears Of The Sun, and put it all in " Blackhawk Down" mode with gunfire dominating the film....and you have the latest Rambo movie.

Hey, I knew it was going to be a tough, adventure story but this was a shock. I've never seen so many heads blown off, limbs blasted away with blood spurting out and holes blasted in the middle of chests and stomachs in one movie in my life.....and it's only 81 minutes long! (The last dozen minutes are ending credits.) Man, this is almost non-stop action and suspense/ Yeah, a bunch of it is overdone but overall, it still was an entertaining movie.

I know it sounds like some dumb Texas Chainsaw Massacre-type thing, but it wasn't despite the mayhem. There actually was a small story with a decent message about making your life stand for something. "Rambo Gets A Conscience" could be another title to this movie.

However, if you are the least bit squeamish about bloody violence, you better skip this movie. If you enjoy a good action movie and don't care if it gets a little gross in spots, this is your cup of tea......in spades. If you have any hostility in you, after 80 minutes of watching this, it should be gone.

After an absence of 20 years, Sylvester Stallone's "John Rambo" comes back to the screen. Rambo is the kind of guy you don't want on your college debate team but he's a number one draft choice on the field of battle. He's a man of few words and a lot of testosterone. With veins popping out of his arms like a 25-year-old bodybuilder, Stallone looks more juiced than Barry Bonds but at least it makes him look the part, even if he does have bags under his eyes. I liked Stallone's comeback in the recent "Rocky Balboa" better, but this was still an entertaining flick.

The middle-aged John Rambo was more realistic than the male missionary, "Michael Burnett," who was a bit obnoxious for who he was playing. I've met a number of missionaries and none of them act or sound like this guy, but that's the film world for you. The guy with the Australian accent who was the "leaders" of the mercenary group was a bit over-the-top and cartoon-like with the profanity. With him, and the Burmese rebel leader, you had no probably identifying who the a-holes were in this movie, and who were the good guys. They weren't too subtle about that. Then again, the action scenes weren't too subtle, either - but it was entertaining, in a sick sort of way.

One last thing that everyone should agree with: this was nicely filmed, with fantastic jungle scenery. Kudos for cinematographer Glen MacPherson and director Stallone for some incredible shots. I cannot imagine how good this must look on a high-definition disc.

A straight action film only Stallone could deliver. Nobody else could direct such an uncompromising pursuit of battle. The battle sequences of this movie are glorious and violent in a way that is special, a new extreme level of tension was achieved in my opinion and I don't say this in blind excitement.

This movie delivers a movie-high that is not often attempted. Movies usually hold back or simply fail at achieving visceral action and instead try to balance themselves between action, plot, drama, comedy, etc, and in many cases in modern films this only lowers the quality of the experience. The downfall of Rambo you could say is its small concern for character drama, indeed the scenes looking at the female lead and the mercenary group are pretty poorly acted (though this allows the scenes to focus on Stallone's disregard for their antics, it can get annoying to sit through).

The mercenary group's character were so over the top in acting however it came off like farce to me which was actually really entertaining, seeing their macho lines fall dead in the air, Stallone giving them no respect.

The battles were glorious even if the film has flaws, but it focuses on the battle as it should, and achieves glorious cinematic victory. Great experience.

Rambo is an 80s-style action movie with modern sensibilities. Stallone is not a one-man army as in previous movies but rather a dogged old soldier that comes to terms with what he actually is while racking up a body count that would make Tarintino proud. In many ways, this movie parallels Rocky Balboa as a mature ending to a series of sometimes over-the-top but fun action movies. John Rambo in this movie is an aging but potent killing machine that for the first time since First Blood accomplishes his mission in a very believable manner. The action is visceral and downright gory at times surpassing the hard-core scenes of Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan. The film pulls no punches when showing exactly what a Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle can do to a human body. Stallone mutters only a very few lines of dialog in this movie... there's no speeches or patriotic flag waving going on here but there is a clear lesson on how well liberal idealism holds up under barbaric realities amid genocide and war.

A must see but not one for the kiddies.