Rambo

A bloody band aid on the helplessness, suffocated hatred and frustration one experiences when watching more and more haunting scenes of genocide. Sly knows the artery of the action genre well and knows that when a person cuts into the right place, then the spilled blood and the lively flying intestines can have a strong therapeutic effect. All the more so because their authorship is the work of a man for whom war was the only known home. I appreciate how little Rambo bets on nostalgia – such conceived action in the 1980s would stand up only in the dream of a mad butcher – how little excess psychology we find in the film, and how few moral questions we can find. It's as bloody as the Old Testament, ethically, of course, completely crazy, yet cleansing and literally pressurized by the most idiotic and most seductive heroic romanticism. Rambo looking down on the battlefield (and his out-of-war defeat) is one of the best images of the series. The series went through some correctness to mature into a delicate meat cut, which is best described by John's "fuck the world". It's all about feeling, and mine was very euphoric watching Rambo. It's completely idiotic at its core, but it's not really about the core. (08/09/2010)

Sly did it again. Rambo is back and, just like Rocky, he was treated to a very honorable end (even though, who knows, they say that number five is a sure thing). Stallone brought with him heaps of good actors, familiar faces from other series (Rita from Dexter will be winking out at you, as well as Ryan Chapelle from 24 and we also find out where that soldier who was bullying Desmond on the training field in Lost ended up :-)) and he did good, because they cover his back without tripping him up much. Some philosophizing at the beginning which we saw in the trailers already, we go on a journey to places where no normal person would go on vacation (pigs eat people there, not the other way round), the terrifying landscape decorated with rotting bodies and heads on stakes simply swallows you in. The action scenes are raw and bloody, perhaps more than we were used to in previous Rambos), but darn powerful (the mine and the final “shootout" are definitely the pinnacle of the entire picture). Stallone as a director knows very well what he wants to achieve and has no problem in sticking to it while grabbing the attention. The circle closes as such a matter of course that I take my hat off to him. The end is also really nostalgic and that always gets to a real fan. A large contribution was also made by perfect music from Bryan Tyler who put the main musical theme to excellent use. (03/26/2008)

Rambo has returned to his roots, quite literally. I mean it in the sense that Rambo is no longer just a hero mowing down everyone around him, but once again he is the one being chased by his past. He is also being pursued by people who want to ride the river all the way to Burma. Burma is a war zone, Rambo knows that, but there are still those who don't heed his advice. The crew of those who want to help without weapons doesn't end up very well, and the soldiers who later bring him remind him why he actually lives. By the way, doesn't that one mercenary, Okamura, remind you of someone? Realistic, gritty, excellent. I'm quite curious if there will really be a fifth film where this legend could end. (12/01/2013)

It’s been a very, very long time since I regretted that a film about nothing other than killing isn’t longer. The last Rambo is a B-movie with Russian digital effects shrouded in nostalgia that is more physically intense than any megalomaniacal blockbuster by Michael Bay. Two spectacular scenes (the first ascent with a bow, the bomb), perfect genre purity and the character of John Rambo – that’s what it’s all about and it’s more than enough. “Don’t say anything and just go.” Nothing more needs to be said about the closing musical motif by Jerry Goldsmith. Had Stallone added more minutes and developed the characters more, this could have been the best action film of the year. (02/25/2008)

The hardest action movie of all time delivers incredible brutality, presenting the legendary hero as we have never seen him before: full of sadness, anger, and resignation, only a woman will put him back on his feet and show what he is made of. Stallone knew exactly what to shoot and how to shoot it. The plot is simple, dynamic, and more than enough. The action is balls to the wall, and the fact that they highlight these killings as a result of the war-torn Burma only helps the cause. A film that is unbeatable for fans and a must-see. A success on all fronts for Stallone and confirmation that he is far from finished. And when he stands in a jeep behind an anti-aircraft machine gun, feeding it with fist-sized bullets and firing a salvo, you realise you have never seen anything like it before. So far, the best film of the year. (02/22/2008)