When You're Pushed, Killing is as Easy as Breathing

Title: Rambo
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Paul Schulze
Director: Sylvester Stallone

The Rambo series date back more than 10 years ago with its 1st installment, First Blood hitting the big screens back in 1982. Fans of the action and thriller genre were amazed by the highly exaggerated combat capabilities of the fictional character, John Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone), an ex-Vietnam vet who single handedly took down a massive platoon of army and sheriffs in First Blood. 3 years later, John Rambo returned to the big screens in First Blood 2 entertaining fans of his previous movie with more massive gun battles and guerrilla action in the jungles of Vietnam. It so happened that 3 years later (again...), the movie series spawned the 3rd installment making the Rambo series a trilogy. Unlike the 2nd one which took place in Vietnam, the 3rd series throws action hero John Rambo into the deserts of Afghanistan during the Cold War to aid Mujaheedeen warriors against the invading Russian forces. Despite the adrenaline filled action content of the series, I've never watched any of the Rambo movies since many Special Forces community (which I often obey...sometimes blindly) define the series as an exaggerated rubbish of the army Special Forces and commandos. After the 3rd installment of the Rambo series and when there were no news of making the 4th one since then, many assumed that the trilogy finally reached its end. 20 years later, the creators of the Rambo series shocked and excited action fans world wide with plans of making the 4th one entitled Rambo. Shortly after their shocking announcement, the 4th one was released in North American cinemas on the 25th of January 2008. Despite forbidding myself from watching the latest Rambo installment in order to prove my loyalty to the Special Forces community, I eventually ended up seeing the movie a day after its release as the dreadful boredom here in Kamloops left me no choice. After an hour and a half in the cinema, I left the theater with my jaws dropped as I just watched the best action movie of the month (possibly the year).

Rambo revolves around the civil war in present day Myanmar. With its corrupted government abusing the people of the country, many especially the Karen ethnicity stood up and took arms to overthrow the government. With the emergence of the Karen rebels in Myanmar, the country is thrown into a bloody civil war where violence plagued the land as public execution, mutilation and beheading were common. Not far away from Myanmar, John Rambo, a former Vietnam war vet leads a quiet and secluded life in the outskirts of Thailand (which borders closely to Burma) where he spends most of his time catching snakes, fishing and salvaging old boat parts hoping to forget the horrors of his previous war experience which haunts him constantly. A group of Christian missionaries from Colorado, USA approached him one day with the desire to rent his boat to travel up the river to Burma in order to reach a Karen village which requires medical aid and spiritual support. Knowing that their destination was dangerous due to the ongoing civil war, the missionaries were rejected initially; however after persuading and convincing their boatman, the missionaries were finally transported to the village. Not long after the arrival of the missionaries, the village was ambushed viciously by Burmese soldiers whom went on a sadistic killing spree revealing their unimaginable cruelty and monstrosity. The remaining villagers and Christian missionaries were abducted by the Burmese soldiers shortly after the massacre. News regarding the massacre and the abduction of Christian missionaries were delivered to John Rambo by a concerned elder missionary who flew all the way from Colorado. The elder missionary then employs John Rambo and a team of multinational mercenaries which consist of former Special Forces soldiers, mostly SAS operators, to rescue the missionaries. With a team of diverse mercenaries at his aid, John Rambo travels back to Burma hoping to liberate the remaining missionaries and survivors. The direct and straightforward storyline are understandable and in fact, ideal for action genres like Rambo as the viewers expect the content of action to outweigh the story premise. The story premise for Rambo is written in a simple form yet it supports a high level of action which satisfy the audiences.

Rambo deserves two thumbs up in terms of the movie's content. The theme of the movie was a good exposure as it detailed the horrors and atrocities of wars taking place around the world. Apart from that, the theme of the movie which also promotes gratefulness, reminds the viewers not to take their peace and freedom for granted and to also appreciate the conflict-free country in which they live in. The plot of the movie was well arranged which provided the audiences a crystal clear understanding of what was going on from the beginning to the end of the movie. The flashback element which was incorporated in Rambo was a good idea as it provided a detailed background of who John Rambo was and what he did during his years in the army which leads to his constant nightmares.

Besides Rambo's content, the movie performed well in terms of style which deserves a lot of credit.The intense violence which is featured in the movie can be gut wrenching and sickening to watch; on the other hand, it was a necessity in order to deliver the realism of the story and to promote the movie's themes that remind the audience the horrors of war. Apart from that, the action scenes were top notch; the well choreographed gun battles and commando action left the viewers at the edge of their seats in excitement hoping for more. Like the action scenes, the acting was great as well. The cast of the movies delivered their emotions perfectly well which moved the audience deeply; the viewers could experience the terror and fear of the abducted missionaries and abused villagers which forces the viewers to feel sympathetic for those characters. Besides the great acting, the dialog which was casual and also filled with military jargons instills the authenticity of the movie's settings that revolves around the present day society and military community. Rambo also delivers a solid soundtrack which varies according to the scenes of the movie; scenes which feature the massacre triggers a sad emotional music theme while moments of Rambo and the mercenaries rescuing the helpless missionaries and villagers fire off a rock-like music which allows the viewers to experience the thick of the action. Overall, Rambo prevails in terms of its style.

Despite the overwhelming positive qualities of the movie, Rambo is not a perfect movie as there are some unexpected flaws. First of all, the movie was less then 2 hours which made the audience felt that the movie didn't really deliver enough. Furthermore, the fact that John Rambo fought mostly with his hunting bow, machete and even his bare hands disappointed fans of the series as I am sure they expected their action hero to reign chaos on his enemies with a heavy machine gun just like the previous Rambo movies. Although the movie had its flaws, nevertheless they hardly scratch its ratings as they are just petty.

After an hour and a half in the cinema, I left the theater with my jaws dropped as I just watched the best action movie of the month (possibly the year). To sum it up, Rambo is a must-watch for action fans. With little flaws to rant about and many qualities to rave about, Rambo deserves a score of 9 out of 10. What made this movie even more amazing was the fact that Sylvester Stallone himself wrote the story and directed the movie. It was really unexpected of him to perform such an outstanding job given the fact the he is mostly known for his acting capabilities only. Conversely, this is a great surprise and also a good reminder for everyone not to judge the book by its cover.

Living in the secluded areas of Thailand, John Rambo spent most of his time catching snakes.

Rambo and a group of diverse mercenaries getting ready for their rescue mission.

Sneaking up on a Burmese soldier with a machete getting ready to...you know what...what people do with a machete.

John Rambo infiltrating the Burmese soldier's camp. The only thing that spotted our action hero is the piggy over here, but its not like as if she gives a damn.

Not having a machine gun isn't going to stop Rambo from killing. His bare hands are just as good as his guns.


Okay, you wanna play!? Say ello to mah lil fren. Rambo bringing maximum destruction with the mounted machine gun.

Here's the movie's trailer. Enjoy!