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Author Topic: Rambo (2008) Peter David Bruce Expert Film Handler Posts: 187 From: East Anglia -England Registered: Aug 2007 posted 02-23-2008 06:43 AM                    Ok i HAVE to review this film now. Watched it first time yesterday. First public showing. Had to sit at the very back to watch out for those pesky copywrite infringers videotaping it from the back rows. No culprits this time. I love the old rambo films. My expectations were high but I really didnt know what to expect. I loved stallones reprise of the Rocky character last year so my mind was open to whatever this new film had to offer. Firstly I made up this print, and with my obvious love for the rambo brand I took extra special care when building the print. Any film that I make up I am very picky about making sure its as good as it can be for its first show. Gladly this film was in scope, and to my surprise every reel was head out and shrink wrapped. Perfect. Onto the film. Some excellent action pieces and the acting itself is superb. The cinematography was excellent, and the directing was spot on. Stallones got a talent for this. No doubt. The sound mix was superb and the guns/explosions/etc!? all sounded realistic and lastly the special effects were pretty much as good as you get get on the big screen these days! Really impressed. Good story. Great acting. Superb directing. 4.7/5 ... only cos i still love the old ones !!Spoiler!! Wasnt too sure about the whole '5 men on a boat' part but it all served well when they eventually worked as a team and kicked butt. especially the sniper guy. !!end of Spoiler!!  |  IP: Logged Stu Jamieson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 524 From: Buccan, Qld, Australia Registered: Jan 2008 posted 02-23-2008 08:40 AM                     "Live for nothing. Or die for something." Such is the mantra of one J. Rambo, Zen Marine. Of course, it doesn't occur to him that there is yet another valid option - "live for something" - but Rambo is from another time; a time where good guys are good guys and bad guys are bad guys; a time where justice is measured in rounds of ammunition per minute and the currency of heroism is pain and sacrifice; a time when Americans could simply get on with the job of kicking the bad guy's butt to the cheers and rapturous applause of the audience. "Live for something"? Pffft. That's for the namby pamby give-peace-a-chance whiners who frequent our modern world; a world where killing people (even bad guys) is considered very, very naughty and global peace can be achieved through liberal doses of love and hugs. To say that Rambo is from another era is an understatement. The politics of this film is dubious to say the least and out of step with modern social climes. Certainly the atrocities committed by the Burmese Junta at the beginning of the film are shocking and horrific (some of the footage is real) but there's no mistaking that all this will be used to vindicate Rambo's own inevitable bloodbath later in the film. As a result, Stallone's intended political message is greatly cheapened. In fact let's just say that it's nullified. But despite its distasteful political misfiring, the film hits a bullseye when it comes to balls-to-the-wall action. Fully deserving of its 18+ rating, Stallone raises the bar in the human-meets-ordnance reality stakes. With each kill outdoing the next in terms of blood, guts and inventiveness, it becomes increasingly difficult to resist the temptation to punch the air and shout "awesome!" "Awesome" is also a good adjective to describe the soundtrack; the ripping machine guns tear mercilessly through the speakers and explosions do their level best to demolish the subwoofers. This is a LOUD movie! Is it silly? Yes. Politically incorrect? Absolutely! I feel a little guilty saying it but, despite it's not inconsiderable misgivings, Rambo is undeniably fun. 7 out of 10  |  IP: Logged Peter David Bruce Expert Film Handler Posts: 187 From: East Anglia -England Registered: Aug 2007 posted 02-23-2008 09:16 AM                    Stu - you managed to say exactly what I wanted to in my review... but more eloquently and you sure are right on the money with the phrase 'Awesome' because i was smiling throughout the whole second half as the 'bloodbath' ensued. Talk about in your face carnage - in a good way! Makes me sound sadistic, but they really made you feel patriotic for some reason. Good against evil and all that. Top job.  |  IP: Logged Stu Jamieson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 524 From: Buccan, Qld, Australia Registered: Jan 2008 posted 02-23-2008 03:59 PM                     quote: Peter David Bruce ....Makes me sound sadistic, but they really made you feel patriotic for some reason.... Haha, I know. It kinda makes you feel dirty for enjoying it.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Jorgenson Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1002 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: Feb 2005 posted 03-18-2008 05:51 PM                        So, from reading this thread, I'm lead to believe that the actual title on screen was simply "Rambo" in the States? What about in the UK or other English speaking countries outside of North America? When I saw it here in Poland, it was with the English language soundtrack with Polish subtitles (and English subtitling too for the Thai/Burmese bits). The opening title said "John Rambo" here (and not the subtitled part, the actual "official" big red one). No Weinstein logo either...  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 03-19-2008 11:19 AM                     They were originally calling it "John Rambo" in the States (before release), then later decided to change it.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-19-2008 04:45 PM                        quote: Peter David Bruce Had to sit at the very back to watch out for those pesky copywrite infringers videotaping it from the back rows. Wouldn't you have more luck catching pirates if you sat at the bottom and looked up?  |  IP: Logged Kurt Zupin Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 989 From: Maricopa, Arizona Registered: Oct 2004 posted 03-19-2008 11:09 PM                     Mike, I don't think you would have better luck. By sitting in the back your going to see the person get the camera, from the front you have to contend with the light coming from the projector, I don't know if you've sat at the bottom and tried to see people at the back but I would say its near impossible.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 06-29-2008 06:07 PM                     Bump. Finally watched Rambo; rented it on Blu-ray. Out of all four of the movies in this saga, I think it's the best one since First Blood. A solid three stars out of four. The story is a little more simplified, but quite a bit more brutal. Some of the gore effects were so over the top it had me thinking of the fighting knights scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The action sequences near the end were a bloody frenzy. I'm also kind of surprised this movie didn't get tagged with a NC-17. Had someone made an independent film with a different lead character, but with the same kind of plot and same level of blood I think it would have been rated NC-17. Picture quality on the BD is pretty good for the most part, not reference quality but far better than DVD. The audio track is aggressive. I don't have a HDMI equipped receiver just yet so I couldn't rate the DTS-HD 7.1 track on how much better it is than the core DTS 5.1 track. The disc has a Bonus View commentary track that occasionally leaves the movie for brief featurettes. Stallone punctured his right bicep on some piece of wood and the small wound got badly infected, turning into a big purple mass on his arm the crew had to cover with makeup.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 06-29-2008 11:43 PM                        Actually, Rambo (4) is an independent film. I'm surprised John Cusak or Colin Firth wasn't in it as a result.  |  IP: Logged Stu Jamieson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 524 From: Buccan, Qld, Australia Registered: Jan 2008 posted 07-06-2008 06:48 AM                     quote: Bobby I'm also kind of surprised this movie didn't get tagged with a NC-17. Had someone made an independent film with a different lead character, but with the same kind of plot and same level of blood I think it would have been rated NC-17. It did actually receive the equivalent of an NC-17 here in Downunderland.  |  IP: Logged

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