FRANCHISE ME: JOHN RAMBO

Nice series, Joshua. As I said, I might rewatch First Blood II, but will definitely rewatch John Rambo. Because I'm lazy and that one's on the shelf already.

Oh, John Rambo... how I love thee.

 

This has been a great series, Joshua.

 

Great call on the film's cheap treatment of the missionary leader.  That line really gets an automatic 'scoff.'  

Another great write-up, Joshua. It's a fair assessment that Rambo of the last movie is the same man from First Blood, while the plot ensures that we still get the over-the-top violence (and then some). It's a movie that has it's cake and eats the fuck out of it.
I remember when I heard of its plot regarding Rambo teaming up with mercenaries, I thought it'd blow. Turns out that I was wrong - all the merc guys were great, even the annoying ones. In the Stallone commentary track, he expresses regret at killing off some of those characters.
Also, "Live for nothing; die for something." is a great line.
It's been a great series of articles, Mr Miller. I look forward to your analysis of Hellraiser.

I couldn't quite tell what exactly was different about JOHN RAMBO, versus the theatrical cut (other than I seem to remember the film originally opening with the rice paddy/landmine game), but I did notice that I responded to the film a bit more this time around.

Awesome article.

 

You know I am still not sure which of the Mercs made it out alive. I know Boy Scout and Grumpy Headed Guy but i am not sure of the rest.

I really love the fact that movie is SO simple, there's really nothing to it, but at the same time it doesn't insult the audiences' intelligence. As in, people aren't doing stupid stuff left and right, and the violence/gore, while ludicrous, is actually pretty realistic. Also, the ending is a great bookend to the beginning of First Blood.

Great series sir. Good luck with the Hellraisin'.

I think, in addition to Schoolboy and Grumpy SAS guy, the only other surviving merc was Hillbilly. So basically the ethnic duo, Asian dude (who was super awesome) and Latino guy got burnt (one of them, literally).

I think the Latino guy lived. We just saw his arm get burned, but last we saw of him, he was putting that fire on his arm out. Never saw him die. I actually like it in that only he and Schoolboy are the ones who want to go check out the camp for survivors and the ones that don't, aside from grumpy SAS guy are the ones that died. I thought the hillbilly died, but I could be wrong.

 

Great write up as usual, Joshua. The short runtime keeps up the fast pace, and of course, the final battle is one for the books. I remember looking forward to it, and then that action reel was posted over at AICN around may of 2007, and I watched that one several times. Got me really excited for the film.

 

Still remember seeing it in a packed theater on opening night, and there was quite a few people who were visibly upset by the village assault. Sly wanted to make it realistic and to show the atrocities that happen over there. He succeeded.

I'm pretty sure the Latino merc survived.  The fire didn't kill him, just left him a tad crispy.  The Asian one bought it in an explosion.  I can't recall whether or not the Hillbilly made it, but I'll take everyone's word that he did.
 

I've watched theatrical cut repeatedly.  This was my first time with the JOHN RAMBO cut.  Here's what I noticed......

 

- Michael's pleading with Rambo to take them up river goes longer in this version and Michael comes off more like an ungrateful prick than someone asking for help.

- Sarah's initial attempt to convince Rambo is longer as well.

- Rambo's "war is in your blood/killing's as easy as breathing" speech is given to Sarah on the boat before he agrees to take them.  In the theatrical cut, these comments are given during a voiceover of Rambo fashioning his new "knife".

- The pastor giving a prayer over Rambo forging his knife-chete, as opposed to the aforementioned voiceover.

- Rambo's violent flashback "visions" about taking out the pirates and about Sarah.

- The violence (which was already beyond intense in the theatrical cut) is greater and bloodier.

 

I loved the film already, but the extended cut is absolutely superior.  You get a MUCH stronger glimpse of where Rambo is at in life both emotionally and philosophically through his added dialogue, especially his extended speech to Sarah on the boat.  Also, Michael comes off as even more of a pious and ungrateful ass throughout the film.  I see that many are complaining about his "I have to report this" bit, but I thought it rang true for the character's holier than thou attitude.  He really doesn't start to drop this attitude until Lewis (McTavish) gives his "God didn't save you, we did" speech and then it obviously flies out the window once he brains the dude with that rock.  I don't want to get into religion here, but I have seen a lot of Michael's and Sarah's in the world...............especially where I work now.  Being naive (like Sarah) is one thing, but those who feel the need to bully those around them who they THINK are lesser or different just disgusts me.  I've seen customers where I work tell their pregnant servers (whose hands have swollen too much to wear their rings) that their babies are going to hell and that they would have gotten a better tip if they had been wearing a wedding ring.

 

Anyway, while Rambo is right that there was no way they could make a difference where they were headed, in the end Rambo and Sarah did manage to make a difference in each other's lives.  She managed to awaken the part of John that actually cared about others and he managed to show her that she needed to stop being so naive to the atrocities and danger of the world around her.  Basically, he was too numb to it and she wasn't numb enough.  I'd say my characterization complaints for the film would be lobbed more at the other two male missionaries who never even get a word of dialogue.  While we could have been given more from Tint, I thought he worked just fine as an embodiment of dictatorial evil.

 

I hope all of that rambling made at least some sense.

On another note, I would not be opposed to a fifth Rambo film providing the script is good enough to warrant one final tale with the character.  That said, JOHN RAMBO does offer a perfect close to the character's journey.  At this point, I trust Stallone to know whether or not it should end here.

I don't trust Sly at all. And I loved both of the last Rambo and Rocky a lot more than most. I was the one defending First Blood and Rocky during the 90s when they were getting thrown under the bus along his bullshit movies. But I categorically do not trust the man to know when enough is enough.

I think he knows that ROCKY is done. But apparently he keeps changing his mind about RAMBO.

These have all been fantastic Josh. I LOVE Hellraiser but stopped watching them after Inferno. Can't wait for your write-ups.

Josh, you gonna read The Hellbound Heart as part of the series on Hellraiser? You could do it in one sitting!

Rewatching it, I'm surprised at how much of it is copied beat for beat from UNFORGIVEN (coincidence that Eastwood and Stallone were both 62 when they made their respective "icon swan songs"?). The narrative beats are copied, that is. Tonally, Stallone goes right everywhere Eastwood went left. The only thing really deconstructed in JOHN RAMBO is the pretty missionary's belief in God. Atheism via meth-addicted Burmese sadists.

 

 

The moment I realized this was going to be an awesome movie: when the first few out-of-context still images were released, there was a series of pics where Rambo was shooting a man in the back at point blank range with a gigantic gun, causing this man to burst like a human shaped meat pinata. The thing that made it truly great though was that the eyes on the dummy were closed, so it looked like Rambo was doing this to some poor guy who was just trying to take a nap.

 

Love the movie, and love the series for all its flaws. Regarding sequels, Rambo went from killing one man by mistake, to deliberately killing entire ethnicities, therefore Stallone should keep making these movies until Rambo has wiped out the WHOLE HUMAN RACE. Then a monolith shaped like a Bowie knife comes down and transports him to a star system far outside our galaxy or some shit like that

Followed by the final entry, the John Carter-esque Rambo of Jupiter?

 

Great piece! Fuck Hellraiser, DO the Rocky series!

Hah. Loved reading these and love the first and this fourth followup. I actually really have always liked Stallone and I don't trust him with Rambo. It'll be hard for him to top Rambo.

 

Only thing that I ever heard that I wanted to see was Rambo rampaging Cartels on the border outside of that MONOLITH KNIFE!

 

I love CHUD!

Wicked awesome series, and spot on analysis for each movie.
I live in Asia, and have call to use Johnny's "Fuck off, okay?" at least 2 or 3 times a week. Naturally, I always do it in my best Rambo croak.

I find in all of the movies, my favorite Johnny R moments are when he' s doing the Rambo Stillness thing while somebody beaks off at him.

In JR, it's while the SAS loudmouth is trying to bait him while they're going down the river.

When he finally responds by launching a loog into the river, it's priceless.

 

Oh, and the awesome longtail riverboat, coolest ride ever?

It's like the last of the V8 Interceptors on water.

No Frank Stallone song at the end? Why Sly?

 

I've to say that Cluster Bomb explosion in the jungle looked Massive on the Big Screen. Almost like a Tactical Nuke.

I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to the Hellraiser write-ups.  I own a little over half of them and the rest I can watch on Instant, so I'm ready to go.  I believe all but the first two are available on Netflix Instant right now.

 

I love the fact that Josh constantly changes this series up genre-wise...........although it does sound like we might be getting Hellraiser and Halloween back-to-back, which is cool.  I would love to see him tackle the likes of Rocky, Lethal Weapon, and Die Hard (probably when the new one hits) at some point between the more under-appreciated and/or schlockier franchises.

 

Basically, I'm down for whatever you want to cover, Josh.  Even if it is a franchise I'm not a fan of, I'll gladly read every article and participate in the discussion when applicable.  This is literally my favorite series of articles on the web right now and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  Keep up the stellar work!

Really, the only reason to do another Rambo would be to kill him off. Have him "die for something" and realize that a man like him just isn't destined for a peaceful walk into the sunset.

 

After obliterating a few hundred evil foreigners, naturally.

It would be cool to do The Rocky series, but it can wait. I like to see a few franchises first. Just for variety. The last time I watched Rocky 4, I was  channel surfing and it was the beginning of the final fight. I instantly got sucked in. Cheese may not be good for you, but it is damn tasty.

Yup, next two months will be rather horrortastic at Franchise Me. I'd like to do something a bit outside the box after that. Something to rope in some ladies, would be nice. I've been pondering a Disney franchise -- the kind that you didn't even realize became a franchise. They made two LION KING sequels!

Aladdin calls to you, sir. 

Do you guys think Sly sees any duality in the movie? Because there pretty much is. You can see the flick as a simple action movie with plain evil guys and a guy doing herculian feats to best them, like 3, but then there's the opening bit. Sly showing real footage of Burmese cruelty, before that, statements in interviews that he wanted to show the wrongs that happen over there.

But is there probably more to it? For example, Rambo accepted the next door cruelty for a long time, lazily ignoring it. He only intervenes (and by this, finally helps those victims) when something of his interest gets in danger (portrayed by the american girl). Hidden criticism that we should intervene earlier? Whould we as an audience care less if it was just some ugly burmese guy asking for help?

And the cruelty. Sly directs the movie in a way you are set to think the soldier's killings are wrong and inhuman, but Rambo's are right and fun, great fun. It's not like the fire extinguisher scene in Irreversible where the character may think what he's doing is right, but the director obviously makes you feel it's not. When Rambo rips out that dude's throat or finally cuts Tint into two halves, it's a fist pumping YEAH moment to cheer, damn he finished him in an unbelievably hero moment, let's rewind and see that again. We get a priest scolding Rambo for his killings, but the movie quickly teaches him that unless you can accept being gutted, sometimes you just have to kill. But what is Sly's true intention? If he wants the movie to just be stupid entertainment, why include actual genocide footage? If it's meant to be taken seriously, why make the rescue an entertaining mass murder? He might even have provoked immoral cheers by giving us those extreme cartoon scenes of uber violence. Is Rambo the good guy to cheer for or should we, following the movie's math, also cheer for someone else to take this horrible mass murderer down? How can we just take his as cinematic hero moments when we are supposed to take the enemy cruelty as actual wrongs?

Could it be like Scarface, where you can either see Rambo as the glorious fullfilment of a macho fantasy or as a immoral hero who ignores rules and just kills and takes what he wishes? Now Rambo doesn't have as much fun as Tony doing so, but then Tony gets shot for it, while Rambo even escapes any court and just goes home. You might say that cheering for Rambo is as wrong as cheering for Tony. You could expect de Palma to see that duality, but Sly?

If Sly does agree to have one last go with Rambo, I'll be shocked if the character DOESN'T die at the end.

 

Yes, I think he does.  Excellent post, by the way!

 

Great post, Chris. But I don't see RAMBO as a mass murderer. He was defending the missionaries, who were about to be murdered. A killer, yes. But there is definitely a contrast between the serious news footage and gory, blood soaked finale. He wants to show the horror of this conflict, but also entertain us. The change in tone is odd, but somehow the movie still works. And the finale is realistic in one way,iu in that I assume if I was shot at close range by a .50 cal I would look similar to the Burmese soldiers.

In interviews Sly said he chose the .50 cal because he didn't want a 60 year old Rambo running around like in part 2.

When I think a franchise for the ladies, Harry Potter comes to mind.   Women love that series.

 

One series I'd love for you to cover are the Cube movies.   Alot of them are neat little low budget films that are way better than their pedigree suggests.

Plus, Cube 2 is just sort of insane.

I guess it'll be helpful if we made a list of choices (feel free to add in if i missed something)

 

Rocky

Die Hard

Lethal Weapon

Halloween

Final Destination

American Pie

Wishmaster

The Prophecy

Cube

Mimic

Trancers

Puppet Master

Best of The Best

Kickboxer

 

I delibrately left out FRIDAY and NIGHTMARE franchises because we've done them before.

 

That's a pretty well thought-out list, Felix.

 

As for franchises to bring it the ladies, Joshua, I'm struggling to think of any chick-flicks that venture beyond the first sequel.  Legally Blonde,  Miss Congeniality Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, er.... that's it from me.  I'd ask the missus but I'm fearful that if I broach the subject, I'll be stuck watchinf these aweful movies week after week.  There's Twilight, I suppose, but I sincerely hope you don't go down that route.

There's plenty more possibilities:

 

Children of the Corn

Highlander

Universal Soldier

Ghost in the Shell

Saw

Jack Ryan flicks

Mission Impossible

Twilight

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Pirates of the Caribbean

X-Men

Spiderman

Superman

Batman

Punisher

The Hulk

Bad News Bears

Transformers

Resident Evil

Poison Ivy

Fast and Furious

Street Fighter (video game or Sonny Chiba)

The Exorcist

Karate Kid

Amityville Horror

The Terminator

 

Our man should be busy for a while yet.

 

 

Edited by Schwartz - 9/12/11 at 5:23am

Terminator would be fun. I'd selfishly love to see Ong Bak get the treatment, in large part because I think the Thai Action movie industry needs to get 1000% more attention.

 

Some of these sound more like sadism than genuine ideas... Twilight? American Pie? Really?

I feel that we should concentrate on more obscure Franchises. Instead of recent Blockbusters like TRANSFORMERS or FAST AND THE FURIOUS. I think can can give the SAW series a pass since they get pretty repetitive after the third installment.

 

FINAL DESTINATION would be an interesting pick. As there are numerous clue and hints within the films that foretell the order of the Character's deaths.

I don't really know from kung fu flicks, but I'm sure there's plenty of possibilities in that genre (and hell, weren't there at least 3 Infernal Affairs movies in Hong Kong?).  And if we wanted to open a whole can of worms, there's both Star Wars and Indiana Jones looming over this whole endeavor, all old and rapey-like.

If you're talking about HK flicks, there the A BETTER TOMORROW (by John Woo) and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series if anyone's interested.

 

Let's just stay away from stuff like Aliens, Indiana Jones and Star Wars. That's been done way too many times,

Missing in Action: The Braddock movies.

If he wanted to get hardcore he could do all 22 (or it it 23 now) Zatoichi movies, or at least all six of the Lone Wolf and Cub films. 

Jaws is one I'd love to see covered.

 

 

I'll also toss these on the pile......

 

- American Ninja

- Argento's Three Mothers trilogy

- Beastmaster

- Beverly Hills Cop

- Candyman

- Cheech & Chong

- Child's Play

- Creature From The Black Lagoon

- The Crow

- Ernest

- The Fly

- Hammer Dracula

- Hammer Frankenstein

- Harryhausen's Sinbad trilogy

- The Howling (which has a new film out this fall)

- Invasion of the Body Snatchers

- It's Alive

- Jay & Silent Bob

- Mad Max

- Revenge of the Nerds

- Robocop

- Romero's Dead series

- Police Story

- Scanners

- Shaft

- Smokey and the Bandit

- Star Trek

- Subspecies

- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

- The Transporter

- Undisputed

- Universal Soldier (whenever the next one comes out)

- The Wolf Man

 

 

Godzilla would be extremely entertaining, but you'd have to break those up into their separate eras (Showa, Heisei, and Millennium) to keep things fresh................doing a different era few months or so.  Same for Bond, if you're up for it.  Even though coverage has been given to them on this site before, I definitely wouldn't mind hearing Josh's thoughts on Friday The 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street at some point on down the road.  I also wouldn't mind a look at the Alien franchise when Prometheus hits screen next year.

Edited by S.D. Bob Plissken - 9/12/11 at 5:31pm

Eh, I'll toss in my vote for the Harry Callahan series again.

The "Ocean's 11" movies would be a fun one to cover.   Hell, you can include the 60's original in the mix (although I hear it's horrible).   To me, they represent some of the best old style star driven movies in the modern era and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

I guess there's a question of what constitutes a franchise.  I suppose it's up to Josh to draw the lines, but I feel like you need more than 3 movies to make a franchise.  That would mean that Oceans or The Matrix or The Bourne films are all on the cusp of qualifying.  Then there's a question of whether LOTR counts, as between Bakshi and Jackson you'll have up to 8 different movies in a year or so, or Harry Potter, which has plenty of film to look at but tells one continuous story.   I feel like at least for the purposes of this column, it's not really a franchise unless there's some major shifts in time, tone, medium, and/or continuity between installments.

I would say three or more to qualify.  Besides, I think it would be fun to have a few trilogies covered in-between articles on larger franchise.  It would allow more franchises to be covered and give poor Josh a breather between longer running series.  I'm sure he'll definitely need a hefty palette cleanser or two after he wades through some of the shittier Hellraiser and Halloween films over the next month or so.

 

I would assume remakes are included, at least for the most part.  Multiple TV shows/movies are iffy (Robocop comes to mind, which has had 3 shows if I am correct), as I'm sure he doesn't want to spend months on a single run of articles.

 

And Dirty Harry would definitely be an excellent franchise to take a look at.

Some repeats, but you picked my suggestion last time so fuck y'all

 

Meatballs

Bring It On (girls, amirite?)

Romero's Dead Quadrilogy

Man With No Name Trilogy

Universal Frankenstein

Robocop

Re-Animator (include the musical if you got to see it)

Ilsa

Exorcist

Dirty Harry is also a good one.

Would a "Franchise Me" on Universal's Frankenstein movies end with Young Frankenstein?  Gene Wilder's character is legit introduced in Son Of.

 

 

The Naked Gun

 

Josh needs a break after all those Horror films anyway.