the rambo trilogy

I enjoyed the first one very much, as much of it seemed grounded in a sense of 'reality'. The second one was ridiculous, but fun. Richard Crenna and Charles Napier did a great job of chewing up the scenery in that one. The third tried, in my opinion, to be a balance in tone between the first two movies...more serious and 'realistic', with over the top sequences...and I think it failed in almost every regard. Plus Stallone's hair looks WAY too poofy in the third one.

Only saw the third Rambo once, but even as a teenage action nerd I recognized that it existed for one reason and one reason alone: to take my cash. Come to think of it, that MAY have been the first movie I ever walked out of feeling ripped off. Sadly, it would not be the last...

The opening stick fight in Thailand at the beginning of RIII, is pretty cool. The rest of the film is formulaic and forgettable. I also hated how Rambo and Trautman act as a semi-comedy duo, trading jokes and stuff.

RII has some fun moments like the sequence in the internment camp but I prefer the other dumb shoot-em up from 1985, Commando. That film's action is better directed, IMO.

The original First Blood is the only *good * film in the bunch and still holds up two decades later.

I suppose someone should change this to the RAMBO QUADRILOGY.

I'll just say that having recently rewatched Rambo 3, I've decided that it's not as bad as I remember. Silly at times - but not much more than part 2 - but it does have nice moments between John J. and Crenna. And the action's not that bad either.

I got to see Rambo on BD the other day and it does look great. Doesn't overstay its welcome and very satisfying.

Love First Blood, a truly great and well-crafted action film that manages some gravity, even if I find its politics somewhat disagreeable.

I hate Rambo: First Blood pt. 2, HATE IT. It's Stallone ego-tripping and doing it with a stone-faced seriousness that I feel totally ruins the far more nuanced (for Stallone) character work he did in the first film. If you watch these two films back to back (which I did a few months ago), John Rambo is hardly even the same person, the character is severely devolved and unlike his first time out, unable to elicit sympathy. It's John Rambo, not as wounded warrior, but as a hopped up, oiled up superhero. I haven't seen pt. 3 in years but it's not like I don't know what to expect.

From this...


To this...


And unavoidably...



The most recent outing sort of brings the character back around, it retains the somber tone of the first film (actually it gets dark in ways the first film can hardly touch), and Rambo is less of a superman, but the action is amped up and the violence is delivered with maximum impact. It's still more, as sequels always are, but at least it appears that Stallone recognized the errors of his ways and tried to say something worth saying (although again, I mostly disagree with his politics).

What do you think his politics are?

Stallone's conservative and Christian views are spread across his CV, specifically the Rambo films, the Rocky franchise, and Cobra (which is basically a wonderful cartoon riff on Dirty Harry anyway). It's laid out very broadly in all of them, but very rarely to distraction (actually I think Stallone has pointed out this very thing, that he wants these things to be there, but not so much that it detracts from the popcorn experience), that's why I don't mind it that much.

Stallone being a conservative Christian certainly goes well with his nice Italian catholic boy upbringing, but how Christian can a movie be that says every damn peace-lovin' missionary's a pussy that better gets his hands dirty?

Sly's conservo Christian message in RAMBO IV was clear: Sometimes you have to drop your Bible and grab a giant rock so you can cave a guy's head in.

Is First Blood underrated? i've always been under the impression that this film is generally accepted as a piece of classic American cinema.

Part 2 worked very well in 80's but suffers from being a victim of that time. the people, like myself, who loved it as a kid, are no able to look back on it and see just how ridiculous the script is. Even for James Cameron. it is a shame that a lot of Rambo's humanity seems to be removed from his character to just make him a killing machine rather than a man trying to survive. But i still think it's a cool movie. i wouldn't support it as a GOOD movie, but i still like it.

Part 3 was just that. another sequel that was more concerned with action than anything else. I think the character was a pretty good "evolution" of what he was in part 2, but that wasn't going to be pretty tough to do. But i dig it.

I am really happy that Sly was able to identify with the character the way he did in the first movie with part 4. Knowing that the character went through some things in part 2 and 3 that removed him from what he was, he really brought him back. and it kicks ass.

Funny this got bumped today. I recently watched the trilogy and have Rambo coming today. The first is clearly the best in terms of quality. I like that the viet nam themes continue into the first sequel, and I found the third movie laughable. I'm curious to see the last one and I'll follow up in here when I have.

Couple of funny things: IMDB trivia (the bastion of high brow info) champions the attention to detail in Rambo III by noticing he has the arm scar from the first movie and the cheek scar from the sequel. 2nd, this series has the oddest naming conventions of any series. the first movie is First Blood. The sequel is Rambo: First Blood part II, then Rambo III, the finally, just Rambo. I'm not the first to mention this, but it makes me laugh.

Looks like the marketing people at Fox did their job right. Thanks to that Alien boxed set, people actually think "Quadrilogy" is really a word.

I watched Rambo. Easily the bloodiest of the bunch. Plausible growth for the character, with some nice touches from previous movies. The violence is key here, and seems a little like 300. What I mean by that is it's little hyper-real. This is probably the second best movie of the series, with 2 and 3 tied for last.

Yeah, I'd have preferred to see 'tetralogy' enter the popular cinematic lexicon instead, but it seems the public has chosen.

From what we know 'The Expendables' might as well be Rambo 5 since Rambo called himself expendable in Rambo 2. But I suspect the character he plays in TX will be a 180 to his Rambo, probably some wiseass cracking jokes all the time.

More Rambo 5 news,
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39943

Apparently, its not as off the ground as I was hoping it was, but at least it's definitely confirmed now.

Watched the trilogy and pretty much agree First Blood is best. Rambo III really bothered me though. I guess it's because for all it's faults I loved Rambo: First Blood Part II and expected more of the same. What I got was a few things that don't belong in a Rambo movie.

At the end of the day though, I LOVE this series overall.

To me...The most enjoyable Rambo film is...Rambo: First Blood Part II. It is Rambo at his heroic best rescuing, American Soldiers still held captive by EEEEEvil warlords. The only negative in the film for me, was when Julia Nickson was killed.

Rambo is my second favorite in the series...Sure Sly is older, but he is wiser, and this film has even more carnage than RFBPII.

First Blood is 3rd on this list, and it is a good film but not as fun as part II and IV.

Rambo III has is solid yet not spectacular...Rambo vs The Russians is a fun enough way to end...The Cold War though.

On a side note...In Japan there is a new light gun shooter based on the first 3 Rambo films. That is something that should be brought to the USA at Dave & Busters...Stat!

I wish they'd just leave Rambo be. The last one was a great way to end the series. No need for another one. Then again I said the same thing when I heard a 4th was being made(except III is NOT a great way to end the series), and that turned out great, so who knows? I played this last week, it's pretty sweet.

Nexus-7, Where did you play it?

Gameworks in Seattle. I'm not sure if they'd import one of the units over to their East Coast locations as well, but hey, why not? The same place had a sit down import Street Fighter 4 unit(each player gets their own seat and screen). I never thought I'd ever see either machine on US soil.

Nexus-7, Thank you for the update. Hopefully...Gameworks will eventually open up an arcade in NYC, I enjoyed their Vegas arcade the time I went there for Thanksgiving vacation. Aside from Rambo, I am looking forward to King Of Fighters XII, which hopefully will reach US arcades.

Just re-watched FIRST BLOOD last night in anticipation of finally getting around to watching RAMBO.

Wow, it holds up! Stallone plays mostly mute until the end, when he becomes incomprehensibly heartbreaking. My wife had never seen it, and I caught her wiping her eyes at the end.