The Vet Puts Down Again (Rambo (DVD))

Member Name: utero

Product:	Rambo (DVD)
Date:	04/07/08 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge Bodycount, Doesn't shy away from violence, tightly edited

Disadvantages: Not really involving on a story level

Back in the early part of this century, Sly Stallone's career was on a slide so steep there looked to be no way back. D-Tox went straight to video (although it wasn't terrible), Get Carter was ignored, Driven came and went with Speed while his nice turn in card drama Shade was pretty much ignored.

But like a phoenix from the flames, Stallone revisited his most recognized character of Rocky and the result felt like putting on some toasty slippers after a relaxing bath on a winter's day. So whilst on a winning streak, he's gone back to his second most popular character Rambo.

Now I have to confess I've not actually seen a Rambo movie before but maybe it's good to go in fresh and having nothing to compare this to.

John Rambo is a casualty of the Vietnam war, a man with nothing left who has taken refuge in the jungles of Thailand, living a simple life on a boat, catching snakes for the local entertainment attraction. He's approached by some aid workers who need to travel up river into Burma, a country ravaged by civil war and not welcoming to outsiders. After apprehension, Rambo decides to take the group up river. Of course things don't follow smoothly and the group end up being captured by the Burma military. Rambo joins forces with a group of mercenaries on a rescue mission that ends up in mass carnage Rambo style.

The thing about Rambo is that it's completely unapologetic with its levels of violence from the outset. The film was made independently, had a studio been on from the outset then I've no doubt they would have had apprehensions about the bloodshed depicted.

But on the other hand that's what makes this enjoyable. Since the eighties we've been given films that have become diluted and toned down to conform to censors and not offend. Rambo goes back to its 80's roots and delivers blood, guts and octane. The body count must seep into 200+ by the time the credits roll after 80-minutes. I was at ease with the whole thing because the villains of this film completely deserve what's coming to them. They simply are complete bastards devoid of any humanity and once Rambo takes charge of a large amount of ammo, you celebrate every raging bullet that flies through the air, blowing people in half, taking off limbs and leaving bad guys without a had on their shoulders.

Stallone plays the title character quite well, luckily this time around he realizes that seeing a topless man, 60 years of age would look a little ridiculous so he keeps his shirt on and simply delivers his performance. Some of the mercenaries are a bit stereotypical but overall there aren't many over the top performances.

The film, also directed by Stallone has a nice gritty look to it and maintains a lot of energy without resorting to the MTV style of editing that has dragged down the genre in recent times.

Overall Rambo will not change anyone's life, it will no appeal to everyone and some will think it completely devoid of any merit. But hey I enjoyed it, because it did exactly what it said on the tin and delivered on it's '18' certificate.

- The DVD -

The 2.35 widescreen transfer is very solid, delivering a gritty sharp contrast throughout. The Dolby Digital soundtrack is one of those that DVD was made for, it's aggressive in nature with all sorts of bullet ballet whirling around the room.

- Extras -

A series of featurettes cover the production of the film, mostly made of interviews and behind the scenes footage. I found they covered all the bases well and went above the usual promotional fare with some good insight into how the film came about, the music, editing and reaction to the film.

A final featurette gives some grounding to the violence in the film by highlighting the ongoing troubles in Burma where a lot of horrific acts still occur. If anything Rambo made me more aware of what was happening, although in a sensationalist way.

The deleted scenes section doesn't feature a lot of revealing subplots, they're pretty much extensions of what's already in the film.

There's also an audio commentary with Stallone that proves to be a good listen as he talks about the plight of Burma, using the film to highlight them and also talking about getting the film made, the perils of shooting in Thailand and criticism of his previous work.

- Finally -

Rambo is a decent, tightly plotted simple action film that delivers a bloody mess of bodies and a high level of violence throughout. It's definitely a marmite film, you'll either like it or loathe it.

Summary: Sly flexs the muscles and totes the guns once more