Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Sylvester Stallone
Cast :
Sylvester Stallone ………. John Rambo
Julie Benz ………. Sarah
Matthew Marsden ………. School Boy
Graham McTavish ………. Lewis
Reynaldo Gallegos ………. Diaz
Jake La Botz ………. Reese
Tim Kang ………. En-Joo
Maung Maung Khin ………. Tint
Paul Schulze ………. Michael Burnett
Major action stars are always synonymous with the major characters they play for the most part; becoming an action hero usually happens in an iconic character that someone is remembered for. Arnold is always the Terminator, Bruce Willis will forever be John McClane, Chow Yun Fat is remembered for the infinite variations of Tequila, Tony Jaa is always Ong Bak, et al. For some, like Arnold and Willis, iconic characters are ones to come back to when the time is right. For others, like Sylvester Stallone, they’re the ones that keep them gainfully employed. Stallone’s career has been modeled around a series of flops and moderately grossing action flicks in between Rocky and Rambo movies, as Rocky Balboa and John Rambo have been Stallone’s singular calling card for nearly three decades. After Stallone resurrected Balboa one more time for Rocky Balboa, giving the character the proper farewell he sorely deserved, Stallone is back as John Rambo in Rambo.
Last time we saw the tortured Vietnam veteran he had successfully killed Communists with the Muhjadeen in Afghanistan in what had been one of the most expensive movies ever made to that point. This time around John Rambo is still in seclusion, this time around Burma. When a group of Christian missionaries disappears into the war torn country, after having been lead there by the former Special Forces member earlier, Rambo is hired by their Reverend to go up river with a group of mercenaries to free them. What follows is an action piece that does to John Rambo what Rocky Balboa did for the franchise: give it a graceful exit.
Stallone obviously mustn’t have been satisfied with the ending of the third film in the Rambo franchise because this is the sort of finale Rambo needed. It’s a terrific way to end the series, as Rambo finally completes the character arc he started in the first film. He’s no longer running from what he is and finishes the film rediscovering the guy he once was. Stallone the director knows exactly where to go with the character and the franchise, plodding one last character arc for Rambo. He has a top notch story to tell and Stallone shows that being behind the camera may be perhaps the best thing for him in his career right now; he definitely has grasped the finer art of story-telling in a much stronger manner than many of his contemporaries.
The film doesn’t scrimp on the action as well. Building up to a blood-soaked finale, the film doesn’t overindulge in action sequences. Stallone has a pace he’s sticking with and when the pace tends to slow up he puts in an action sequence to kick start the film. While the slow portions of the film drag it down a bit, the action makes up for it spectacularly. There is no CGI dictating the action, just brutal sequences with some rather intense violence. Limbs get severed, heads explode and the horrible effects of weaponry are all around. This film is rated R and is a strong R at that; it doesn’t go overboard like a horror film but doesn’t shy away from showing the effects of a 50 millimeter machine gun on human flesh.
Stallone is apt for the role of Rambo as well. While not possessing the youthful vigor of earlier times, this Rambo is a character he can do in his sleep. Rambo is a man haunted by his dreams, a killing machine that will make no qualms with taking a life, and just wants to be left alone from it all. Stallone has a charm as John Rambo that only an actor truly comfortable in a role can have; unlike Rocky, who uses his words, Rambo uses his gestures and glances.
Rambo has one calling card, one reason for existing, and that lies in its action sequences. Culminating in a magnificent end piece to cap off the proceedings, Stallone slowly builds up the action in a deliberate manner. The film’s final action scene is its best and for a reason; Stallone is a veteran of action movies on both sides of the camera as well as a writer. He knows what to do, when, and why to maximize its effect. Rambo is the care of a technician who knows his craft inside and out.
Some have called Rambo Stallone’s last hurrah, while others have said it’s the tale of an old has-been trying to recapture some glory. It is a send-off for a character whose character arc needed it.
FINAL RATING (ON A SCALE OF 1-5 BUCKETS):
