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| Available at Amazon.com |
No one likes to see their heroes get old and human. Watching professional athletes hang on for too long or make ill-advised comebacks hurts their die-hard fans, because we don’t want to acknowledge that the glory days are behind us. It’s an acknowledgment that we’re old, and that our heroes do indeed change and become frail like us. It’s a reminder about the fleeting nature of life itself.
It’s that same feeling that made every Chicago Bulls fan cringe to see Michael Jordan as a good shooting guard on a bad Washington Wizards team after he was the greatest basketball player of his generation. It’s the same feeling you felt when Muhammad Ali hung around for too many fights after he was beyond his best years as a boxing legend. Actors tend to overstay their welcome as well; John Wayne clutched his hairpiece in his 70s as he still tried to be the icon of manliness.
Seeing Sylvester Stallone grab an over-sized knife as the killing machine John Rambo seems like a bad idea to start with, considering his peak as an action star was well over a decade ago, but credit the man with one thing above all: his abilities behind the camera are strong enough to bring about the story he needs to tell about the character.
Last time we saw the tortured Vietnam veteran he had successfully killed Communists with the Mujahedeen 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, in 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 for John Rambo what Rocky Balboa did for Stallone’s other iconic character: establish him for a new generation.
The film itself is very different from any action film of the last 10 years if only in how Stallone (who wrote the film as well as directs it) strips down the story to its bare minimum. The Burmese soldiers are evil, vile human beings who have an urgent visit with the almighty lined up.
It’s Rambo’s job to arrange the meeting in spectacular fashion.
At less than 90 minutes, Stallone has taken out the excesses of the previous films in the franchise and boiled down the character to his essence. This is what Stallone seeks to explore as Rambo completes the character arc that began with First Blood. Rambo is always seen running away from everything in the previous films. Rambo ends as he’s going towards something for a change; the film is a meditation on the character and an acceptance of what he is at the core.
It also allows the film focus on a basic story of rescue without any subplots that are distracting. With a simple setup, the film is geared towards an insane level of violence and mayhem that is fascinating to behold. There are more deaths on screen in this film than in the rest of the franchise combined and they aren’t pretty.
It’s also interesting how Stallone designs the film. This is a magnificently shot and edited film, as Stallone’s style behind the camera is as strong as anyone working in Hollywood today. As a storyteller he’s impressive in an unexpected way; it’s odd to think of one of the biggest action stars of his time to have talent in other areas besides the ability to fire off a good one liner. If he devoted himself purely to directing, he’d be in the upper tier of directors in terms of talent relatively quickly.
In the last several years, there have been several films designed purely for the action aficionado. Rambo joins Crank, Shoot ‘em Up and 300 (amongst others) reminds us that good action films are still alive and well.
The audio/visual portion of the DVD is one of the strongest in recent memory. With a Dolby Digital sound and a widescreen presentation, this DVD will push the limits of any system. The sound takes over the system, separated perfectly, and making what’s an intense film moreso by virtue of being so well done. The video keeps up with the audio, turning a great shot film into a seeming work of art to watch. It’s easy to get lost watching the film because of how crisp it comes through.
The DVD’s second disc contains a Digital Copy of the film one can place on a personal computer.
There are seven Featurettes included on the DVD Set. Able to be viewed separately, or as one extended feature, the featurettes focus on the entire aspect of the film from its conception to its attempt at some sort of social commentary about the atrocities in Burma. There’s also a piece about the situation that has developed in Burma that sheds some light on the situation. Completely from the perspective of those opposed to it, for those keeping track, it makes for a fascinating (if depressing) feature.
Deleted Scenes are included, and while they have the same level of audio/visual finish the film itself has, they don’t add anything back into the film.
The film’s Theatrical Trailer is included as well as trailers for Lionsgate property Hamburger Hill, and the DVDs of the first three Rambo films.
Rambo is proof that if Sylvester Stallone wants to be in the same exact position that Clint Eastwood is in (an icon from long ago who regained relevance by becoming a top notch director) then it’s his for the taking. Harry Knowles from Ain’t it Cool News sums up this film perfectly:
“Jesus will weep – and you will cheer.”
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Lionsgate presents Rambo. Directed by Sylvester Stallone. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Matthew Marsden, Julie Benz. Written by Sylvester Stallone and Art Monterastelli. Running time: 93 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: May 27, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
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