Others say...

"Sure, you could think about what this movie might say, or you just watch it and kill time"
Well, there are tons of people writing reviews about this movie and how it really says something about the plight of those less fortunate who actually do live in Rambo's world of fear, poverty, and oppression. It really is sad, and I don't mean to belittle their suffering, because it is horrible.

That being said, this is an action movie, and it's a pretty good one at that. Don't come looking for some kind of stupid love story or a weak coming-of-age drama here. There may be some of that stuff, sure, but it is handled like everything else in this movie, with sheer over-the-top explicit violence and vehicle-mounted armaments. I think I just spoiled the plot for you.

If you are looking for a way to kill a couple hours and need something a little different, give this a shot. While the action isn't non-stop, when it's there it's pretty insane. The last 15 minutes are why surround sound and subs were invented; take everything you know about a final action sequence and then double it.

Is this a great movie, probably not, but it does what a Rambo movie should, and is light years better than the last two, IMO.

"Rambo made you think..."
...of what's going on in our society.So,you thought you was watching a serious action movie,and you ended up with a combo of Rambo and Saving Private Ryan as far as the reality of "war".And what's going with other countries and the problems they have with rebels and warlords.

"A Truly Great War Film"
It is nothing short of astounding to me how many people (exception: ) seem to just not get this movie. To me, this is a very fine war picture.

In a misguided attempt to be witty, there are those who are saying that the film's body count should be compared to the number of words spoken onscreen, to see which is higher.

One must realize that David Morrell, the original author of "First Blood", and Stallone, who co-authored the original film's screenplay, and is a co-author of the "Rambo" screenplay, both envision and present John Rambo as a man who is profoundly introverted. Stallone has, at least partially, based his writing and protrayal of this character on his son Seargeoh, who is profoundly autistic. Stallone has stayed true to this portrayal, critics be damned. John Rambo shows little of his emotional and psychological identity to the outside world, and only slightly more to those few whom he considers to be his friends. Col. Trautman saw a side to "Johnny" that few others do. Sarah, a Christian Missionary in this latest installment, is only one of a few characters in the series to be distinguished as being someone John Rambo considers to be his friend.

Also present here is implication is that this is just a bloodfest for sick voyeurs who like to watch people suffering and dying.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Although this is, indeed, a profoundly violent film, that barely escaped an NC-17 rating, one thing must be made clear: THIS FILM DOES NOT GLORIFY VIOLENCE.

A Vietnam veteran once said to me, "The only thing that will prepare you for battle is to be in one. There is nothing that can truly prepare you for what war is really like. Nothing." Having written that, I cannot now tell you that seeing films like "Saving Private Ryan" with it's ultra-high body count will put you on a level of first-hand knowledge comparable to a combat veteran. No one has ever suggested such a thing, not should they. However, many veterans of the D-Day invasion had to leave the theatre during the scenes of storming the beach at Normandy. This tells me that Spielberg got it right, and his film will stand for decades as the best possible cinematic telling of what that day was like.

Stallone is doing something similar here. This film presents war at its most horrific. This film is quite dissimilar to "Saving Private Ryan" in that the storyline in "SPR" was an archplot. In other words, an epic, something Joseph Campbell of THE MONOMYTH fame would identify as a story that transcends cultures, identities and contexts. The mission that leads to the finding of Private Ryan reveals much about the nature of war and those that fight it, and in so doing much about the human condition is brought to light. Specifically, humanity fighting tooth-and-nail for survival against a culture that has been corrupted to the point of profound evil.

This installment of Rambo is distinct from this monomyth, archplot structure. This is by no means an epic. Stallone shows us one of his most famous characters, living by himself in Thailand, making a living selling snakes and piloting a boat on the Salween river. He is approached by a group of Christian missionaries intent on bringing medical and other humanitarian supplies to the Karen people of Myanmar (referred to as Burma in the film). Rambo initially refuses, making no emotional connection with Michael, a Christian doctor imploring Rambo to assist him in his cause. The missionaries' sole female, Sarah, then attempts to convince Rambo to help. It is obvious that an immediate emotional connection is made.

What is interesting here is that the missionaries are scripted by Stallone to sound exactly as they do in real life: profoundly idealistic, convinced that they alone understand how to change the world better than anybody else ever could, and absolutely unwilling to listen to reason (these aren't presented as negative traits per se, but rather as their mentality, for better or for worse). Stallone's Rambo is usually a man of few words, but he uses his economy of dialog to make his points quite clear. He has no interest in debate. He asks Michael, who has declared that he means to change things in Burma, if he's planning on bringing any weapons.

"Of course not," Michael responds, clearly contemptuous, not of Rambo, but of the idea of taking weapons to try to stop Burma's endless violence.

"Then you ain't changin' nothin'", is Rambo's response, spoken in an overtone of absolute finality, and with an undertone of the despair John Rambo's experience has bequealthed upon him, that further debate is clearly pointless. (In case you missed it, Stallone-hating reviewers, Sly is doing something called "acting". You wouldn't understand.)

A few scenes later, Sarah manages to convince Rambo to help the missionaries. Although payment is offered, Rambo refuses it. Rambo and the missionaries begin their journey up the Salween river. When Sarah begins to speak with Rambo during the boat ride, she asks his name, to which he replies, "John".

Are you getting me, dear reader? It isn't, "I'M RAMBO, THE MOST POWERFUL WARRIOR OF ALL TIME, HELPING YOU PUNY WEAKLING DO-GOODERS TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM ..." and yada-yada-yada. It's clear from Rambo's demeanor that he is not terribly impressed with himself. A first name introduction suffices just fine, as far as he's concerned. His violent resume? He'd just as soon not speak of it at all, answering Sarah's questions about his past with the shortest answers possible. "John", as he introduces himself, is profoundly divested of pride. Sarah's a committed Christian missionary, long in the habit of putting her money where her mouth is, and living selflessly according to her belief in aiding the oppressed in any way she can. John's lack of pride, in inextricable tandem with his very powerful presense, well be at least part what draws her to her friendship with him.

You'll recall, dear reader, if you watched "Rambo III", that Rambo refuses to join Col. Trautman in his mission to Afghanistan with the words, "My war is over." As Stallone has taken over the writing of this story from it's initial novelist creator, David Morrell, Rambo's inner conflict has become that he is supremely gifted in the art of waging war, but wants nothing more than to cease fighting and killing.

This is highlighted in this new installment of "Rambo" during a dream sequence in which Rambo is hearing the voice of Col. Trautman, these words from the final scenes of "First Blood" and also "Rambo III" haunting
John Rambo as he sleeps. Trautman accuses Rambo of tearing away at himself, resisting what he is. Rambo is, in Trautman's view, a one-of-a-kind warrior, capable of victory against overwhelming odds. This is John Rambo's gift.

John Rambo is then awakened from this dream by another missionary, who comes to tell him that Sarah, Michael and the other missionaries are missing. We in the audience already know this, as we've just witnessed the horrific assault on the village the missionaries had reached and were working to help.

This sequence is brilliantly shot by director Stallone, presenting a maelstorm of violence and atrocity that explodes on screen, each image presented telling a story in itself. This attack occurs during a moment of profound tenderness. Stallone shows us humanities' saving grace in his depictions of the doctor's ministering to the villagers both medically and spiritually. This culminates with Sarah moving towards a child, embracing him and comforting him. We see that this is the most natural expression of her identity. This is who she is. This child is someone she has never met before, is not related to, and is someone to whom most people would say she owes nothing. But there she is, putting herself in extreme danger of unimaginable torture and certain death simply because of her beliefs. You'll have to see this moment to truly understand it, but rest assured, you will see both the best and the worst of what it is to be human in these scenes that are onscreen for only a few moments. The attack quickly overwhelms the village. Sarah and her friends are taken prisoner.

From here, the pace of the film picks up quite a bit. John Rambo prepares himself for battle, forging a new blade at his anvil, his internal dialog a monologue of coming to terms with what he is, and what he is meant to do.

For now, John Rambo is not fighting a war his commanders sent him to fight, nor is he fighting the country that didn't want him back. He is not fighting to free POW's from that war, in an effort to right the wrongs of America's involvement in Vietnam. He's not fighting to free his mentor and teacher Col. Trautman, as doing so is his duty, dictated by the inescapable bonds of the warrior brotherhood. He is, possibly for the first time in his life, committing to an act of war based upon his own beliefs, period. It is clear an emotional bond was formed with Sarah. John Rambo cannot leave her to the atrocities of her captors.

Don't try to attack that one either, Stallone-bashers; No, the scenes in which John Rambo and Sarah become friends were not too brief. Some people are true friends in a few moments, others would not become true friends if forced to spend a lifetime together. The depth of the emotional connection between John and Sarah is quite clear to me. If it isn't to you, that says more about you than it does about this film. Deal with it.

The film continues, with John Rambo guiding a group of mercenaries up the Salween River, staying out of their soldier's banter, and refusing to take the bait of the strongest of the mercenaries, who tries to intimidate John. We see from Stallone's enactment of his character that John Rambo is not at all intimidated, but will not engage in a fight with this man. John's abilities are quite intact, but his lack of pride in what he is persuades him that it's not worth showing this mercerary what he can do. The time for that, as we soon see, comes later.

To see what happens from here, go see the film. It's is a story about a man who makes a decision about who and what he is. He comes to realize that he is a warrior. He cannot escape this identity. He admits to himself that he has killed in the past, not for a cause but for the enjoyment of using this gift of waging war. Yet now, he commits himself to a fight for his own reason: his bond with Sarah. This film is about choosing to fight, not to defend one's pride against the taunts of a mercenary, or for a political cause, or for a warrior brotherhood, but for something that exists deep within oneself. At this point in John Rambo's life, this is all the really matters. It is about fighting to defend and protect that which we hold dear. It is about what Sarah was trying to communicate to John in the beginning of the film; it is about laying down your life for your friends, for those you care for.

There is no great and complex plot in this film, no series of plot-twisting rising actions, each event in the storyline there to compel deep thought about our history as a nation, and about human history. No, this film drops us in to a particular point in John Rambo's life in which we witness him make a decision about his identity, and then act upon that decision in such a way that once committed, he can be true to his identity and very likely lose his life, or, he can deny who he is, and what he truly believes in, and so live a life that matters nothing to anyone, least of all to himself.

This is a film about John Rambo choosing, for the first time, to fight for what he himself believes in. It is a film that forces the audience to see war for the nightmare that it is, not a spectacle to entertain the masses by appealing to the lowest common denominator. This is a film about one man who makes a choice about what his gift is for, and in so doing is finally, at the end of his saga, true to what he really is: One who is supremely gifted at sheperding the weak through the valley of the shadow of death.

I recommend this film without reservation. This is one of the best war films ever made.

"Good Bad Movie"
Alright, we all know Burma is run by a syndicate of totalitarian jerks, bent on crushing all dissent and lining their own pockets. Stallone takes this view and goes just a tiny bit overboard. While this movie can't honestly be accused of racism, Stallone's depiction of a monolithic and relentlessly sadistic Burmese military does provide a hilarious caricature. But that is part of this movie's shambling appeal. Stallone is content to construct a faceless gang of nefarious automatons as an enemy, for the sole purpose of finding new and creative ways to slaughter them. In terms of stylized violence and action sequences, Rambo is probably the best film of the year. Sure, the dialogue is cheesy, the characters are wooden, the plot is laughable and half the film makes no sense, but trust me, you will never see orgies of gratuitous violence constructed with such care and affection as they are in this film.

When Stallone says, before using his trusty bow to fire an arrow through the skull of some Burmese fascist: "Live for nothing, or die for something.", you might think to yourself: are those really my only two options? Hasn't Rambo just managed to contradict himself 3 or 4 times in one sentence? And finally: if you can only live for nothing, how is it possible to die for something? Listen, Rambo's specialty is killing, not philosophy. If you're adept at shrugging off pesky discrepancies of logic, or even, god forbid, enjoying them, it's highly likely you'll be able to appreciate this film for what it is: a classic good bad movie.

"Rambo continues"
Lots of action, thought it was cool that Stallone chose Burma as his action site to bring awareness to the atrocities that they have suffered and that present day still exists.