Movie Review: Rambo (2008)

Hey all, my name is Mike but my handle around these parts will be Phntmbanana. I got a chance to take a look at Rambo the new Stallone flick, and it was certainly a view to behold. It pushed the boundaries of violence in movies to a point I have never seen before, and I thought of this as a very big plus. The rest of the movie however, was dull, bleak and uninteresting. In the very short 1 hour and 33 min run time only about 20-25 minutes were enjoyable.

To say the least, this movie is definitely catering towards a certain audience which I happen to be a part of. If you want to see things being blown up and extreme violence look no further because it delivers and then some. The action in Rambo was like nothing I have ever seen before and I was smiling throughout the action sequences because they were taut, intense and exhilarating. There were parts of this movie that almost made the whole hunk of junk worth it and to say the least Stallone kicks as much ass as ever. The direction in the movie was really great and I loved how it was shot and the sound effects were well done as well. Sadly that is all I really liked about this movie and like I said previously, this took up a very small portion of the running time.

The bad with this movie was first and foremost the story. It just felt tired and like I had seen the same thing before a million times. The old “boatman” knows the river better than anyone else so he is asked to bring the happy little volunteers – of which Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze) and Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) are a part of – to the nethermost regions of Burma to change the world with bibles and care packages. During the trip John Rambo (Stallone) gives his bleak outlook on how nothing will ever change but eventually changes his mind because of the girl in the group. He brings them up the river to their destination and then leaves. But when the village is destroyed and the missionaries are captured, he comes back with a rag tag group of mercenaries who all have their own bad ass little stories, but it just ends up being a group of tough guy cliches.

I really enjoyed Stallone in this movie and that seems to be a common theme. Most of the time if he is doing something cool then Rambo is great but when he leaves the screen the movie suffers. I really dislike Julie Benz who plays the female lead in this movie, just like I dislike her in the show Dexter. She just feels tacked on and annoying along with the other volunteers who seem like really fake characters. The movie moves at the speed of molasses for about half the movie with a plot that is obvious and dull. I liked how he tried to have a message here, with the key word being tried. I felt like it was a rehash of Blood Diamond, a film I really enjoyed, that worked a lot better.

All in all if you are looking for an adrenaline rush then you may want to show up for this one about 45 minutes late as you will get your money’s worth in the last half. I was amazed at how many kids I saw at this theater (at least 6 or 7) so be warned – this is not for them or for those with a weak stomach. I would like to say the last half makes up for the first and in some ways it does, but ultimately the product just ends up being a mediocre film with some action sequences that you would have to see to believe.