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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Not the informative piece others may try to convince you it is, 26 February 2008 Author: RSKTwentyOne from UK
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Am amazed by the "yee ha" themes which are constantly coming across in the reviews/comments on this film. To be frank it's gun (and knife, and mine, and bow and arrow, and flamethrower....) porn all the way. Now that's fine but attempting to dress it up as deep and meaningful is hugely disingenuous. In my opinion the whole Burma message and the massive over inflating of just how mean and nasty the villains really are combine solely to give some sort of justification for the incessant violence.This is an action flick plain and simple with SFX taken to a new level of realism over a prolonged period. Look at the stats on IMDb as to which demographics are giving the biggest thumbs up - male under 18 and male 18-29 - says it all really. To me it's not hugely different from the Hostel type films which co-incidentally enjoy the same type of reviews from the very same demographics on this and other sites.It's a tough watch but a good action movie if that's your bag. It is not a deep and meaningful film in any way shape or form despite what you may read on here. If you want a war and/or genocide based film with genuine meaning and poignancy go and watch The Killing Fields, Hotel Rwanda, Welcome To Sarajevo, Black Hawk Down or even Private Ryan. If you want good old fashion "kick-ass" guns, explosions and blood alongside Sly reprising the Rambo of 2&3 rather than First Blood then this is your film, just don't dress it up as a movie with a message. Stallone could have made a much more effective film about the plight of Burma had he wished to it's just that it wouldn't have fitted with the Rambo franchise. Sly is widely quoted as saying he was struggling with whether to make a documentary or a Rambo movie. Looks like the studio helped him overcome that struggle and judging by the comments on here it was financially at least the right thing to do.
10 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Live for Nothing or Die for Something, 10 March 2008 Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In Thailand, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is living peacefully capturing snakes and transporting people and cargo in an old boat. When a group of Christian missionaries asks to be transported to the war zone in Burma to help the locals, the reluctant Rambo only accepts when Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) presents her point of view about their humanitarian mission. Rambo leaves the group in the requested location, but the village where they are working is attacked by the sadistic army of Major Pa Tee Tint (Maung Maung Khin), the locals are slaughtered and the missionaries are abducted. Later a member of their church meets Rambo and asks him to transport a group of mercenaries hired to rescue the missionaries."Rambo 4" is a great action movie, if not the best of the franchise, at least in the same level of "First Blood". The story is simple; actually there are many other movies with a group of mercenaries assigned to rescue prisoners in a jungle crowded of enemies. However, there is a non-stop action, with violent scenes, lots of gore, shootings and explosions, great special effects and an extremely dangerous hero that lives for nothing and decides to risk his life and if necessary die for something. Professional critics will certainly hate this movie, I have seen statistics in Internet about the violence in the story, but I really did like it. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Rambo 4"
15 out of 25 people found the following review useful: Returns to the excellence of the original..., 25 January 2008 Author: TC Candler from Minneapolis, USA
Do you want to know how good "Rambo" is? Well, if it had been released in 2007, I would have had it ranked just outside my Top 10. It is somewhat embarrassing to admit that -- after all, the franchise had become a joke after the 1985 and 1988 sequels. Those two efforts had completely undermined and overshadowed the brilliance of the original, "First Blood".This latest effort from actor / writer / director, Sylvester Stallone, is a gut-twisting, soul-pounding action adventure that will have the squeamish running for the aisles. It is so intensely violent that it boggles the mind how Stallone managed to avoid an NC17 or an X. Then again, with the MPAA's hypocrisy never in doubt, I am not that shocked.Years after our last encounter with the lonesome warrior, we find him living as peaceful a life as possible on the banks of a Burmese river. John Rambo has severed all remaining ties with the outside world, choosing to survive with his knife, his arrows and his boat. That existence is turned upside-down when a peace group consisting of doctors and missionaries ask for his assistance in getting up river, deep the heart of a genocidal Burma.Rambo's initial reaction is to shun the group, telling them to "Go home... nothing can be done here." His defiance lasts only until Sarah (Julie Benz), a fair-headed beauty, guilt-trips him into doing something more with his life. She says, "When you're trying to save a life, you're not wasting yours." I suppose that if there is a theme underlying all the extreme violence and carnage of this story, it is this -- "that it is better to die fighting for something, than to live fighting for nothing." When the peace mission goes horribly wrong and a village is massacred, "Rambo" and a team of mercenaries are called upon to go in and rescue Sarah and her colleagues. What ensues is an astonishing sequence of brutality, the likes of which has never really been seen in a mainstream release. I am pretty good at holding my lunch under any circumstances, but "Rambo" pushed my boundaries to the limit. There are some scenes which obliterate the senses in every way. If you are looking for a visceral cinematic experience, make sure to see this film on a massive screen with a cranked-up sound system. The 19-inch Sanyo will not do this film justice.I loved every single second of this bloody, disgusting barrage. The scenes were directed superbly, keeping the audience fully aware of the unfolding events without any of the typical confusion seen in most action flicks. The visuals and the sounds combine to literally move you in your theater seat. "Rambo" places you in right next to the explosions... right next to the relentlessly rhythmical bass-line of gunfire. There are no cut-aways in this movie.With all that praise heaped on the action scenes, it might be easy to overlook the unexpected. The acting, the dialogue, the music, the cinematography -- each and every aspect of the film is far better than you would typically suspect from this franchise.Stallone and Benz are wonderful in what amounts to an unspoken attraction between two very different people. Their scenes together are among the strongest moments in the movie. Stallone manages to do here what he managed with "Rocky Balboa" -- he returns to the roots of the character, creating two finales that rival the originals in both franchises. They are both so supremely well done that one can easily forgive the directions they took during the mid to late 1980's.Listen... I went in to this film expecting very little. I hoped for some action, some brooding Vietnam resentment, and some of that familiar Rambo theme music. I got everything I asked for and a whole lot more. Without giving anything away, there is a moment, late in the film, when Rambo stands atop a hill, staring down at Sarah -- That moment got to me the way I never expected possible from this character. It is a very lonely moment. I felt for the guy. But I wasn't crying... that was just popcorn seasoning that got in my eye. I swear! TC Candler IndependentCritics.com
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Naked idealism meets unrelenting brutality, 25 August 2008 Author: fredman5555 from United States
Action: 10 / 10 on action! It takes a few moments to develop, but then the action kicks off, and when it does, it just builds and builds until the climax. There's plenty of blood and gore as Rambo, sporting his trademark 50 caliber, blazes away. In fact, it's one of the few movies to shows how grizzly such an attack would be.Plot: 9/10. Overall, I felt that "Rambo" did an excellent job of portraying a world where the typical idealistic foreigners meet the harsh realism of a barbarian world. Many of us in the comfort of our homes feel like we want to "get in and do something" about the atrocities we hear of in the news so off we go with our ivory tower attitudes having little idea of the truth and reality behind man's inhumanity to man. Rambo (the ex-soldier) is portrayed as a perfectly wisened and jaded killing machine who tells the philanthropic party what they don't want to hear -- that they're in way over their heads fighting a fight they cannot win because their approach is so dramatically different as to be not even on the same plane.Surprises: 4 / 10 here. There are no surprises. You could write this one yourself, but it really doesn't matter. It's still enjoyable!Duration: 7 / 10. This is a surprisingly short movie as just shy of an hour and a half. I found myself wanting a little more by the time it finished. I think we tend to develop this internal chronometer of how long a decent movie should go, and this one only went about 3/4 of the way.Character development: 5/10. We don't learn much from character interactions. Rambo, reluctant as he is early on, seems to acquiesce in what seems to be a moment's time. There are also the typical showdowns between protagonists, antagonists, and so on, but these are quickly and incompletely developed.Synopsis: overall, I really enjoyed the movie. Yes, it has its shortcomings, but I believe its point is important enough for people to see, and the action certainly doesn't disappoint. I give it an 8/10! Enjoy!
15 out of 26 people found the following review useful: A bloody good time!, 25 January 2008 Author: the_wylde_child69 from United States
I am a fan of 80s action movies! In the 80s we saw The Terminator, the rise of Rambo, RoboCop, Rocky's many sequels, Indiana Jones, the conclusion to Star Wars, etc. With all that said, I love mindless action, that is my biased. This movie took the idea of body counting and threw it out the window (it is really hard to keep track in this movie). When I found out about this movie I could not help to get excited. It is all out action! With out giving away any of the movie I will say that it is probably the goriest movie I have seen in recent memory. The violence level is extreme, and the blood flows by the gallons, but this time Rambo is not the only one shedding blood.If you like action movies I would recommend seeing this movie. On the flip side if you get queezy, or are not a fan of the action genre DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE.
31 out of 58 people found the following review useful: Foolish massacre and people trashing, 11 July 2008 Author: Brittany 1425
No script, no directing, no content, no message, no acting. Guts, limbs in trees, intestines made into slings, beheadings, dismemberments, demolition-heavy-machine-gun swiping over scores of bad soldiers, gore geysers as if Osama bombed a ketchup bottling plant. ...Oh, yeah. Some text too. About 15 mins. into the movie, Sly turns to the camera, and in extreme close-up mumbles something really deep - some pensées about "what is life" and "what is death", and "this world is the way it is". I'm sorry i didn't quite made it out, but all the audience was laughing much too noisily - damn rude people! :( For butchers in vacation, THIS is the movie. For those who enjoy some honest-to-God action cinema, pick better... let's see... yeah. "Cloverfield". That on IS one piece of a MOVIE!
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Violent, disturbing, insane, hardcore, and just plain cold. As it should be., 1 October 2008 Author: Darwinskid from United States
I got into Rambo mostly through my grandmother who was a huge action movie fanatic. She had all the movies and maybe some of the cartoons. When I heard about there being a new Rambo movie I was curious if Stallone still had it, but after seeing Rocky Balboa I was proved wrong about him, he could still deliver the punch.I saw this on a Sunday, right after Cloverfeild, the theater wasn't big, it was rather small, but it was filled of action freaks. Through out the entire run of the movie I couldn't help but think "old school." It feels like an 80's action movie, simple plot and it stretches itself much more than it probably should be. Plus, it's not SFX layered like a lot these days either.The Acton scenes are very intense and disturbing, close to the level of intensity seen in such war dramas like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, and Black Hawk Down. It has no limitations either. Or even tries to be watered down.But keep in mind that just because this is an action movie and you won't most likely listen to the character tell their life stories, doesn't mean there isn't any development. Remember, Action is a tool to increase a characters characteristics and showcase their personalities. In short, visual information is used here mostly. And there is nothing wrong with that, sometimes you got to appreciated a different't side of storytelling. Rambo delivers a balanced amount of both, and at the same time has balanced dirty humor to spare. Just like the good old days.I can't wait to make enough to get this on Blu-ray.Highly recommended, especially if you love the first three.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Yes yes yes!, 21 June 2008 Author: atlasredux from Norway
Being "lucky" on the relativity of the conflict in Burma, with the attention due to the disaster in the area, the movie gives an important glimpse into how the situation really is. And it sure does it, Rambo style. Hard, brutal, to the point, but yet with undertones and short shocking and hard-to-fathom situations. Shortly described, as with former Rambo's, the movie is short and up-your-face. This one just takes realism to a whole new level when it comes to violence. Stallone simply tells us : this is war. War is some !"#%! up !"#¤. The storyline are more believable this time around as well, despite the usual Rambo-exaggerations and stereotypical mercenaries. The movie is gruesome in terms of violence, and I am glad it was. It was needed for us to accept Rambo. It was needed to show the dark side of what Rambo is and what lengths he is willing and able to go to. Thanks Stallone, for giving us back Rambo as well. You sure had to work to beat Rocky's comeback, and my, did you do well. Thanks for all the great entertainment so far.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Very entertaining and much better than I expected, 21 February 2008 Author: collipal-1 from Argentina
I was never a fan of the first Rambo movie (First Blood) ,but still,I think it's a good film.Then,the other movies about Rambo were pathetic and the character became on a parody of himself.Now,director and actor Sylvester Stallone resurrects Rambo after twenty years.I honestly did not have big expectations for this movie but the final result really surprised me.The movie is not excellent but it's very entertaining and intense.One of the fails I found on this movie is that the combination of social message with violence is a little bit unstable.The other fails are minor.But,still with that,Rambo enormously entertained me and it did not bore me even one second.Stallone does not show glamorized violence.He shows very realistic and intense violence and I really appreciated that.My expectations for Rambo were very low and the film totally surpassed them.Yes,the movie has fails but it brought me a very entertaining and intense time.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: EXCELLENT - What action films used to be like. *May contain small spoilers*, 3 February 2008 Author: dreggy from United Kingdom
I have used IMDb for a while now without registering. I saw this film last night and felt compelled to right a review of it because this is what action film used to be like. I knew I would like this film because I loved the other Rambo movies but this is totally different. Its grittier and a lot more violent. Also the used of CGI is kept to a bare minimum. Also I cant believe Sly is running around the jungle at his age. He looks half his age and I would absolutely love it if he made Rambo 5 but this is probably unlikely. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant. I Loved it. As another IMDb user said "This movie reeks of awesomeness!!! Well directed too. and for once the story line is slightly believable. Sly, we salute you!
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