Category: Rambo movies

  • Rambo: Last Blood (2019, Adrian Grunberg)

    Stupid even for a RAMBO movie final entry in the series as star (and co-writer) Sylvester Stallone doesn’t want to action hero in his seventies. Story involves Stallone’s surrogate daughter Yvette Monreal getting into trouble in Mexico, but it’s all just setup for Stallone to get to Rambo-out. No headbands or grunting though, unfortunately. But…

  • Rambo (2008, Sylvester Stallone), the director’s cut

    I just went back and reread my response to the theatrical release of Rambo. I haven’t seen it since the theater and, while I could pick out some added scenes (Stallone’s director’s cut, titled John Rambo, runs about ten minutes longer), I couldn’t remember if my problems with the director’s cut are the same as…

  • First Blood (1982, Ted Kotcheff)

    Maybe if it weren’t for the Stephen J. Cannell television techniques (cars flying through the air or exploding on impact), the asinine, comedic banter between the deputies, some poor writing and Richard Crenna, First Blood might have been okay. Ted Kotcheff isn’t a good director though, so maybe not. Kotcheff shoots exteriors well (the stuff…

  • Rambo III (1988, Peter MacDonald)

    According to IMDb, Rambo III was the most expensive movie ever made at the time of its release. It shows. Enormous sets, lots of vehicles–Rambo versus a helicopter, Rambo versus a tank, Rambo in a tank versus a helicopter. For all the money, it ought to look fantastic–except director Peter MacDonald, a camera operator and…

  • Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985, George P. Cosmatos)

    Rambo‘s pretty awful. It’s not terrible–not too terrible to watch anyway (at least once, though New York Times critic A.O. Scott should probably be fired for supporting it to any degree). The main technical fault lies with George P. Cosmatos, who somehow managed to stock the crew with capable people (editor Mark Goldblatt is no…

  • Rambo (2008, Sylvester Stallone)

    First, I need to get the theater-going experience out of the way. I do not remember the last time I’ve been in a theater filled with stupider people. They did not shower for the most part. Their girlfriends had to explain the complicated parts to them. I can only imagine what seeing Rambo III would…