Rambo

Sylvester Stallone Actor , Julie Benz Actor , Paul Schulze Actor , Matthew Marsden Actor , Graham McTavish Actor

MPAA Rating: R
Contains:Graphic Violence,Rape & Sexual Abuse,Profanity,Gore

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Rambo

Theatrical Release Date: 2008 01 25 (USA)

UPC: 031398232957

Studio: Lionsgate

MPAA Rating: R Contains:[Graphic Violence, Rape & Sexual Abuse, Profanity, Gore]

Summary: When a group of missionary aid workers in Myanmar disappear into the vast green inferno, vigilante Vietnam War veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) leaves his job as a Salween River boatman behind to accompany a group of mercenaries on a daring rescue mission. It's been 20 years since Rambo helped mujahedeen rebels fend off Soviet invaders in Afghanistan, and these days the former soldier lives a simple life in northern Thailand. Meanwhile, the world's longest-running civil war rages into its 60th year on the nearby Thai-Burma border. One day, human rights missionaries Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) and Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze) show up asking Rambo to guide them up the Salween so they can get some much-needed food and medical supplies to the desperate Karen tribe. According to Sarah and Michael, the Burmese military has planted land mines all along the roads leading into the tribe's village, making it virtually impossible to reach the tribe via land. Two weeks after Rambo drops the group off in dangerous territory, pastor Arthur Marsh (Ken Howard) arrives with a chilling message: the aid workers never returned from their mission into the jungle, and the embassies refuse to help Marsh and his fellow missionaries find their missing friends. Now, despite the fact that Rambo has long since sworn off all forms of violence, the knowledge that innocent missionaries are being used as pawns in a brutal war leaves him with no other choice than to venture behind enemy lines on his most dangerous mission to date. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Action

Awards: Film Presented – Venice International Film Festival

Features: cc
Theatrical trailer

Rambo

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/27/2008

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 91 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Rambo
1. Execution-Style [:00]
2. Hunting Dinner [:00]
3. Dangerous Work [:00]
4. Night Raid [:00]
5. Go Home [:00]
6. Heads Down [:00]
7. Good Luck [3:46]
8. Under Siege [3:03]
9. Taken Hostage [3:42]
10. Other People's Business [2:22]
11. For the Pigs [3:30]
12. Tension Rising [5:56]
13. Boat Man [3:51]
14. See What's What [3:20]
15. Who Are You? [4:16]
16. Entering Camp [3:03]
17. Where's the Girl? [1:28]
18. Getting Rowdy [2:04]
19. Not Without Her [2:46]
20. Just in Time [2:54]
21. Hostage Takeover [3:26]
22. Man Down [3:27]
23. Setting Traps [1:28]
24. Taken Back [2:48]
25. Fire Power [1:55]
26. Rebel Forces [2:05]
27. Aftermath [2:14]
28. Going Back [2:32]

Jeremy Wheeler

Bloated beefcake brawn rules in Rambo, the fourth entry in the series, which picks up 20 years after audiences last saw Sylvester Stallone stretching his pumped-up musculature as the disillusioned action hero John Rambo. This time, the character is pulled into the war-torn country of Burma, where genocide runs rampant as Christian peasants are blown to bits by meth-addled soldiers just waiting to get their throats ripped out by the puffy workhorse that is Stallone. Something the film is not is schmaltzy, which is where one would think the aging screen star would skew the franchise after the saccharine-filled sentimentality of Rocky Balboa, released just one year before. No, this Rambo is a mean buffet of kinetic action filmmaking that dares the audience to sit up in their seats and root for gore-filled retribution served up Stallone-style. The question is -- are they ready for it? The film isn't an easy sell -- it's been quite some time since audiences were treated to this kind of brawny battlefield entertainment. It also doesn't help that many viewers will automatically come in with a cynical mindset regarding the star's ever-increasing age. One thing is certain, though: this is action cinema at its most grisly and excessively violent, with Stallone throwing caution to the wind with a piece of work that will shock and disturb many viewers, with others unquestionably whooping and hollering it up as they marvel at the over-the-top imagery and mega-machismo. And while there's much to dissect within the film, what's most interesting are the filmmaker's attempts to justify the extremity of the bloody proceedings. With exploitive newsreel footage starting out the film through each horrendous act of mass murder perpetrated by the Burmese troops, it's hard to come up with a group of real-world villains that is this ruthless and -- dare it be said -- deserving of Rambo's patented brand of justice, whose staples are on full display here. From the theme music to the inspired black-and-white flashbacks that recap much of the story from the previous films, there's little doubt that Rambo is back in full swing with this installment. While the introduction of John Rambo voice-over is a bit distracting (a curious stylistic touch Stallone carried over from Balboa), most of any disarming reaction to it by the audience disappears quickly as the character comes to terms with who he is and what he needs to do, much of which can be said of Stallone himself -- who, after years of plodding with this hack director or that, takes the reins and delivers a big blow to the carotid artery of film fans' brains with this two-act actioner. With much of the first half dedicated to missionaries and mercenaries getting in Rambo's face, the second is free to let Rambo do what he has to do -- and that's kill a lot of really bad dudes. Before one knows it, the film crescendos into a bloody burst of exploding limbs, bodies, and jungle greenery -- with Stallone at the helm, blowing away everything in his sights. With a coda at the end that hearkens back to First Blood, Stallone and Rambo have both come full circle in a way no one could have predicted. For good or ill, Rambo is back -- let the bullets fly and the casings fall where they may, for this flick proves that this is one action hero who isn't ready to hang up his headband just yet. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi