I haven’t seen an action movie like this in a long time. That’s what I thought after viewing the new “Rambo” film, Stallone’s supposed final in the series. While I marveled at how big and powerful he looked in the film – for a man in his 60s – I also appreciated how good an actor and director he has become.
While Stallone may not be known for his acting ability, he has shown quiet distinction, from the original “First Blood,” to the Oscar-winning “Rocky” and the more recent “Copland.” As a director, in both the swan song “Rocky Balboa” and this film, he shows a deep understanding of the material and an ability to balance action and drama. Twenty years since his last portrayal of the character, Stallone is still setting high standards in the genre.
John Rambo, burned by the U.S. government one too many times, has chosen to live the remainder of his life in the jungles of Thailand, fishing and hunting snakes to make a living. He is approached by a group of Christian volunteers trying to bring medical supplies into neighboring Burma and looking for a river guide to take them through the extremely dangerous war zones in that country.
We’re educated and horrified by the atrocities committed in Burma by its military government – shown in actual news reports at the beginning of the movie – and while Rambo is reluctant to take these naive do-gooders up the river, an earnest woman in the group who appeals to his dormant humanity eventually convinces him. Something inevitably goes wrong, and Rambo is called into battle one more time.
The quiet beauty of the jungle and river barely contain the savageness of the enemies in “Rambo.” Stallone wants viewers to see how bad things are in Burma before inserting his heroic figure into the midst of it. The film’s violence is not glamorized nor made stylish in the sake of creating art. Instead, Stallone is trying to portray war and its repercussions. He succeeds in showing the grittiness of battle, and what a high-caliber machine gun can do to the human body.
The film holds your attention throughout. The fight and battle choreographies are performed as realistically as possible – there is no hail of bullets that miraculously miss our hero. The mercenary characters brought in each have a different personality and look, adding something to the story, and though they are still severely outnumbered, it’s only the quick thinking by our hero that eventually evens the odds.
Stallone puts his John Rambo character to rest in an apt harkening back to the original film. I wish all of cinema’s great characters were treated with the same respect. They don’t make action movies like they use to – except here, where we see one that is both entertaining and meaningful.
Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexual assaults, grisly images and language.
