A total waste...
...not that I was expecting much in the first place. I've never been a huge Rambo fan, and this film didn't change that for me. I've seen many dumb films in my life. Most of them are in the "so bad, they're good" category - as in all of Ed Wood's films and anything by William Castle - only they knew how to make B-movies FUN.

This new installment of RAMBO (and hopefully the last) is so insanely stupid, that I cannot believe that it was even greenlit in the first place. Sylvester Stallone is not an idiot. I've seen him in interviews, and he seems like a really cool, intelligent individual. He's even working on an upcoming bio-pic on Edgar Allen Poe, that he is planning to direct. I just don't see why he would waste his time on this disaster of a film, when he could have spent all of that time and energy on his POE project. Who knows? POE might actually be his first masterpiece, if he can stop wasting his time on blown up, macho doo-doo like this.

Rambo ROCKS!
If you are an action fan and (especially) if you like the previous Rambo movies then you will love this one. This is probably the most violent movie I've ever seen; it is graphic and brutal but I'm not afraid to admit I love that stuff so I really enjoyed it. All these jerks complaining about how it's too violent need to wake up to themselves- if you don't like violent movies then don't watch them! Seriously, this is an awesome movie- it is great that Stallone has resurrected the true, eighties style action movie and he deserves credit for that. I think this is the best Rambo yet and I highly recommend it. Don't listen to those stupid movie critics who never have anything good to say about any movie that isn't some mamby pamby arthouse garbage- they don't know what they are talking about.

Five stars.

When You're Pushed... Killing's As Easy As Breathing
There is no doubt that Stallone was going to take huge abuse for sending out this 4th installment in the hugely successful "Rambo" franchise.

Everyone forgets that it worked only a few months ago when 60 year old Rocky Balboa stepped into the ring for one more round (is his 6th outing) in another hugely successful franchise. But, unlike Rambo, Rocky was a far more complex, well written and hugely likeable character. The underdog: who against all odds becomes a symbol of hope and realising your dreams.

Rambo was always going to be more of a bulls-eye for critics. Rightly so, it's not as superbly written nor as good as Rocky Balboa. But if good means "a well crafted story, excellent dialogue, outstanding performances, and complex characters" then RAMBO (like the other 3 films) was never going to be your night out anyway. In fact, even Rocky Balboa, to a certain extent, was purely another round for "the fans".

That's exactly what Rambo is... it's for the fans. It truly plays out more like a series of Rambo's "Greatest Hits". With Rocky, we have the catchy "Gonna Fly Now" theme played out over the training montage... and with Rambo - the now more mature and updated Rambo Theme (Brian Tyler does an awesome job with Jerry Goldsmith's Theme from First Blood Part 2) whilst we are re-introduced to the troubled Vietnam Vet.

Both are there stirring up all the emotions and flash-backs of why we are really watching these films. We loved watching Rocky smash his way through ring, defeating his opponents and taking home the belt... and we love watching "Green Beret" John. J Rambo using every conceivable weapon to exact revenge against "the bad guys".

In First Blood it was the small town Sheriff who didn't like a soldier returning from Vietnam. Rambo taught him and his whole county sheriff's department, volunteers, et al that a "determined one man fighting machine" was an unstoppable force. In Rambo : First Blood Part 2 it was cutting up red-tape and government bureaucrats in order to bring home POW's still in concentration camps in Vietnam... and in Rambo 3 it was taking sides with Afghan Rebels against the Russian's invading forces.

In "John Rambo" / "Rambo 4" or "Rambo: The Fight Continues", we find Rambo in Thailand. (Rambo has aged, as has Stallone. Still a bulky muscle bound fellow... albeit older and a little heavier). A group of Christian Missionaries find him and request help getting up river into Myanmar (Burma) to help the Karen people - who are being persecuted for their Christian Beliefs by the brutal Military led government (The film is up with current events). At first he's not interested and warns off the group from traveling into a War Zone. However, after being persuaded by the group's only woman he takes them up river. A few weeks later he gets word they've been captured by a Burmese Military Leader (who condones beatings, rape, murder, torture and burning down villages). The head of the Christian Group in the United States has contacted a group of mercenaries (led by a British SAS soldier) who will use Rambo's boat to get up river. Of course, the group brushes Rambo aside as nothing more than a "boat man". And this is where the story moves into over-drive and literally all hell breaks loose. Rambo's expertise is soon recognised by the 'mercs' and he leads the team to rescue the missionaries.

The level of visual violence moves from truly brutal and upsetting images of live footage (actual news broadcast footage) of the violence against the Karen people into an almost stylised violence used by Rambo and the `mercs' (heads and bodies explode, heads are lopped off, limbs blown off, etc, etc). But, no matter how much retribution against the military we see, you can't help but cheer Rambo (and his huge home-made Knife/Panga) on... he is exacting revenge against Brutal Genocide. Something we all secretly wish we could do. And, that is why 90% of us go to see this type of film. He's a HERO... not a SUPERHERO, but just a man. A huge hulking mono-syllabic beast that exacts revenge against those who deserve it.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but then again those who recall the first three films, should already know that. It's for the FANS... the final farewell tour of a character that will go down in cinema history as one of the greats, alongside legends like Rocky Balboa. Die for Something... or Live for Nothing. You're damn right!

Stallone matures, broods, blows heads up and gets the job done
To anyone laughing at a 61-year old Stallone's decision to star as John Rambo in a fourth film, Stallone himself says 'Take that'. Rambo (just plain Rambo), not only completely gets the job done as an ultraviolent action movie, but it even has a thought or two on the world, and an eye on a real-life hellhole (Burma).

Re-visiting the character who came to define 80s Reagan macho guy with guns, Stallone does not opine on the state of the world, or even philosophize on mankind. Those messages are left to the viewer to pick out of the absolutel hellhole depicted in the film. Instead, Rambo is a man of very few words, a quiet, wounded shell of a man living in the jungles of southeast Asia, catching poisonous snakes for a living, and basically not talking. When the action across the border invites a group of well-wishing missionaries, Rambo reluctantly agrees to shephard them along the river so they can deliver medicine to the terrorized Burmese peasants. When that group of goody-goody missionary folks get kidnapped by the insano Burmese military, Rambo (reluctantly) escorts a group of mercenaries up the river to find them.

What follows is nothing short of an orgy of violence, outdoing all of the previous Rambo films in its intensity and graphic nature. Heads explode, fly off, arrows penetrate skulls, people get blown up by grenades, people get shot to pieces (literally), body parts are yanked out or off with bare hands, and when the smokes clears, yes, Rambo is still standing. Game over.

If one doubts that Stallone honestly did have something sincere to bring to the table, consider that he did film this in Burma, right before the top blew off and the real slaughter began. Consider that he's that obsessed, that he'll depict the Burmese generals as the worst people on earth, then outdo even them as he blows heads up in the final brain-soaked finale.

Highly recommended for genre fans, Stallone is a quiet, brooding death machine with little hype and less to say. This film is a study of violence and oppression in the world, the use of violence, and the perservering nature of the best and worst of mankind and also the perservering nature of Stallone himself. With this and Rocky Balboa, he scored a double shot The world is a cold, ugly, violent place that clearly has many uses for violent men, but it also stages their necessity for the preservation of hope and good amidst machine-gunned torsos and decapitated noggins.

Entertaining with a dark message
This was a great movie! Tons of action and entertainment. To me, the overall message of the film paints a dark picture. Although the other Rambo movies are violent, none of them are on the scale of this one. To demonstrate the sorts of things that happen in war torn countries such as Burma, the film graphically portrays men, women, and children being shot and killed. How to deal with such situations is the gloomy message of the film. In the film the Christian missionaries are attempting to help the situation by bringing medical supplies and the Christian message. Rambo on the other hand tells them that without weapons they cannot change anything. Rambo is correct. In the end, the missionaries accomplish nothing and only answering violence with aggressive take no prisoners is what wins in the end. Rambo is merciless in the film when dealing with the enemy. Rather than just snapping a guys neck, Rambo pulls his throat out. At the end Rambo almost sits there and savors the moment as he cuts the last soldiers guts out. The one missionary also sees that only violence can work in the situation when he beats a man to death with a rock. The message of the movie is grim, does it take an escalation of violence to deal with the worlds problems? That seems to be the message here.

Well, I gave it 4 stars for a couple of reasons. This may sound crazy, but there was not enough traditional Rambo music in it from the other films. The movie was a bit short and seemed to end abruptly. And unlike the other films, there is never really a sequence of Rambo against them. In all the other films there is always a stretch of time where Rambo is alone sneaking around taking guys out. I missed that. Overall an excellent movie with a thought provoking message. Don't be bothered by my corny criticisms.