Rambo: 2008

Violence is back!

With a subdued beginning and a cold-determination, John Rambo (Sly Stallone) is re-born as a savior to some zealot missionaries in a nation torn apart by an utterly one-sided civil conflict in present-day Burma.  The film is an eye-opener to the horrors happening on a daily basis in a land most of us have never even heard of.  My grandfather is a veteran of CBI, that is the China-Burma-India theater of World War II – and I was amazed at the level of hostility still alive in this dark corner of the ‘civilized’ world.

Rambo is beaten when we first see him; he is clinging to pacifism with a dogged determination while trying to convince himself that he is done fighting.  He has to come to terms with who he is, a killer, a machine designed for one thing – war.  Like a rusty old tank rotting on the battlefield, he is reluctant to move forward into battle, but once the battle is drawn, he performs as only John Rambo can – with ruthless efficiency.

The stand-out performance of Julie Benz (nobody you have heard of I am sure) as the only female missionary, Sarah was noteworthy for an action piece.  She does a tremendous job as a woman who knows she is probably going to die if she “goes down river”.  Yet, she goes.  Rambo is joined by a small, rag-tag band of mercenaries from all parts of the world, mostly character actors, who aide in rescuing the predictably inept missionaries that fall into the hands of the Burmese Army.

The level of horrific violence in this film will disturb you, it disturbed me at times.  Scenes portraying terrible tortures run throughout the film, and when you realize that actor Maung Maung Khin who plays the sadistic military over-lord, Tint, was in fact a rebel fighter himself  – you wonder where he got some of his acting ideas from?

I was blown away by how trapped I was by this film; I was expecting to be disappointed at every turn, laughing as a geriatric Stallone performed unbelievable feats of athleticism. But, you won’t be let down by Rambo. Crusty old grunts can still run with the big dogs. Classic 80’s ultra-violence is back with a seamless CGI make-over that will have you guessing – how the hell did they do that?  Rambo marks a new edge to modern violence with a throw-back to the gritty days of classic combat films.  Where art and death meet, Rambo will keep you entertained.