First Blood(1982) [Trailer]
Director: Ted Kotcheff (IMDB)
John Rambo is a Special Forces solider who returns to the U.S. after Nam to find the place he left isn't so welcoming. Brian Dennehy is a local cop, and he's a real dick. He arrests Rambo for walking through town, takes him in, and basically has his men torture Rambo. Rambo breaks out like Shawshank, steals a motorcycle and flees to the woods where he uses his survival techniques and fucks up anyone that comes near him.
This movie ranks in at number 3 for me. The first 30 mins are a little slow, but once he hits the woods, it's on. The different survival elements and traps he uses are bad ass. Brian Dennehy is a bit over the top, and some of the acting is spotty here and there. Other then that, it holds up nicely. Stallone is great, and the mental break down at the end is impressive.
Rambo: First Blood Part 2(1985) [Trailer]
Director: George P. Cosmatos (IMDB)
Rambo is released from prison on the condition that he goes back to Vietnam to help save POWs. His drop into enemy territory goes FURBAR but with the help a local girl he finds his way to the prison camp. He saves a prisoner, but not before getting screwed over by the government and left for dead.... but no one kills John Rambo.
This is definitely number 1 for me. I've seen this too many times to remember and as a kid, I sweated Rambo so hard in this movie. The action is the best... He blows shit up... He stabs shit up... shoots shit up... and arrows people to death. That's right... he arrows them bastards. It's awesome and the best scenes are as follows: The exploding arrow to the head of the guy that kills Rambo's girl (sorry spoiler), Rambo hiding in the mud, and Rambo dragging the guy under the tree. There's more but I have
two other movies to review.
Rambo III(1988) [Trailer]
Director: Peter MacDonald (IMDB)
Rambo is sent into Afghanistan to fight the Taliban... no wait, that would be this movie if it was made in 2oo1. We were helping the Afghans in the 80's... right. So yeah, he goes and helps the locals Afghans fight the Russians.
This secures 4th place, not that it's a bad movie, it's just not that great. I felt like Rambo just didn't work in the desert and mountains, he needs to be hiding in the trees. I hate the little kid in this, he's a bad addition and shouldn't have been involved. He comes in and fucks the mission up, then after getting his little ass saved by Rambo, he has the nerve to ask to go back and fight with him. I did love the cave scenes however, and enjoyed watching Rambo pick off each guy one by one. The helicopter playing chicken with the tank was ridiculous.
Rambo(2008) [Trailer]
Director: Sylvester Stallone (IMDB)
Rambo is living out his days at a retirement home when... just kidding, he's settled in Thailand and keeping things low key. A church group wants to go into war torn Burma and hires Rambo as a guide in. When Rambo leaves the mission they end up getting more then they bargained for. Instead of praying to God for help, Rambo and friends are hired back by the church to go in and save the day.
I must admit, when I first heard about Stallone reprising the role of Rambo 20 years after part 3, I was a bit concerned for the franchise, boy was I dumb. This is neck and neck with part two in my book, and I think the only reason two wins, is because of nostalgia. Rambo realizes in this film that he's a killer, and embraces it. This leads to some of the best kill scenes I've seen in the movies. Best kills: Rambo clearing out 4 guys with a handgun is under 5 seconds on the boat, Rambo shooting arrows through the faces and heads of about 7 guys, Rambo ripping a dudes throat out, Rambo using a home made machete and cutting a man's head off, and finally the second he picks up the .50 caliber machine gun in the back of the jeep and starts to plow down everyone is cinematic gold.
Shit I forgot, Rambo disemboweling the main bad guy, that was pretty sweet too.
