Rambo III - 1988

Carolco Pictures

Directed by Peter MacDonald

Cast:

• John Rambo – Sylvester Stallone
• Col. Sam Trautman – Richard Crenna
• Col. Zaysen – Marc de Jonge
• Griggs – Kurtwood Smith
• Masoud – Spiros Focas
• Mousa – Sasson Gabai
• Hamid – Doudi Shoua
• Kourov – Randy Raney
• Tomask – Marcus Gilbert

Story: Three years have passed since John Rambo recovered the POW's in the Vietnamese prison camp and walked away from his connections with the U.S.. He's been living in Thailand with the monks, doing manual labor and odd jobs, and occasionally raising some cash by stick fighting. But eventually his past is going to come back to haunt him. Col. Trautman gets wind of his location and with the help of the U.S. Embassy, tracks him down. When he finally meets up with John, he offers him another mission, this one in Afghanistan. The Soviet commander in one zone just over the Pakistan border is a particularly cruel and effective man, the mission is to investigate and discover how this man is getting his intelligence. Rambo refuses the mission, and Trautman leaves. Several weeks later, Griggs, the man from the Embassy comes to tell Rambo his friend has been captured. Without hesitation, Rambo volunteers to go in to rescue Trautman, knowing full well if he is caught or captured, the U. S. government will not acknowledge him. When John goes into Pakistan to meet his guide, he discovers the source of the leak, and must go into battle against the Soviets to free his friend.

Review: So First Blood 2 was a segue? Start with the Vietnamese and end up with the Soviets? Sigh. Well, the truth of the matter is this third film of the franchise is no less exciting than the first two, although in the first film we were dealing with a man who felt disconnected from his country. In this film, Rambo has found a sort of peace in his life with the monks, a simple life without the hustle and distraction of modern living. While I doubt Stallone's character has achieved a state of Zen, there is a calmer, more focused individual who is working on the temple buildings. Even in his communication with his Afghan guide, John is calmer, more easy going, yet still guarded in his person. He lets go only what is needed. Technically, the film is superb. The photography and stunts are nothing short of amazing, and the quality of the plot is par for the Rambo action genre. Rated R for violence and language, this film is collectible with the set and viewable once if you have seen the others. Not my favorite of the series, but certainly not the worst.

First Blood: Part II - 1985

Anabasis N.V.

Directed by George P. Cosmatos

Cast:

• John Rambo – Sylvester Stallone
• Col. Sam Trautman – Richard Crenna
• Marshall Murdoch – Charles Napier
• Lt. Col. Podovsky – Steven Berkoff
• Co – Julia Nickson
• Ericson – Martin Kove
• Tay – George Cheung
• Banks – Andy Wood
• Capt. Vinh – William Ghent
• Sgt. Yushin – Voyo Goric
• Capt. Kinh – Dana Lee

Story: Three years after his brush with the law, John Rambo is doing hard labor at a Military prison when Col. Trautman shows up at the gate. He has a proposition for Rambo that might earn him a presidential pardon. He is verify a Vietnamese prison camp, the one he escaped from in Vietnam, is empty and there are no American prisoners being held there. He is inserted by parachute and is almost killed when his gear becomes entangled on the aircraft, but manages to cut himself free. He meets up with his guide, a lovely Vietnamese girl named Co, and proceeds to the camp, only to find there are prisoners being held. When he and one of the prisoners reach the extraction point, Murdoch, the CIA agent in charge, orders the helicopter to abort the mission, leaving Rambo and the prisoner to be recaptured by the Vietnamese and Soviet soldiers. Rambo is interrogated and tortured, but manages to escape with a new mission: Find Murdoch!

Review: Second film in the franchise and heading slowly downhill. While the level of action is certainly maintained in this second installment of the legendary Rambo, the film seems just a bit under the excitement level of the first. The addition of the Soviets in this film is certainly an accusation from Stallone's perspective, and I am sure managed to ruffle a few diplomatic feathers at the time [there was a Soviet Union in 1985, kiddies]. Because of that, the film was shot in Malaysia, since we had no real relationship with Vietnam at that time. So you have to understand the crew was working in miserable conditions with mosquitoes large enough to hold a gun on you while they sucked your blood and humidity thick enough to slice and eat for breakfast. As to the characters, Rambo seems a bit mellower following a three year stint of making little ones out of big ones. Trautman seems like he has lost his self confidence when dealing with Murdoch. And speaking of Murdoch (played by Charles Napier), would you ever trust a word this guy says? Martin Kove is the perpetual pseudo tough guy who has a small and fairly inconsequential role. The remaining cast is straightforward and somewhat boring, but overall the film is entertaining and does have the merit of putting the POW/MIA issue on the forefront. Rated R for violence, disturbing scenes, and language, First Blood 2 is worth seeing once and collectible if you have the set or love Stallone.

First Blood - 1982

Anabasis N.V., Elcajo Productions

directed by Ted Kotcheff

Cast:

• John Rambo – Sylvester Stallone
• Sheriff Teasle – Brian Dennehy
• Col. Sam Trautman – Richard Crenna
• Deputy Kern – Bill McKinney
• Deputy Galt – Jack Starret
• Deputy Balford – Michael Talbot
• Deputy Ward – Chris Mulkey
• Mitch – David Caruso

Story: John J. Rambo is a Vietnam vet home from the war, on a mission to catch up with some of the people he served with. He's on foot, hasn't shaved for a while, traveling by foot or thumb, wearing a field jacket and carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder. He gets bad news, the last living member of his unit died from Agent Orange poisoning. So he's drifting when a small town sheriff sees him and politely but firmly escorts him to the other side of his town. But Rambo doesn't see why he should travel another 30 miles up the road to get a meal and turns around, so the Sheriff Teasle decides to arrest him for vagrancy. When he is being processed, one of the deputies, a sadistic bastard, decides to teach him a lesson and becomes abusive. Rambo has a flashback to a memory from Vietnam and explodes in a burst of fury, injuring several deputies and escaping into the mountains and woods outside of town. The Sheriff and his deputies pursue him into the woods, but when they try to capture him, they find out they are dealing with much more than a common ordinary veteran. Rambo is a Green Beret with several decorations, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. His job in enemy territory was to kill enemy troops. Period. He is a one man army who brings the town to its knees and teaches the Sheriff that abusing power is not the same as enforcing the law.

Review: The birth of the franchise and my favorite of the Rambo movies. Sylvester Stallone is not the super vet in this film, at least not physically. (He gets bigger and bigger as his career moves forward, check out The Expendables.) The acting in this film is straightforward and honest. The deputies are locals who don't have a lot of experience in dealing with violence, the sadistic jailer gets his comeuppance soon enough, and Brian Dennehy is the sheriff who realizes he probably screwed up, but doesn't want to admit it. How dare some drifter challenge him in his town! Stallone is the lost soul, the disenfranchised loner who returned from a war to be met with protestors instead of open arms. Richard Crenna (R.I.P.) portrays the would be mediator who tries to defuse the situation. Underneath all the violence, you have to remember that the character Rambo has done nothing wrong, and is being pursued unjustly. Underlying the movie is a statement about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the way returning veterans are treated, even today. So while the adrenaline junkies among us usually praise the action in this film (and there is certainly some worthy action), most people tend to forget this film is a political statement that simply lays out the facts and lets you be the judge. Rated R for violence, language, and some disturbing images, this film is a collectible for any serious collection.