Rambo Trilogy: Ultimate Edition (First Blood/Rambo: First Blood Part II/Rambo III)
by George P. Cosmatos, Peter MacDonald, Ted Kotcheff
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Actor: Bill McKinney, Brian Dennehy, Jack Starrett, Richard Crenna, Sylvester StalloneDirector: George P. Cosmatos, Peter MacDonald, Ted Kotcheff
Brand: Lions Gate
Writer: David Morrell
Writer: James Cameron
Writer: Kevin Jarre
Writer: Michael Kozoll
Writer: Sheldon Lettich
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); Russian (Original Language); Vietnamese (Original Language)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 293 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-23
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Artisan Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Rambo Trilogy: Ultimate Edition (First Blood/Rambo: First Blood Part II/Rambo III)
DVD Review: Stallone's Action Trilogy Entertains, But The Lack of Extras Annoys
Summary: 4 Stars
The Rambo trilogy was, for many, a symbol of the 1980s. Following the story of former Green Beret and Vietnam vet John Rambo, each of the 3 Rambo movies was a bit different in flavor than the others. For whatever reasons, the Rambo movies were co-opted by politics. Reagan infamously declared "Rambo is a Republican", much the same way he tried to glom on to "Star Wars" and Springsteen's "Born In The USA" as symbols to boost his own popularity. For others, the name "Rambo" became the symbol of what was seen as American ignorance and a "shoot first" attitude. These attitudes do seem to indicate some misunderstanding of the Rambo character, and even the movies. In any case, as the 1980s faded (and people began to react negatively to the Reagan era's now obvious facade of machismo), this association ended up hurting Sly Stallone's career, despite his ample abilities. It was unfortunate really, as Stallone has generally proven to be dependable in most of his work, such as his portrayal of the likeable loser Freddy in "Copland". It was Stallone's ability to infuse the Rambo character with a sense of humanity that was indicative of his work as an action star; this ability would prove useful in providing "Daylight" and "Cliffhanger" with somewhat believable action hero protagonists (but was sadly MIA in the turkey "Judge Dredd".
The Rambo Trilogy was originally released on DVD, with a bonus disc chronicling the Rambo legacy. Unfortunately, this "Ultimate Collection" fails to include that bonus material, instead giving us a "Metavision" gimmick, which ultimately proves a poor substitute. The lack of extras is the biggest mark against this release. Thankfully, Sylvester Stallone's commentary on First Blood remains intact, and provides a remarkable amount of insight into the movie's creation and backstory. The commentary tracks on the other two movies, however, are not up to the same standards, in part due to the lack of any actor commentary.
"First Blood" is probably the most different in tone of the trilogy, and focuses on Rambo's loss of identity after leaving the military. Drifting from town to town, Rambo finds himself alone and unable to fit into peacetime society. When small town sheriff Teagle (himself a veteran of the Korean War), played with consummate professionalism by Brian Dennehy, decides to throw Rambo in jail for vagrancy, Rambo's survival instincts are triggered by a flashback to his days in a Vietnamese POW camp. As a result, Rambo escapes to the mountains in dramatic fashion, and is pursued by Teagle and his posse. Naturally, the situation escalates as Rambo reverts to his commando training, and the well armed, but poorly trained locals end up over their heads. Rambo's old commander, Trautman, shows up to try to bring Rambo in quietly and without bloodshed. In the end, however, Rambo returns to town in explosive fashion, with the intent of making Teagle pay. Trautman finally intervenes before Rambo can kill Teagle, and Rambo, in an emotional climax, breaks down in tears, and allows himself to be taken into custody. "First Blood" is certainly more realistic and restrained than the later Rambo movies, and has an undercurrent of quiet tragedy in seeing a proud soldier being rejected not by "the commie left wing", but by Main Street America itself.
While "First Blood" was more nuanced, "Rambo: First Blood Part 2" was was an attempt to create a sort of over-the-top, military piece writ mythic. This time around, George Cosmatos took the director's chair, with the script being written by James Cameron (yes, THAT James Cameron)and Sylvester Stallone, based on a story by Kevin Jarre. At the time, the Cold War had risen to a fever pitch. The movie involves Rambo being sprung from military prison by the government and his old commander Trautman, in exchange for participation in a recon mission in Vietnam to look for POWs. In Thailand, Rambo meets the shady bureaucrat Murdock, who is in charge of the mission. Once back in the jungle (after a disastrous air drop), Rambo meets up with Vietnamese rebel Co Bao, played by the beautiful Julia Nickson. Apparently, Ms. Nickson received a Razzie for worst debut performance in this movie; however, given the bad, stereotypical pidgeon English she was forced to recite, I doubt that Judi Dench could have done much better with the source material. When Rambo actually finds and rescues a POW, and brings him back to the rendezvous point, Murdock pulls the plug and strands Rambo in the jungle, where he is captured, and is subsequently tortured by Padovsky, a Russian commander who is in Vietnam for some reason. It's up to Co Bao to help Rambo escape, and before it's over, Rambo adds a few hundred notches to his kill count, and even blows up a Russian helicopter gunship.
While the movie is pure Hollywood hyperbole, it is executed in a surprisingly epic fashion. This was before action movies had required clever catch phrases, multiple slow-motion shots of the same milk truck exploding, and other overtly self-conscious cliches. There is even a tidbit of criticism of the politics which led to the Vietnam War in the form of a veiled reference to the military-industrial complex, as well as some surprisingly artistic cinematography (such as the requisite tragic death scene). But let's not fool ourselves: this was not meant to be high art, but rather a high action movie, and it succeeds. Stallone's ability to effectively emote stands in bizarre contrast to Rambo's overly-muscled figure, and provides just the right amount of surreal affability to make the wholesale destruction watchable. Of particular note is Jerry Goldsmith's outstanding musical score, which is probably one of the most epic soundtracks I've yet to see in a military action movie.
"Rambo 3", the illogically titled third entry, was released at a time when big budget Hollywood movies were becoming more formulaic and predictable, and it does show in the final product. The conceit this time is that Rambo is reluctantly brought out of early retirement at a monastery (of all places), to rescue Colonel Trautman, who was captured by the Russians in Afghanistan. This time, Rambo hooks up with Afghan freedom fighters to stop a ruthless Russian territorial commander. This movie simultaneously tries to be more tongue-in-cheek, and yet also more serious, with its sermonizing about the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. The movie works, but not as well as its predecessors. What's even more bizarre, of course, is watching it in the context of post-9-11 geopolitics, as some of Rambo's allies may have well gone on to join the Taliban, and help Bin Laden's terrorist activities. Fortunately, the action is still explosive, although by this point, it was starting to become a little too predictable.
For the last few years, there have been rumors about a possible "Rambo 4", and it appears that a fourth installment, simply named "John Rambo", is finally officially on its way. It's unclear whether it will be able to make an impact in this day and age, or whether it will have the same "sheen of consummate professionalism" as the first 3. In any case, the movies are what they are: well-executed action entertainment. While the DVD extras are sparse (you know we all would love Stallone and Julia Nickson to be on the Rambo commentary track), the movies themselves work well.
More Rambo Trilogy: Ultimate Edition (First Blood/Rambo: First Blood Part II/Rambo III) reviews:
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Description of Rambo Trilogy: Ultimate Edition (First Blood/Rambo: First Blood Part II/Rambo III)
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