Monday 21 November 2016

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Genre

Action | War

Director

George P. Cosmatos

Country

USA

Cast

Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff, Julia Nickson, Martin Kove, George Cheung, Andy Wood, William Ghent, Voyo Goric, Dana Lee, Baoan Coleman

Storyline

John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is released from prison by his government for a top-secret rescue mission to the jungles of Vietnam.

Opinion

"First Blood" and "Rambo: First Blood Part II"? Two completely different movies. Actually, the latter should have been called "Rambo: How to Destroy First Blood".

In fact, other than having great action, this film doesn't have much to offer, starting from the plot. The predictable yet believable plot of the previous film has been replaced by a very weak plot that reaches the limits of absurdity: Rambo single-handles not one, but two armies, the extremely stereotyped Vietnamese and Russian troops.

For a reason I will never understand, the filmmakers also thought it would be nice to thrown into the mix a needless, irrelevant and undeveloped romance.

And the Rambo I came to love in the first film is gone. Remember that broken man that at the end starts crying while talking about his past? Well, forget about him, this time we get a "hero" going around shirtless, once again for no reason at all.

And while "First Blood" portrayed a true side of American, how losers are treated, "Rambo: First Blood Part II" portrays Americans only like people obsessed with shooting and bombing, and the criticism of America's priorities when it comes to their men on the field is not very effective, there's just a glimpse of it.

So it is definitely not a serious film. On the other hand, however, if only considered as an action flick, the film takes the viewer on an incredible, exciting ride.

2 comments:

  1. I agree that the plot was too predictable, but I oddly enjoyed the movie. Thanks for the honest review! :)

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    Replies
    1. You're right, it was quite entertaining after all.

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