Rambo

[KLAXXON]

Twenty years after the last installment in the film series, John Rambo (SYLVESTER STALLONE) has retreated to northern Thailand, where he works on a longboat on the Salween River. On the nearby Thailand-Burma (Myanmar) border, the Burmese-Karen conflict, the world's longest-running civil war, rages into its 60th year. But Rambo, who lives a solitary life in the jungle-covered mountains, fishing and catching poisonous snakes to sell, has long given up fighting, even as medics, rebels and refugees pass by on their way through the war-torn region.

That all changes when a group of missionaries search out the "American river guide." When Sarah (JULIE BENZ) and Michael Bennett (PAUL SCHULZE) approach Rambo, they explain that since last year's trek to the refugee camps, the Burmese military has laid landmines along the trails, making it too dangerous for overland travel. They ask him to guide them up the Salween River and drop them off, so they can deliver medical supplies, food and bibles to the persecuted Karen hilltribe people. After initially refusing to cross into Burma, Rambo agrees to take them, dropping off Sarah, Michael and the other aid workers at a predetermined site.

Less than two weeks later, pastor Arthur Marsh (KEN HOWARD) finds Rambo and tells him the missionaries did not return. He's mortgaged his home and raised money from his church’s congregation to hire a group of mercenaries (GRAHAM McTAVISH, MATTHEW MARSDEN, TIM KANG, REY GALLEGOS, JAKE LA BOTZ) to bring them back. Rambo asks if the missionaries are alive, and Marsh replies they were seen being held captive in a Burmese army camp. While Rambo's reluctance for violence and conflict are palpable, he knows he has to help and agrees to take the mercenaries up river into the ravaged war zone. What follows is a descent into hell on earth.




While watching Sylvester Stallone's latest "Rambo" film I couldn't help but think about a hilarious scene in the spoof "Hot Shots! Part Deux" that involves a lot of gunfire and an on-screen digital body count meter.

Leading a rescue team into an Iraqi prison camp to recover several hostages, Charlie Sheen's Topper Harley - who is dressed to look exactly like John Rambo - is forced to open fire when he is discovered by the enemy. As the bodies start to comically pile up, the meter escalates to the point where the violence it is equal to that of "RoboCop" and "Total Recall." And when the number of those who are killed gets even higher, "Hot Shots! Part Deux" proclaims itself to be the "bloodiest movie ever."

That silly declaration is obviously a joke, but even if it was true, ""Rambo" would definitely be the new record holder.

According to a professor of national security studies at Ohio State University, the body count in the fourth "Rambo" film of the action series is an astonishing 236, which equals almost three killings per minute. (The first three movies had a combined body count of 202.)

And it's not like the deaths are pleasant either: People are blown apart, limbs are severed, children are brutally murdered and bodies are eaten by pigs. (The opening scene involving news footage of the civil war zone in Burma is the most disturbing.)  
 
 
That should not come as much of a surprise, though, given the fact that each "Rambo" has gotten more violent as the franchise has progressed.

It has been 20 years since Stallone has played one of the most iconic action heroes of all time, but the 61-year-old actor can still hold his own as the famous Vietnam veteran and ex-Green Beret. Stallone may not be as big and muscular as he used to be (he did admit to using human growth hormones to get buff for his role), but as co-writer, producer and director, he sure knows how to stage an intense action movie.

This time around Rambo, who hasn't returned to the United States in 25 years, lives a solitary life in Thailand where he hunts poisonous snakes and practices blacksmithing. Rambo usually keeps his distance from people but that all changes when a small number of missionaries from a Colorado church ask him to take them upriver to civil-war torn Burma, where they plan to bring medical supplies and hope to the impoverished villagers.

At first Rambo refuses to escort the missionaries, but he later gives in after some pleading from the group's only woman, Sarah (Julie Benz). Rambo's passengers eventually get to their destination point, but shortly after they arrive the village is massacred by the Burmese army and those who are lucky enough to survive are taken hostage.  
 

When the church members don't return to the states after a couple weeks their pastor (Ken Howard) hires some mercenaries (played by Graham McTavish, Matthew Marsden, Jake La Botz, Reynaldo Gallegos and Tim Kang) and gets Rambo to drop them off where Sarah and her crew were last seen. The mercenaries dismiss Rambo as just a simple boatman, but when everything starts hitting the fan they quickly realize their guide is a one-man killing machine who will stop at nothing to save the day.

I know my credibility could take a hit here, but I am man enough to admit that I enjoyed watching Rambo once again don his famous headband and shoot enemies with his trusty bow and arrow. (Luckily he keeps his shirt on for the entire film.) Rambo has somewhat of a timeless quality about him, which helps make you forget that Stallone is old enough to be a member of the American Association of Retired Persons.

Everyone who is not a male between the ages of 13 and 30 will most likely hate Rambo's latest and hopefully final film (Stallone does give his character a proper ending), but if you have seen any of the other movies that shouldn't be startling news.

What you see with "Rambo" is what you get: A throwback to the 1980s action films that focus little on dialogue and plot and more on explosions, showers of bullets and cheesy catch phrases. And knowing Stallone and his past, would you expect anything less?  
 





Sylvester Stallone ...  John Rambo
Julie Benz ...  Sarah
Matthew Marsden ...  School Boy
Graham McTavish ...  Lewis
Reynaldo Gallegos ...  Diaz (as Rey Gallegos)
Jake La Botz ...  Reese
Tim Kang ...  En-Joo
Maung Maung Khin ...  Tint
Paul Schulze ...  Michael Burnett
Cameron Pearson ...  Missionary #4 (Jeff)
Thomas Peterson ...  Missionary #2 (Dentist)
Tony Skarberg ...  Missionary #3 (Videographer)
James With ...  Missionary #5 (Preacher) (as James Wearing Smith)
Kasikorn Niyompattana ...  Snake Hunter #2
Shaliew 'Lek' Bamrungbun ...  Snake Hunter #1




IMDB




Download Torrent