RAMBO - Blu-ray review

In a way, the 2008 capstone to the Rambo series has a lot in common with the final entry in the Rocky franchise. With the sequels, both series had gone a little off the deep end into the formulaic world of flashy excess and caricature, pandering to what filmmakers thought the public wanted. But both series came full circle by returning to the spirit of the original. In addition, because Sylvester Stallone co-wrote and directed both "Rocky Balboa" (2006) and "Rambo," you know, in fast-food parlance, that he had it his way.

So how did Stallone choose to end this thing?

IT'S NOT OVER. NOTHING IS OVER!

Okay, okay. Sorry. Put it this way. Stallone opted for a return to a simple plot that gives us nearly as much character as action, along with a more believable storyline that's pulled right from today's headlines. There's a brutal genocide going on in Burma (now Myanmar), and missionary aid workers are wanting the best boatman on the river to take them from Thailand to this strife-filled country so they can minister to the oppressed. But while "Rambo" feels like spiritual kin to the original, it's more of a blood brother to "Rambo III" because of the level of carnage. Only one person was killed in "First Blood," while in "Rambo" the body count is so high I couldn't keep up. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even keep up with the count of arms, legs, and heads that were disconnected from their respective bodies. So the fourth installment in the Rambo series is a strange animal, part realistic return to the original and part ratchet-up-the-action-and-brutality that vaults it past the high body count of the third film.

Frankly, I could have done without what often seems like a gratuitous display of violence. They detract, rather than add to the overall experience, and I'm no fan of the camera tricks used to smooth over action scenes like this--you know, the stop-motion, skip-motion, slow-down and speed-up jerkiness that resembles a flickering strobe. When we get sequences where a head is blown clear off the body, it's so jarring that it draws attention to itself as a conscious filmmaking choice. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but it yanks me right out of the narrative. That's my biggest criticism. Apart from that, there are moments in the film that feel inauthentic. My head snapped again when the pastor (Ken Howard) who sent the missionaries shows up in Thailand in what seems like moments after they're reported missing, seeking to hire mercenaries to go after them. Any pastor I know would have been dialing up the U.S. Embassy and Amnesty International instead. And where would he get the money for mercenaries? It usually takes months just to raise the cash to send the missionaries over in the first place.

There's also a little cheese here, as when Rambo has a black-and-white flashback montage that feels a lot like a Spider-Man moment, after which he says to himself, "War's in your blood. Don't fight it." But fans accustomed to getting at least one or two good lines for their bulletin boards or office cubicles get a few bumper-sticker quotes here as well, like "Live for nothing, or die for something" and "When you're pushed, killing's as easy as breathing."

One main difference between this "Rambo" and the first three is that Stallone stays away from that thin wrestling leotard top. Though he's still plenty ripped for a guy his age, he keeps his shirt on for much of the picture, and while the hair may still be long, it's stringy and ratty as befits a guy who's eking out an existence--and thankfully not that Eighties' Hair Band look.

The supporting cast also seems less rigid than in previous films. Julie Benz ("Dexter") seems to fit right in as Sarah, the only female missionary who, of course, will face the threat of rape later in the film, while Paul Schulze seems earnest enough to be one of those misguided souls who's so full of idealism that reality always seems surreal. Though the closest we come to cartoon characters comes with the band of mercenaries, even they're far less cardboard and clichéd than the minor characters we met along the way in the second and third Rambo films.

There's an attempted artfulness here, too, that I can respect . . . at least in the early going. "Rambo" opens with a newsreel update on the genocide in Burma, and then we're introduced to a bad guy (Tim Kang) who wears sunglasses that become as much a focal point as those the guard wore in "Cool Hand Luke." After we see the games this guy and his soldiers play--like cats toying with their food before they kill it--the next sequence shows a fuller-faced John Rambo (Stallone) with a Thai buddy out trying to capture cobras, then using bow and arrow to shoot a fish that he passes on to a boatload of monks. So in three brief juxtaposed scenes you quickly get a reality base established, the snake of a bad guy established, and a symbolic scene that shows Rambo is perfectly capable of handling snakes . . . and caring for religious folk. It makes what follows seem as inevitable as the killing you know is coming. So when Rambo is approached about using his boat to take missionaries into a war zone, you know he's going to resist, and you know that when Sarah approaches him he's eventually going to give in and do it for her. And when they're captured, and the pastor hires him to take the mercenaries to the drop point, you know he's going to find a way to assert himself and accompany those guys to the camp where the missionaries are being held.

Mission accomplished? You know at some point it's going to be, but the ride is what matters, and "Rambo" provides a fun conclusion to . . .

NOTHING IS OVER! NOTH

I know, I know, and you even hint in one of the bonus features that Rambo could come back again. But if it were over, it's not a terrible way to go out. "Rambo" is rated R for strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images, and language (like Rambo's "Fuck the world.").

Video:
The 1080p picture is exceptionally clear, though not necessarily 3-dimensional looking. Black levels are strong, and I didn't notice any compression artifacts. Some of the scenes aren't overly laden with color, but that's a reflection of the atmospheric lighting conditions more than anything. "Rambo" is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and it's a pleasure watching in Blu-ray.

Audio:
The featured audio is a DTS HD 7.1 Master Audio, so if you've got a full system of surround sound speakers they'll get a workout. There's plenty of action to go around, with a nice wide spread across the front speakers and pretty solid audio emanating from the rear effects speakers as well. If you've got a subwoofer, it'll rumble in a number of places. No complaints here. An additional soundtrack option is the Dolby Digital EX 5.1 mix that's used on the DVD, with subtitles in English (CC) and Spanish.

Extras:
Lions Gate pulled out all the stops for this release. Like Twentieth Century Fox, they've included a "digital copy" second disc which consumers can use to load a standard-definition copy of the movie directly onto their computers and transfer to iTunes (it's Windows Media friendly). Once there, you can transfer the film to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV. Obviously, not everyone is going to be able to use this feature. Same with "MoLog," which requires a Profile 2.0 capable Blu-ray disc player to connect to the Internet for interactive content, and "Bonus View," which requires a Profile 1.1 enabled player to access this Stallone audio-commentary with picture-in-picture separate video streaming that takes viewers behind the scenes.

You can still access the Stallone commentary without the picture-in-picture feature, and there are a number of decent bonus features as well, along with a few deleted scenes and a Rambo series trailer gallery: "It's a Long Road: Resurrection of an Icon" covers the ground you'd expect in explaining how and why this belated fourth film came into being; "A Score to Settle: The Music of Rambo focuses on the score in relation to the moods of the film; "The Art of War: Completing Rambo is a two-part look at the editing and sound; "A Hero's Welcome: Release & Reaction" merges footage of the gala with interview clips; "The Weaponry of Rambo" gives you the low-down on all the firepower; and "Legacy of Despair: The Struggle in Burma" interweaves clips of Burma/Myanmar with interview clips with a spokesperson from the Karen National Union, the Human Rights Action Center, and others. There's also a bookmark function and trailers for other Lions Gate releases. Speaking of which (and I talking not just to Lions Gate, but to ALL studios), since Blu-rays take longer to load than DVDs, how about stopping this nonsense of loading the discs so that they automatically play four or five previews (commercials--let's call them what they are) that you can't bypass with a push of the menu button? You have to keep clicking "next" until you finally get the menu screen.

Stallone said that he wanted Rambo to continue to be "a lost man," and that lost men end up at the end of the world--the worst place for living conditions and human rights. It kind of makes you wonder if there is a fifth installment, where he'll end up next.

Bottom Line:
"Rambo" may not top "First Blood," but it blows away the previous sequels--unfortunately, quite literally. The violence is so graphically excessive that it detracts from the film, though at least the action isn't as constant as it was in the other sequels, and it's tied to people we're led to care about.