Groovy Mule
Posts: 1089
Joined: 26/11/2005
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Where to start, where to start? Well, I guess I should start by saying that prior to seeing this, I hadn't seen any of the previous Rambo films. On that basis, this film is probably not made for me. However, I said the same thing last year when I saw Rocky Balboa having previously not seen any of the earlier incarnations of the Rocky series and I got swept up in the final fight sequence as much as anyone else in the cinema. Would the same thing happen here?
Well, let's start with the positives. The direction is pretty good - Stallone places Rambo in a particular directoral style and maintains this throughout and the style suits the type of high action film that this is. Secondly, this film does a good job of not watering down the concept of its predecessors to make it more commercially appealling and this is to be applauded. This film probably would have made more money as a 15 or 12A but the decision to make this a full-on visceral experience that fans who have grown up with the series is the right one. That said, this is a film which is unflinchly violent and gory but there are some pretty impressive set pieces which ratchet
Now to the negatives. As good as the direction is, Stallone should probably have stopped there with the creative processes. The dialogue throughout the film is dire, repetitive and circular, particularly in the first twenty minutes where the dialogue patterns can be characterised by 4 lines of dialogue repeated ad nauseum - "We want to make a difference, You won't make a difference, Well we want to go anyway, Don't go there etc". It is screenwriting at its laziest and grates very quickly. Likewise the characterisations are stock and glib - the Christian missionaries are self-righteous and don't know the way of the world, the mercenaries are caricatures of characters from other similar films - from the idealistic youngster, to the singing US country hick to the foul mouthed Brit hardcase and the bad guys come straight from Bangkok central casting and are given other evil traits (as if perpetrating genocide wasn't sufficiently bad, the General is also far more interested in his youngest new recruits than he should be).
Much is made of Rambo's politics but frankly this film has none. The 2 minute splicing of newsreels from Burma intended to serve as a political backstory is totally perfunctory and superfluous and changes the plot not one ounce. Frankly, this film could be set anywhere in South East Asia and it would still boil down to the same basic story.
Ultimately, however, what I have said will have very little impact on those people psyched to see another Rambo movie. For those people this will fulfill their expectations on the shooting stuff level and the criticisms which I have raised simply won't register. However, for those prepared to scratch the surface, this is a lazy film with little going for it which is a shame. Given the flair which Stallone shows in direction, I would like to see him direct someone else's script with other actors, then I think we will see what Stallone, as a director, is capable of.
Empire's star count is about right ... 4/10
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