John Rambo

[Yog]

Just when you thought Stallone was done with resurrection rituals (Rocky Balboa), here comes another 80's action hero. Yup, Rambo IV is in the making, and the first teaser video clip was recently released at aintitcool.com. John Rambo is set for release in june 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PyJRTCFLsE
(warning: some very violent, gory and intense scenes in this clip)

Looks quite a bit gorier than usual. It's almost as if Stallone is reaching for a NC-17 rating. Although if it gets to that, it would hurt box office wise real bad. I am guessing they will tone it down a bit and go for R-rating.

Personally, I am not sure if I should laugh at the idea or get excited. Any thoughts? You may commence throwing rotten eggs and tomatoes now.. ;)

[JMK]

Uhh....I don't know what to think about this. You're right - it looks like Rambo is trying to distract us from his age with tons of brutality and gore. If those shots from the teaser are the tip of the iceberg, this will definetly get consideration for NC-17.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

He should have lost the mullet. :\

I'm not sure about this at all. I mean, Rocky Balboa turned out ok... but... :uhoh

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

At first I saw people on fire and thought you guys were bein' pansies. And then I kept watching :x

[Yog]

At first I saw people on fire and thought you guys were bein' pansies. And then I kept watching :x

Told ya so :lol

I will give Stallone credit for one thing, making it more realistic. War is not pretty. On the other hand, Rambo is about anything else than realism. This is the directe opposite to the next Die Hard movie, which was softened to the point of getting a PG-13. I wonder if this will be a new trend in action movies, the same way the original Rambo movies set a trend for mindless action flicks later.

[Kaast Dulli]

did he punch that dude's head off on the jeep? if he did this might be the best worse movie ever.

[Yog]

I think he chops his head off with a machete, looking at it frame by frame. And there is a metallic sound too, so yeah, definitely some kind of blade.

[JMK]

Maybe he took a page from the Vorhees playbook. :lol What is certain is that he stole a page from the Patrick Swayze playbook from Roadhouse and ripped some dude's throat out. What a charlatan.

[Droo]

Rambo will punch your head off! :eek

[Imri Manouchehr]

This is going to be so awesome.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

This'll be interesting that's for sure.

[Figrin D'an]

I can't see this doing very well at the box office. Most people are going to be really turned off by that degree of violence, even if it is realistic.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

I would think it'd be because the story didn't look interesting...but you have a good point Fig.

[Jedieb]

Normally, I'd laugh this off and not even give it the time day. But, I was so impressed with Rocky Balboa that I might give this a look once it hits DVD. I'm at work so I can't watch the trailer. I'll check it out tonight.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Actually watching it I woudl say the gore is not on the level of stuff like Hostel, the Devil's rejects or the Saw movies. Now those are gory movies and they all got R ratings. I mean people get tortured, cut to pieces and done things to that are just unbelievable and they didn't get Nc-17. This will probably be R rated unless there is full frontal nudity it or something. Its funny usually only movies with a lot of nudity get NC-17. Movies with a lot of gore and violence like what I have said above almost never do.

[Yog]

Actually watching it I woudl say the gore is not on the level of stuff like Hostel, the Devil's rejects or the Saw movies. Now those are gory movies and they all got R ratings. I mean people get tortured, cut to pieces and done things to that are just unbelievable and they didn't get Nc-17. This will probably be R rated unless there is full frontal nudity it or something. Its funny usually only movies with a lot of nudity get NC-17. Movies with a lot of gore and violence like what I have said above almost never do.

Well, movies like Hostel, Saw and The Hills Have Eyes have cut down versions in theaters. It's a constant trial and error exercise, pushing the limits and sending back and forth edited versions to the MPAA rating board, until they finally get a cut with "only" a restricted rating. When they are released on DVD, they are unrated. I agree though, those movies are unbelievable, and very sadistic. But that's horror and this is action. The MPAA might slap on a NC-17 just because of that (the MPAA rating board is anything but rational). As for nudity, your're right. Once you show a little nudity.. slam! NC-17 rating.

[jjwr]

The scenes I saw in here felt just as gory as anything in those movies and to me it felt much more graphic the way he did them. Personally I don't mind it but I know some will.

I doubt I would see it in the theatre but this looks like something I will enjoy very much once it hits DVD.

I LOVE part where he turns the big 50 cal around in the jeep and turns the guy into a find red mist. Yeah I know its wrong but it was a great visual.

[JMK]

That's classic Rambo!

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well, movies like Hostel, Saw and The Hills Have Eyes have cut down versions in theaters. It's a constant trial and error exercise, pushing the limits and sending back and forth edited versions to the MPAA rating board, until they finally get a cut with "only" a restricted rating. When they are released on DVD, they are unrated. I agree though, those movies are unbelievable, and very sadistic. But that's horror and this is action. The MPAA might slap on a NC-17 just because of that (the MPAA rating board is anything but rational). As for nudity, your're right. Once you show a little nudity.. slam! NC-17 rating.

Well it is the same thing, I doubt they would release it R rated. They would hve to edit it down some, to get R. Which they will because a NC-17 raiting is a death nail.

[Yog]

I went into this expecting it to suck on an epic scale (according to the reviews). Boy was I mistaken.

Is it violent and gory? More than you can imagine. The trailer was light weight. Limbs fly all over the place in the most creative manner possible.

Is it horrible wrong? You bet. It's the most testosteron loaded macho action movie I can remember, and the moral of the story is basically "an eye for an eye". Uhm.. actually it's an arm, a leg a head and a toe for an eye.

Will it tank at box office and the critics throw rotten tomatoes all over it. Been there, done that.

Is it going to offend the church goers, the feminists, the film snobs and everyone but the most hardened film viewer who basically do not get offended by anything? They will burn the movie on a gigantic bonfire and riot in the streets.

But I will be damned if I did not root for Rambo. And damn, it gave me an adrenaline kick I have not quite experienced in an action movie for a long time. The ultimate bad hiney action performance this year (except for Transformers, but those are PG13 and robots, so they don't count), and quite frankly for many years. This is not an intelligent movie, like Bourne Ultimatum. If you read the manuscript, it is probably thinner than a tabloid newspaper. No, this movie is not about that. It's about the thrill and how it's delievered. It's going to be a cult classic, for those who have the acquired taste of such thing. This movie is not for the critics, or those easily offended. This is for the fans. I'd say this stands toe to toe with First Blood.

It is simply more extreme, more intense and cutting edge than what else is out there. I read someone mentioned if you put the most intense scenes of "Black Hawk Down", "Saving Private Ryan" and "Stalingrad" together, this is still more intense. I generally agree with those sentiments.

Anyway, I probably scared off 99% of people reading this, and now everyone on these forums will think I am some sadistic gore freak. That's fine. And actually no, I would not say it's sadistic even though the Burmese soldiers certainly are portrayed as such (I count Hostel movies more in the sadistic and sick territory. Btw those are terrible, avoid at all cost). This is about the action, and the gore goes more into splatter territory, but with emphasis of simulating war at it's most extreme crulty and with a shocking amount of realism. Well relatively anyway, you see Rambo never miss. As it should be. I just wanted to say, if you are among the 1% remaining and willing to watch this movie for the non stop action ride and don't mind the violence, and on top of that secretly like the Rambo movies, you are in for a treat.

Stallone himself may be growing old, but this movie is kicking the crap out of the pretenders. He still got the touch. The professional film critics can go on about being pretentious. :)

Edit: I give it 5/5 stars for the cult value.

[JMK]

I saw it last week. I couldn't wait for this, though I knew it would suck. It did suck, but boy did I love every minute of it.

Extreme is one way to describe the violence. Like I thought would happen, Rambo would distract us from his age with massive amounts of flying limbs, heads, entrails and other various body parts.

As a movie - 1 star out of 5
Entertainment value - 5 out of 5.

[Yog]

As a movie - 1 star out of 5
Entertainment value - 5 out of 5.

Yeah, I guess it could be summarised like this. It's a niche film :)

[Crusader]

Thanks for the reviews guys this is exactly the movie I was looking for :D

[Droo]

As a movie - 1 star out of 5
Entertainment value - 5 out of 5.


And this is where I'll have a problem with the film if I go to see it. If a film is bad enough to warrant a 1 out of 5 rating on quality then that would stop me from enjoying it. There's a limit for me. Some would say that Shoot 'Em Up is a "1 star out of 5" film with 5 star entertainment value whereas I think those responsible for that film ought to be imprisoned. For me, those properties go hand in hand. I will be distracted from anything potentially enjoyable in a film if it's that bad. If it were 2 or 3 out of 5 stars, it could still potentially be 5 star entertainment for me but I don't like to excuse poor film-making because they blew a load of stuff up and there were limbs everywhere.

I'm curious as to what you mean for intensity of scene, Yog. Do you mean it is simply more violent with buckets more gore or are you saying that the pacing, tone, and writing of the scenes make them more cinematically intense? I care nothing for raw violence if the delivery of it isn't without merit.

If I go to see this film, I'm glad to say I will be going without a clue what to expect; a friend of mine gave it a glowing review on the basis that it's just fun but my sensibilities differ to the extent that I may not enjoy it. I think this is the best position to be in because I cannot be disappointed and hopefully, I'll be surprised.

[Yog]

I'm curious as to what you mean for intensity of scene, Yog. Do you mean it is simply more violent with buckets more gore or are you saying that the pacing, tone, and writing of the scenes make them more cinematically intense? I care nothing for raw violence if the delivery of it isn't without merit.

Well, I already compared the writing of the film with a tabloid newspaper. There is no depth to the story. I'd rate the script above #2 and #3, but that does not say much. There is no depth to the characters either.

For me, it is the pacing, editing and cinematography working together to make it a thrilling action experience. It's all about how it's executed. Sure, most going into this movie are lured by the gore, that is the main selling point. It's state of the art splatter stuff which makes you ponder how they pulled off half the stuff you see on a technical level. But it would not be interesting if the action scenes were not cut well together. I compared it to the likes of Omaha Beach scene in Private Ryan and Stalingrad because the camera work and editing of the action is outstanding. The main difference being it lasts much longer, like one continous scene and with outragous amount of gore. Half the movie is spent setting this up, which makes the situation very intense

I like the screenplay between Rambo and the mercenaries, the sneaking around the military base delta force style, and how it builds up to an epic showdown with the Bhurmese soldiers. Most B-action movies nowadays, they throw in a lot of pointless side characters you don't care for, who gets themself killed in a retarded fashion, but this is not the case in this film. The mercenaries actually turn out to be hardened soldiers themselves who you also end up rooting for.

Also, a couple other random stuff I really liked:

* The nightmare scene where Rambo gets flashbacks. Then as he wakes up, someone standing in the doorway, except it is not the General, it is a pastor hiring Rambo and some mercenaries. Oh the irony. Halleluja!
* Rambo stringing his bow right in the face of one of the mercenaries "If your guys are going to shoot, now is the time.. there is not one of us who does not want to be someplace else, but this is what we do. Who we are. Live for nothing.. or die for something. Your call."

[Crusader]

I just came back from the movies and I have to agree with Yogs: This is a special movie in it's own way. I really liked the way the mercenaries were shown as tough warhounds. This made Rambo look even more bad ***.

[Yuri Thrice]

I just finished it myself. Not being a fan of too many of the other Rambo flicks, I was actually very impressed with it.....

[Jedieb]

I actually LOVED Shoot 'em Up. Paul G. was great and Owen and Monica weren't bad either. To me, it was basically a modern spaghetti western on steroids.

Rambo is definitely going to be a Netflick movie for me. Although I'm not that jacked up for the gore. Ughh.

[Yog]

Rambo is definitely going to be a Netflick movie for me. Although I'm not that jacked up for the gore. Ughh.

Remember to keep wife and kids at safe distance while watching this ;)

[Jedieb]

Rambo is definitely going to be a Netflick movie for me. Although I'm not that jacked up for the gore. Ughh.

Remember to keep wife and kids at safe distance while watching this ;)

The hell with that, I may ask the wife and boy to watch it and describe it to me. :cry