ViewGuide

Created Sep 14, 2008 12:05PM PST • Edited Sep 14, 2008 12:05PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   How has no-one reviewed this classic before me?! Suffice to say, it’s a great, yet flawed film that reminds you not only that Sylvester Stallone was a fantastic action film star, but also that even in the heady days of the ’80s, action films could be realistic and thoughtful.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

   Stallone just has to glare and look suitably deranged for this role, and he does this well. But some quiet and serious scenes at the end demonstrate his acting quality, and it’s a shame this young, impressive actor became better known for his stunts than his dramatic performance. The supporting cast are good, but no-one’s a standout, and Richard Crenna as Rambo’s old superior really weirded me out with some of his performance!

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

   The Stallone of Rocky is present here, and as I said above, his performance here shows that as a younger man, he could have been so much more as an actor than he became (having already nabbed an Oscar for Rocky). He doesn’t say much, but when he does, he presents a broken and lost young soldier who finds himself totally alone and shunned by the very people he served in Vietnam. Richard Crenna is a bizarre actor here, and in knowing that Kirk Douglas was two days from playing the role, it’s easy to see why the actor appears strangely unfocused. However, he does give the air of a genuinely sad and empathetic friend to Rambo; perhaps his only friend.

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

   There were none. None at all. This is a real man’s film ladies, so unless you like the pumped Stallone, steer well away! Scores are only up to boost the overall one.

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

   As above.

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

   Brian Dennehy and David Caruso were the two co-stars I knew here, and Dennehy could perhaps be considered a star (but I didn’t have enough space!). The character makes some particularly ridiculous moves, but Dennehy makes you realise he’s a man who wants no crap in his town, and yet unfortunately picks the one piece of crap that would fight back to the death. Caruso made me laugh (unintentionally) with his weedy cop – who knew this man would become Horatio Crane of the Miami PD? Mind you, the acting’s still dodgy even here!

10. Film

    Good 3.0

    What I really like about this film is how it’s filmed: all in the countryside, seemingly inside every building in a real mountain town, and no special effects. Coupled with the serious story idea, and the conclusion, this is a thinking-man’s action film from 1982, twenty years before Bourne. The soundtrack is immense as well, with the Rambo theme one you have stuck in your mind afterward.

11. Direction Good 3.0

    The film is ably handled in all respects, even appearing to be more modern than its age suggests. The attention to detail with many aspects (scenery, continuity and so on) is very astute, and for a director I had not known, nor ever heard of before, this film is an impressive one to boast.

12. Play Good 3.0

    It’s cheesy, and in places ridiculous, but sometimes actually quite good. Rambo’s monologue at the end in particular is really good, and tells more about the horrors of war (and his actions) than you would think.

13. Music Very Good 3.5

    Jerry Goldsmith was one of the great film composers, and the Rambo theme here is one that you may or may not know already. It’s great though, one of those understated ones that you hear and instantly get images from. The rest of the soundtrack perfectly marries with the visual aspects, and is a great example of where music and film meet.

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5

    The mountain town of Hope, and the carnage Rambo brings upon it, are presented beautifully here for a film twenty-six years old. The way that the character melts into the wilderness is met perfectly by the landscape, giving the film’s action scenes a real feel, as if Stallone had been set loose to do as he pleased! The action is great also, with real explosions and convincing blood and gore grounding the story.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.6

    The film’s violent, and in some places it’s a bit icky. But I wouldn’t have thought that your average twelve year-old would find it disturbing enough to haunt them, and there’s some profanity, but not constant and needless swearing. No sex at all: Rambo has no time for women!

17. Sex

18. Violence Fierce 2.0

19. Rudeness Salty 1.8

21. Reality

    Glib 1.8

    It could feasibly happen, but there are parts (in particular the scenes in the valley and mine shaft) that stretch the credibility. It’s a shame, because the film is an excellent commentary on the treatment of war vets, and especially an American one, as they seem to be given such respect, particularly in contrast to Brit soldiers (as this Brit can sadly attest).

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.8

23. Biological Glib 1.8

24. Physical Glib 1.8