Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Ah, Rambo - is there any other figure that personifies the eighties more? Superficial, jingoistic, politically incorrect, narrow-minded, big, loud and dumb. Still, it's one hell of a movie.

For those of you who don't know - all three of you - the plot to Rambo: First Blood Part II is thusly: John Rambo is a Vietnam veteran and Congressional Medal of Honor winner who was tossed into the slammer for going on a rampage and tearing up a small Oregon town, where he spends his free time busting up rocks (and presumably making licenses plates when the weather is bad). One day, his old commander Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) stops by for a chat. Seems the president is willing to pardon Rambo for his crimes. The catch? Go back to 'Nam and recon for some lost Prisoners of War still being held by Charlie.

In Thailand, Rambo and Trautman hook up with CIA operative Marshall Murdock (played by perpetual sleazy bad guy actor Charles Napier) who outlines the mission: infiltrate the camp, gather photographic evidence of the captives and DO NOT engage the enemy.

Being a Rambo film, that last order is violated about half an hour of landing in the jungle.

And so Rambo lands in the middle of Cong territory, hooks up with his local contact on the ground (who of course is a hawt Vietnamese chick, inevitably leading to Action Movie Rule #5: falling in love is an INSTANT death sentence for the partner) finds the camp loaded with all kinds of GI Joes and gets one to the extraction point with the entire Vietnamese army on his tail. Of course there wasn’t suppose to be any Joes left in the camp, so sleazy Agent Murdock aborts the mission and leaves Rambo holding the bag.

Now it's up to Rambo to taking matters into his own hands, single handedly win the Vietnam War, defeat the Russian Army (Action Movie Rule #7: All enemies during the eighties must either be Towel Wearing Terrorists, Evil Godless Commies or Slimy Drug Dealers) save all the Joes and get his pound of flesh for Murdock's betrayal. Much ass kicking ensues.

Like the very first Rocky movie, the first Rambo flick was actually a pretty thoughtful, introspective piece with more psychological turmoil and atmosphere than explosions. The second one was. . . considerably less so. As the series progressed, the producers at Carolco abandoned the legitimate drama and opted more for the testosterone filled wham-bam shoot-em-up he-man fantasy.

As a result, the movies feels more like a live action cartoon that a serious war film. The first movie established Rambo as a skilled green beret, here he is an unstoppable killing machine, a force of nature invulnerable to all harm (Action Movie Rule #8: any damage inflicted upon the hero will be superficial, just enough to cut his shirt and draw blood) and capable of taking out hundreds of foes with ease or reloading.

So, if you're going to dial up the over-the-top factor to 11 and discard any pretence of reality, you better make damn sure that the action is visceral and pleasing, right? Well, guess what - the action does deliver. Much to my great surprise, the script was written by James Cameron with an assist from Stallone (Jim handled the action parts, while Sly fleshed out the politics), and the man really knows how to blow stuff up real good! Add in some really stylish directing from George P. Cosmatos, and there's no doubt in my mind that this things a winner.

(Addendum: I would be remiss if I didn’t give props here to the amazing score from Jerry Goldsmith. The man did some great work on the trilogy, and his themes really kick the action up a notch because of it.)

Oh, sure it's simplistic, but it's a high energy popcorn movie. Trucks blow up! Buildings blow up! Helicopters blow up! Computers blow up! People blow up! Machine guns! Really BIG machine guns! Rockets! Bows! Arrows! Exploding arrows! Hunting Knives! The movie only really slows down for a breather after Rambo gets captured and interrogated, but it's only a few minutes until we're back to the cavalcade of destruction.

And you know, as I watch these movies (plus the amazingly derivative Missing in Action series), I find it refreshing to have real live stuntmen doing real live stunts in front of real live explosions. None of this blue screen crap - it was all practical effects done on location. And the direction was smooth and logical, without this need to shake the cameral or get really close up and in my face so I feel like I'm part of the action. Give me a well framed long shot over this pusdo-Saving Private Ryan D-day bullshit any day of the week.

Modern viewers may see this series as a quaint relic from the Regan cold war era, but I couldn’t disagree more. Sure it's dated, but all three are still a whole lot of big, dumb fun.

BREASTS ON DISPLAY: 0 (unless you count Sly's 2)
EXPLOSIONS: 93
ROUNDS FIRED: 4,801 (and 56 arrows)
PUNCHES THROWN: 42
HANDRAIL DEATHS: 0
CAR CHASES: 0 (but we do get a helicopter dogfight)
FRUIT CARTS DESTROYED: 0
NINJA? No
F BOMBS DROPPED: 1
BEST LINE: "You may scream. There is no shame."
BEST DEATH: Charlie and Rambo are shooting it out in a canyon. Charlie runs out of ammo and resorts to his pistol. Rambo calmly stands up, preps his dynamite tipped arrow and blows the lone VS solder to itty bitty pieces.

THE DVD -
Rambo: First Blood Part II is presented in a really nice anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen version. There's a small amount of dirt and damage here and there, but the film looks really nice. The colors are good and the blacks look solid. There's also a B-side to the DVD with a pan-and-scan version, but have some dignity!

I should point out however, that there appears to be a mastering error - and subtitles aren’t included for the Vietnamese and Russian dialogue. While nothing here is so complex that you cant follow it (I think "Where is Rambo! WHERE!" translates pretty easily no matter what language you speak), you should be aware of the problem. I was fine, but others may not be.

THE EXTRAS -
There are several releases of this trilogy - the one I have is the Rambo Trilogy in a keen metal box, which as I understand it the superior version. The disc has a commentary track by director George P. Cosmatos (dry but informational), a documentary on the Rambo Phenomenon and why the series is as successful as it is, production notes, cast and crew notes and a couple of trailers.

Not a bad mix, but the bulk of the really good supplemental stuff appears on disc four - so you would do well to get the metal box set over the other releases.

BOTTOM LINE -
Rambo II is an out-of-date relic that is one-dimensional, jingoistic, distasteful, brutal, politically incorrect, dumb, and bombastic. And it's a whole lot of fun!

MY OTHER RAMBO REVIEWS:
* FIRST BLOOD
* RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II
* RAMBO III



Recommended: Yes

Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older