Stallone goes Rambo

"Rambo reeks of depraved violence" says Australian Newspaper The Age. Rambo [lashes] out at society rather than handling difficult situations in a "civilized" manner. - Wikipedia. “Rambo” is, for most of its fairly brief running time, a blood bath punctuated by occasional bouts of clumsy dialogue. There are beheadings, mutilations, disembowelings — enough gore to rival Apocalypto - reports the NY Times.

I watched Rambo down at Hoyts Riccarton tonight. I had been looking forward to it, and in preperation, had watched the first three films a couple of weeks beforehand. Nothing in those films could have prepared me for the fourth installment of the cult series. Unfortunately, many people will go to this film purely to get the adrenaline rush from seeing so much carnage. However, if you can deal with the fact that what is portrayed in the movie is pretty darn accurate, then perhaps you can take this movie out of the "depraved violence" category. Unlike movies such as Kill Bill, where the violence is "cinematically beautiful" and stylized, Rambo features many variations of bloody violence without slipping into the category of unbelievable and imaginary.

Without a doubt, Stallone (who directed the movie) has gone overboard with the violence in his latest movie. While everything you see in the movie could have and has happened in real life, it is not necessary to show so much of it, or in so much detail.

Some observers say Rambo is one of the most violent movies ever. To that, Stallone has but one response: "Not one of the most. The most. I worked very hard for this." ..."This [movie] has to walk the thin line," Stallone said. "It really does. It was almost an experiment on how far you can push entertainment, but also stay true to the bloodshed that's going down as we speak." - Plugged in Online Movie Reviews

John Rambo's attitude towards the fighting is that he would prefer just to be left alone. But if there is injustice, then he will make the perpetrators wish they had never been born.

The score is really nice, especially at the beginning of the film, where for the first ten minutes or so, the scene is peaceful and serene.

I haven't often witnessed the whole theatre erupting in applause at the end of a film, or the core of young guys dressed up as Rambo, yelling and clapping at various points throughout it.

Conclusion: I wouldn't recomend this film to anyone, though neither would I disuade any mature person from seeing it. The R18 rating is there for a reason. Foul language and unveiled violence are two definite downsides to the film.