Rambo: First Blood Part II * * * * ½
My movie bang goes off when Sylvester Stallone puts on the headband and takes the shirt off to reveal a massive load of ammo and attitude. Oh, and the knife...THE knife...and explosive tipped arrows, of course. Like Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones, John Rambo can only come to life with Stallone. He IS Rambo.
Decorated, war-torn Vietnam veteran John Rambo just wants a little respect and inner peace. After a wrongful mix-up with some bad cops in "First Blood", Rambo is placed in a prison detention camp breaking rocks and his back for the country that he fought for. Of course, that doesn't last long as Rambo is given special permissions to head back into the jungles of 1985's Vietnam. Assigned with a camera and direct orders not to interfere with the enemy, Rambo is supposed to document the existence of American P.O.W. left-overs from the war. Sadly, in the mid-'80s weapons technology has taken priority as opposed to Rambo's secret weapon, "The Mind". The government wants to computer-crunch post-war numbers to sit on, instead of just taking care of the enemy's death certificates and taking care of OUR boys lost out there. Of course, Rambo single-handedly ends up blowing up all of Vietnam and their friends, the Russians. This happens after some cock-eyed, Coke drinking, foot-on-the-desk, sandwich eating, shirts unbuttoned bad boy 'Merican army brats end up betraying him and his war buddies by aborting them in the Jungleland only to save their own skin.
Fighting alongside Rambo through all of this is a female freedom fighting companion named Co, who is equal fighter and lover, like he. After making future plans to head back to America with his nearly acquired V.D. (Vietnam Dame), she is suddenly taken from him by a shower of bullets. It's heartbreaking stuff and had me at HELL NOOOOOOOOO!!!. I was honesty so mad and upset at this. But, this is when the body count starts to really pick up and Rambo ends up saving the day and the P.O.W.s. In the end Rambo blows up all the technology back at the home base. He even tells all the army jerks to find those men out there and get them some help as he leaves behind his confession to loving his country and all he wants is respect for those that have fought and died for it. Amen brother.
Back in '85 the film wasn't received very well by people for and against a war that had been over for a while...and many movie-buff-blahs called it mindless violence. It is certainly violent and action packed as it's a dang ACTION MOVIE. Come on, people. But I think that Stallone, like his Rambo, was sincere and trying to say something with this picture. Head-scratchingly-so, yet kinda-awesomely-so, "Rambo: First Blood Part II" won Best Picture at the Golden Raspberry Awards (celebrating the worst in Hollywood). I don't understand because this movie is incredible and inspiring and I'm pretty sure that there were WAY worse pictures out there when I was just a wee five years old.
Oh well, you see, even off screen nobody understands John Rambo and his life's mission. He'll always be the underdog. And what if we just had a few John Rambo fighters in our current affairs? We would have gotten all this nonsense cleaned up in a matter of 36 hours. Rambo is the real deal and takes care of the business in a corrupt business of dollars and nonsense. He'll trade a Purple Heart any day for a REAL heart and he's not afraid to kick butt and take names while he's wearing that heart on his sleeveless sleeve. Rambo is one of my heroes and a true patriot. Rambo doesn't mess around...he just leaves behind a mess ALL around.
-djg
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