Rambo: First Blood Part II

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff
Directed by: George P. Cosmatos
Rating: R
Genre: Action, War
1985

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is recruited to travel back to Vietnam and save a number of American POWs.

Review:

Tim: After the powerful and clever action/drama original, this film was bound to be a disappointment. The story has devolved into a purely action flick one, and not even a very good one at that. The jungles of Vietnam are not nearly as exciting as a background for Rambo as is a small American town (I know this is counterintuitive, but watch both films and see for yourself).

Part of the appeal of the first film is watching ordinary cops up against a brutal killing machine simply trying to survive. There was a certain element of awe that made it great. That component is completely gone here. In its place, we have a typical action hero doing typical action hero things.

Sylvester Stallone himself still manages to be pretty good. He carries that battle-weary look over extremely well. If he had more time to act and less spent showing off his muscles, this would be a better film.

The supporting cast is weak, besides Richard Crenna. Rambo's quasi-love interest is completely absurd and unbelievable.

This is a disappointing film. The original set the bar so high and this one seems like it didn't even try to reach the same level. Too many aspects of the film were changed, and most of what made the original great is absent here. Rambo: First Blood Part II had every reason to be good, but instead shows nothing new and bores us.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: First Blood, Rambo III, Rocky