The Rambo: Complete Collection sold out before I even got my review copy. But what better way to spend the 4th of July weekend than reviewing Rambo movies? The saga spans not only my life but Stallone’s in a different way than Rocky does. Rocky is the sensitive drama, even Rocky IV. Rambo began his action career. He’d done Nighthawks but that didn’t take off. With Rambo, he could also merge action with his politics.
First Blood is a tragedy about the U.S. disregarding Vietnam veterans and it’s sadly still relevant. Teasle (Brian Dennehy) is beaten and Rambo lets all his men go, but Teasle doubles down. The only deputy who died fell out of a helicopter trying to shoot Rambo for escaping their abuse, and they still blame Rambo for not letting himself get shot.
Set in the Pacific Northwest, First Blood is all overcast. The night in the forest and town, caves, mines and even the unlit police station in the climax provide deep 4K shadow.
Rambo: First Blood Part II is more bombastic but it was a brilliant idea to send Rambo back to Vietnam to win. It was absurd that there were still POWs there for him to rescue, but that extremity makes it magnificent.
Filmed in Mexico, the jungles are beautiful in 4K. Jungles and prison camps at night give the deep shadow. The light flickering in the torture scene is more haunting when it goes fully black. Even during the day, the overhang creates shadow for Rambo to stalk.
Mujahideen aside, Rambo III is a solid action movie. Why would they send a retired colonel like Trautman (Richard Crenna) into Afghanistan or anywhere? Same reason there are still POWs in ‘Nam.
Even in the desert, the night provides deep 4K shadows. Rambo and Trautman create sharp silhouettes climbing out a cave on a single rope.
The fourth and fifth films leap into the modern era. The first Blu-ray I ever saw had the Rambo trailer. 4K isn’t quite as impressive, but some of the prisoner camp and jungle night harken back to the original trilogy.
Last Blood is the digital Rambo and his ranch looks great. Nights are also sharp in the rainy mountains for the extended edition opening, and the tunnels he built under his ranch. For better or worse, the back alleys of Mexico (actually Spain) also look stark in 4K shadow.
All five movies have lots of action surrounds. The first three all have helicopters whirring around. Even First Blood added some motorcycle zooms and skids in the rear, plus the Northwest forest chirping. Likewise, the Thai village ambiance in III and the horses galloping behind you.
In new bonus features, the late Ted Kotcheff specifies Stallone’s rewrite contributions, including an attempt to keep Rambo entirely silent and why he ultimately had to speak sometimes. In his description of the original cut, the audience rejected the ending of David Morrell’s book.
William Stout discusses how he learned storyboards and Drew Struzan’s poster art. Bryan Allen and Paul Shipper also discuss Struzan.
A 2015 Rambo auction video has Stallone’s intros and he is the ultimate charismatic showman. That’s why he’s the movie star. Now I want to see the videos from his other film props. Demolition Man knit sweater when?
The archival bonus features goes back 20 and 40 years for First Blood. First Blood was one of the first DVD commentaries I ever listened to with David Morrell discussing how he got the name from Rambo apples.