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Rambo (2008)

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Time Out rating

Average user rating

46 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

‘When you’re pushed, killing’s as easy as breathing,’ mumbles John Rambo (Stallone), that Great Redwood of an action hero with the greased mullet and soiled head-band who has lived by a strict code of Reaganisms for nigh-on thirty years. The fact that ‘Rambo’ contains a record-beating 236 on-screen kills suggests that breathing is actually a complex quadratic equation in comparison.

We join our hero in the jungle. He’s quietly tip-toeing through the brush and foraging away. Could it be that America’s foremost patriotic killing machine has decided to hang up his machete and embrace the life of an eco-warrior? Not likely: he spends his days gathering poisonous snakes to spice up local tough-man competitions.

His ‘work’ is interrupted by a group of sappy charity workers wanting to be taken down-river into a Burmese war zone so they can distribute aid to villagers who are being massacred by a tear-away military faction. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess what happens…Workmanlike in every aspect, it thrives ( and partly succeeds) on its dismissal of postmodern detachment.

That ‘Rambo’ opens on real footage of atrocities in Burma is a false start, as this film has no connection to reality and nothing to say about the current political climate. This is 90 minutes of violence. No more, no less.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 1957: Feb 20 to 26

User reviews of this film

JJ said...

Posted on Mar 20 2008 17:00 Shoot everyone, blow up everything, hunt, kill etc. yes its a Rambo film, what else did I expect, nothing its a 9 out of 10 for me. Roll on number 5........

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Steve K said...

Posted on Mar 18 2008 15:08 When will Stallone realise that he's 60 years old and no longer the lean mean street fighter from the Rambo Rocky days? He's also about 8 stone heavier. This film was just an excuse to show how to kill someone in the most horrible way. Blow them up on a mine field! Or with a machine gun! Or blow their leg off! Or shoot them with a bow and arrow! I guess the next Rambo film will see him fighting Osama Bin Laden. In the Senior Citizens home.

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rajesh said...

Posted on Mar 18 2008 14:18 excellent film, had our doubts before going , but got tempted, and we loved it! great filming, my mate had not seem any rambo before and loved it, go watch it!

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michael ward said...

Posted on Mar 17 2008 13:17 Having seen Rambos 1,2 and 3 I expected nothing less as Rambos 2 and 3 are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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iain said...

Posted on Mar 16 2008 22:52 well what can i say....quite brilliant!!. had read some poor reviews about this but how wrong they were! sly stallone simply excels in the john rambo role and he doesn't let us down again. basic plot as usual - but who cares!! - the violence comes thick and fast and is extremely graphic as well...great stuff, a must see!!!

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Alan said...

Posted on Mar 14 2008 17:17 Excellent film - Rambo is the dogs bllcks. Really recommend. Can't understand the fuss about the violence - films like Saving Private Ryan are much more gory and not half as much fun.

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nenee said...

Posted on Mar 14 2008 16:34 Why do we listen to film critics theyknow nothing, and it proves me right with their rubbish review on this fantastic film. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this film better than any of the others in my opinion. The story is realistic even though very gory, and the action is fantastic, not the usual computer crap that most films dish out these days, which I hate with a passion.
IF YOU WANT A CRACKING FILM THEN GO AND WATCH THIS! Stalon at his best, the affects at their best (and realistic) and the story line gripping.
I LOVED IT GO AND ENJOY WELL WORTH THE MONEY!!

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John Rambo said...

Posted on Mar 13 2008 12:20 I've never been to a British cinema where everyone has clapped at the end. That is until I saw Rambo. Entertainment at it's best. Seen it twice now. Rambo is a legend,

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Zillur said...

Posted on Mar 11 2008 23:36 RAMBO is a legend

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Sadie said...

Posted on Mar 11 2008 13:34 First-rate....we know war is bloody, brutal and never justified but atleast this film gives us true reason to what is right and wrong in this world and does something about it.....I am a soldier and watching RAMBO is what we all feel inside when we see injustice....Although quite heavy on violence, it's quite easy to blame Stallone....bottom line is there is so much more rubbish out there, at least this has gumption.

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Sean Ellis said...

Posted on Mar 10 2008 13:56 It's one thing to enjoy action films, but this whole franchise is driven on the basest of human instincts. Anyone who derives enjoyment from watching human beings being brutally and senselessly slain has got some serious issues. The fact that there are so many of those people out there makes me think that the species is doomed. Seriously, people, you can do better than this...

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Dave said...

Posted on Mar 09 2008 18:05 The best movie ever! Sly is the great actor!
Very good, fast action, real violence just like on real war zone!
The best finish of Rambo saga fim story!

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danu66 said...

Posted on Mar 09 2008 13:13 I think this is a good Rambo film, it follows the Rambo trademark pretty faitfully. Yes it is VERY violent, so much so that my wife left the film for a while as she felt dizzy with so much carnage and wanted to throw up. However when you leave the the film you realise that things like this do happen at war, and would continue to happen, killings, abuse, revenge... look at the Yugoslavian, look at so many other conflicts...The best thing is that you get out of there and feel so relieved you do not have to worry your child would be taken away to fight, that you will not be hungry, cold, abused, bitten up... It just make you realise how lucky we really are, and that we should be avoiding getting into a position where we have to go and fight and let the worse of us come up against another person.

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leo said...

Posted on Mar 08 2008 20:36 rambo rock

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Craig said...

Posted on Mar 08 2008 19:10 First rate. Stallone tackles the subject of (albeit in an unbelievable way) the sick Burmese army regime in a way our government refuses to do, and shows what real ordinance can do to a human being as opposed to computer game fantasy. Thumbs up Sly! Fuck the left wing critics!!

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