Review of Rambo: First Blood Part II

The first movie First Blood was a riveting survivor story and character study on a retired Green Beret questioning his existence. The sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II tosses aside the main character’s shellshock in favor of a crowd-pleasing, mindless, but fun action movie. John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is called into a mission from Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) and Major Marshall Murdoch (Charles Napier) to find the possible remaining prisoners of war in Vietnam. Then, the Soviet troops, who are in cahoots with the Vietcong soldiers, kidnap Rambo, but that doesn’t stop our muscle-clad hero as he escapes and returns the POW’s back to the Colonel. Usually when a sequel is released, it performs extraordinarily well in the box office despite being a terrible movie. Similarly, Rambo: First Blood Part 2 has that same inception, but it’s the type of movie to put your brain behind the door and have fun watching Stallone wielding a gun shirtless with explosions behind him. Unlike the more complex and unique predecessor and the book it’s based on, the sequel is riddled with mass explosions, Commies being shot in a line, clichéd dialogue, ridiculous weapons of choice including explosive arrows, and melodramatic death scenes. These moments make you totally forget that the prison guards did nothing to stop the military from breaking out Rambo in the first place. In other words, Rambo: First Blood Part 2 is the epitome of a popcorn movie, one that is spectacular, but no words of a vernacular will describe this great event, so the audience becomes dumb with wonderment. I can also tell you, it’s the best Worst Picture Razzie winner so far.

(3 1/2 Jade Necklaces out of 5)