About as overrated as Stallone's other flagship franchise. Really dumb, contrived set-up. It's impossible to take the conflict of this movie seriously because of the hamfisted execution of the scenes at the police station. You could argue that the writing is so forced because those scenes are presented from Rambo's pov, but if that's the case it makes his character all the harder to root for. On top of that Stallone doesn't do anything make the character more interesting, he remains very one dimensional and flat from beginning to end. The scene in the third act that's meant to complete his character arc has a laughable performance. It was probably a good choice to make him more of a physical presence for the rest of it. Once the cat and mouse chase begins, the movie becomes slightly more entertaining. Love the location and editing of the action, there's some beautiful visuals throughout. I also like how they present the resourceful attitude of the Rambo character, even if they push it too far with all the unbelievable traps. It's during moments like that where I wish this film was more willing to embrace how cheesy everything is. The film also loses me whenever they cut back to the cops and military, just some of the worst acting and dialogue. It's one of those films that's at its best when it's showing quiet tension (e.g. Stallone surviving in the wild or the third act). Everything else I could take or leave. People love to pretend this brings relevant, thoughtful commentary about PTSD to the table, which is pretty disingenuous with films like Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter already existing before this.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2024-04-15T11:56:16Z
About as overrated as Stallone's other flagship franchise. Really dumb, contrived set-up. It's impossible to take the conflict of this movie seriously because of the hamfisted execution of the scenes at the police station. You could argue that the writing is so forced because those scenes are presented from Rambo's pov, but if that's the case it makes his character all the harder to root for. On top of that Stallone doesn't do anything make the character more interesting, he remains very one dimensional and flat from beginning to end. The scene in the third act that's meant to complete his character arc has a laughable performance. It was probably a good choice to make him more of a physical presence for the rest of it. Once the cat and mouse chase begins, the movie becomes slightly more entertaining. Love the location and editing of the action, there's some beautiful visuals throughout. I also like how they present the resourceful attitude of the Rambo character, even if they push it too far with all the unbelievable traps. It's during moments like that where I wish this film was more willing to embrace how cheesy everything is. The film also loses me whenever they cut back to the cops and military, just some of the worst acting and dialogue. It's one of those films that's at its best when it's showing quiet tension (e.g. Stallone surviving in the wild or the third act). Everything else I could take or leave. People love to pretend this brings relevant, thoughtful commentary about PTSD to the table, which is pretty disingenuous with films like Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter already existing before this.
4.5/10