MovieChat Forums > Rambo III (1988) Discussion > Unsung Rambo

Unsung Rambo

posted 14 years ago by perfectpawn
7 replies | jump to latest

I know it's derided and it always comes up last in most people's "rank the Rambos" threads, but dammit it all to hell -- Rambo III is my favorite Rambo, and I'll tell you why.

I like this precisely why others dismiss it -- it's just an over-the-top '80s action movie, of the type that will likely never again be made...R rating, intense violence, huge budget, no melodramatic garbage, no "teary eyed moments" for the ladies which are mandatory in all "action" movies these days. The final 35 minutes are nonstop action and the scene with Rambo against the Spetsnaz commandos in the cavern is my favorite Rambo moment ever. I don't understand why this movie bombed and why it is still criticized: Stallone gave audiences exactly what they wanted -- a big dumb action movie.

In a way, I'd say this movie is Stallone's "Commando." Most would say that "honor" goes to his 1986 film "Cobra," but I'd say Rambo III is more in line with that Schwarzenegger classic...it takes itself a bit more seriously (true to Stallone form), but those final 35-40 minutes of action are equal to the finale of Commando.

I think it's a shame the film flopped. If it hadn't I bet we wouldn't have had to wait 20 years for a 4th Rambo.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] devilside 13 years ago

exactly, brownie. Rambo III is more intelligently accomplished film than some dumb folks can realize with their small peabrains.

[–] Aylmer 13 years ago

I agree with everything - the movie I don't think is meant to be taken 100% seriously, especially with the setup in Thailand with him stick-fighting to fund the monastery. The action takes a while to heat up, but when it comes it then never lets up for the whole second half of the film. They manages to do what few desert actioners do and make the most of a variety of locations and hand us decent action scenes in all of them (a cave, an enemy base [night and day], a plain basin for the balls-out action finale).

Also, it's just so ridiculously over the top that it's cathartic to see Rambo (previously a misunderstood homeless outcast rejected by his country) now take down an entire Soviet Army (complete with tanks) practically all by himself while the rebels do little more than act as a distraction. Goldsmith's score and the chop-chop editing aide immeasurably, and the big budget is largely in front of the screen. This is before CGI stepped in and started to ruin everything, so one of the last big, REAL action scenes we'd get... and of historic significance as a relic of the cold war one of the few films to really show conventional combat between American and Soviet forces.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] bring_back_Pluto 13 years ago

I agree with the positive appraisals - I love all the Rambo films deeply, including this one ... I concede that the political subtext in Rambo 3 may be potentially problematic for some, but only due to how it is occasionally so very prophetic ... I believe that this is a major stumbling block for many viewers who reject this film. The history of Soviet military efforts in Afghanistan mirror current events only on a superficial level, insomuch as the dynamics of the players involved then and now, although reconfigured, remain essentially similar - however this film simultaneously exemplifies how drastically the world has changed in the past twenty years. I find Rambo 3 to be a fascinating historical relic in addition to being a superb action film. It's interesting to project into the future, and imagine who our "enemies and allies" will be two or three decades from now, and how action films of today will be dated by virtue of their contemporary political overtones. Having said that, I fully embrace Rambo 3. If nothing else, in addition to its top notch action, it is gorgeously photographed - and has a fantastic score. Rambo is iconic - I find his character (and films) to be impossible to dislike.