MovieChat Forums > Rambo (2008) Discussion > Pretty much a rehash of 'Rambo 3'

Pretty much a rehash of 'Rambo 3'

posted 12 years ago by A-zone
30 replies | jump to latest

I personally found this movie to be the weakest in the series. Sure "Rambo 3" (which is often the most criticized) had a fair amount of cheesiness to it, but I still find it a lot more entertaining than the fourth installment.

I'm not saying that Rambo 4 is bad, it's just that I found it to be nothing more than a rehash of the previous movies, mostly Rambo 3.

I find it rather amusing that people call Rambo 4 the "best" and Rambo 3 the "worst" AND YET, almost 90% of Rambo 4's basic plot is just the same as Rambo 3:

Rambo is living as a commoner in exile
People come to ask Rambo for help
Rambo warns them against going into the warzone
The people get caught
Someone comes and informs Rambo about their capture
Rambo goes into the warzone to rescue them
The military leader in the warzone is exceptionally brutal
He is committing genocide
Even the scene where Rambo starts shooting the jeep-mounted machine gun is almost identical to a similar scene from Rambo 3.

The final rescue of the hostages from the POW camp in the rainy night was also pretty similar to the scene in the POW camp in "Rambo 2", complete with prostitutes and pigs.

The end where Rambo is walking wearing his green jacket is the same as that from the beginning of Rambo 1, although I am guessing that this was more of a homage.
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[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] swc11-48-550133 10 years ago

Until you pointed out the similarities, I never thought that they were similar until now. They truly are the same premise and even Rambo 2 is very close to those Rambo 3 and 4.

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[–] booyahboy_uk 10 years ago

You could almost say that Stallone has gone back to the original Rambo 2 & 3 with a greater maturity and produced the true sequel that First Blood deserved.

Inside the dusters, there were three men.
Inside the men, there were three bullets.

[–] booyahboy_uk 10 years ago

Then again, if I remember correctly, in the book Trautman shot him.
Inside the dusters, there were three men.
Inside the men, there were three bullets.

[–] johnremington90 10 years ago

Rambo 3 was much more a rar rar rar US Propoganda action film aimed squarely at the mainstream with stereotypical Russian baddies etc

Rambo 4 was much more gritty and realistic aimed at showing the world the story of a real current conflict

[–] bluerevenge 10 years ago

Riiight because the war in Afghanistan with the Russians in the 80s, commonly referred to as the "Soviet's 'Nam" was just make believe? LOL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan

I agree that Rambo as a movie is more gritty, graphic, and realistic but just because the US is not as involved in the Burma conflict, doesn't mean it's anymore "real". Both are real wars with real casualties, though granted the one in Rambo III is over now (of course there are other conflicts in Afghanistan today).

Though in III there is a US military involvement (there isn't in Rambo) it's not really like the army going in there and winning the day, it was a clandestine operation. When I saw III movie initially I was pretty young but I never thought of Rambo III a "ra ra USA" movie at all, TBH. All I knew back then were the Russians were "the bad guys" and I just thought of it as Rambo saves the day from the bad Russians. Today I just think of it as a classic action film :)

There are far more "go USA" type films from around that time if you ask me. Top Gun for one (where the origin of the enemies was not even important--yay USA wins! MIGs are bugging out, who cares where they came from! LOL). The Delta Force (which was largely based on real events) is another one and the sequel to that is even worse as it's just war-on-drugs nonsense.

OP is right though, Rambo was basically the same premise as III. You can even add how the rebels think Rambo is a "tourist" in III; similarly, the mercenaries think he's "just a stupid boat guy" in this movie! Personally, I think they're both good action films, but I do think the 4th instalment was a better movie overall.

[–] The_Ultimate_Hippo 9 years ago

I've noticed that each Rambo sequel borrows from the film before it:

- Rambo: First Blood Part II: The villains take Rambo's knife (Galt uses it to cut a piece of paper, Padovsky puts it in the burner), a villain dies by falling out a helicopter (Galt and Yushin), Rambo blows up a building with an M-60 at the end (the police station, Murdock's headquarters)

- Rambo III: The interrogation scene with Trautman and Zayson is almost identical to the interrogation scene with Rambo and Padovsky, he wears the same black tank top which he later removes.

- Rambo: Starts with Rambo in exile, he initially won't go on the mission, they are saved by a group of rebels at the end

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

[–] I_Guard_Tanelorn 9 years ago

This movie is absolutely meant to replace Rambo III, just as Rocky Balboa was meant to replace Rocky 5. Or maybe apologize is the better word. And in both cases, unjustly. Cause those movies were fine. That's why Sly no longer numbered the later entries. I consider them to be taken as optional sequels, or additional canon, depending on the viewers' tastes.

If you leave 3 out of the picture, you're left with a pretty solid trilogy with unifying theme of Troubled Vet in the Rambo saga, and because 4 is so similar to 3, it hits a lot of the same beats and not much is left out of character arc of Rambo.

"I said no camels, that's five camels, can't you count?"

[–] The_Ultimate_Hippo 9 years ago

I would agree with you except for the following:

- In Rocky Balboa, Rocky is still poor while he was rich at the beginning of Rocky V. You can't just watch Rocky Balboa after Rocky IV and understand what's going on. Rocky V is clearly still part of the franchise

- In Rocky Balboa, Rocky and his son still use the "home team" line which originated in Rocky V

- In Rambo there are flashbacks of Colonel Trautman from Rambo III

I actually don't mind pretending Rambo III doesn't exist, it's a solid action film but a bad Rambo film. It really makes sense that Rambo is all pissed off at the beginning of the 4th film if you ignore the 3rd, it makes no sense at all if you include the 3rd. However the flashbacks pretty much convince me that we are still supposed to count the 3rd movie.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

[–] TJenkins602 9 years ago

Yeah, the ending of Rambo III shows John Rambo maybe mellowing out...

...but 4 takes place roughly 20 years after (if we're to use release dates as indication)

However, I think Rambo's monologue at the end of First Blood Pt II could make for a great transition to the fourth film in the series.

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[–] barttp 8 years ago

However the flashbacks pretty much convince me that we are still supposed to count the 3rd movie.

The flashbacks also include a deleted scene from "First Blood" where Trautman shoots Rambo in the abdomen. That establishes, that we're not necessarily forced to believe that each and every scene included in that flashback was depicting a 'real' event.

It's only a dream sequence... Rambo could be dreaming about anything there. If so, we can just as well choose to pretend that all these flashbacks from "Rambo III" either didn't happen, or were just flashbacks of OTHER events, not those depicted in "Rambo III". After all, they are just 'images', with no reference to the plot whatsoever.. So i think it's all pretty open to interpretation.

[–] politicaldefiance 9 years ago

Rambo III is a lot more fun, but this movie is pretty damn hilarious at times.

[–] TheUltimateHippo (2250) 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 5 years ago

Yes it is a rehash, Rambo III rebased a lot of First Blood Part II as well and Part II has several callbacks to the original. It’s kind of annoying but the movies are awesome so I let it slide. And besides Rambo 2008 did it so much better than Rambo III