Kevin's Watch

The new trailer has started to generate quiet a bit of buzz, mostly for the extreme graphic violence (be warned.)

This looks like it may be good.

This looks ace, the bit where he rips out the rapist's throat is awesome.

I must see this film.

Heh. I assumed the thread was a joke. I just saw Rocky... uh, whatever number the last one was. OMG.

Fist and Faith wrote:Heh. I assumed the thread was a joke. I just saw Rocky... uh, whatever number the last one was. OMG.

You didn't like Rocky Balboa?

I doubt it'll be as violent as Rambo II.

Wow. I know the other Rambo movies were violent, I just don't remember them being so freakin graphic!

I don't know anything about the violence in Burma, but godd***t after seeing that clip, I want to kick some Burmese-genocider's ass!!

I'm really excited about this movie. I've heard some really good things. It's supposed to be better than II and III, more serious and not as campy. Closer to First Blood. I was going to take my 7-yr-old, until I heard the violence was more graphic than Saving Private Ryan (which I still haven't seen). So that's out. He loves guns, and loves badasses, and plays 1st-person shooters, but I think this might be too much.

I liked the last Rocky movie, but didn't love it. However, I do like SS. He is quite intelligent and funny. I'm really glad he's making a comeback. Check out his interviews on www.aintitcool.com/ The man is very generous with his fans.

First, you need to see SPR - it's the best war movie ever. I'm also pumped about Rambo IV, it looks great. Re: Rocky Balboa, I thought it was a fitting end to the series. Throw away Rocky III, IV and V, and just keep I, II and Rocky Balboa, and you have a great trilogy.

I thought SPR was overrated. The first 20 minutes are pretty good though.

Can't wait for Rambo. Hard to believe Sly's almost 62....He's in phenomenal shape.

I'm suspecting Sly needs to replenish his bank account. A Rocky movie last year, a Rambo movie now. Going with his bread and butter. I wonder who they'll have to fill the void left by Richard Crenna, who was the Mick of the Rambo movies.

From the Ainitcool interview Part 4

2. Mr. Stallone - you're a well-known political animal, so much so that there's a comment in Jeffrey Toobin's new book "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court" where he records that you were even invited to the George H.W. Bush White House during a "congratulatory" press conference following the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. I remember the "Rambo" sequels being equated a bit with the Reagan years of the tail-end of Cold War Republicanism - do you find yourself, like your fellow action star Chuck Norris, being courted by any political candidates in the '08 race? Also, where do you think the new "Rambo" falls in the political spectrum?

- S.J. Ruby, Los Angeles, CA

2.) Rambo has always been a-political, but once Ronald Reagan, who I admired, stated, “Rambo is a republican.” In some reference to Rambo and Gadhafi in the 80’s, that sort of sealed my fate and since then Rambo has always been equated with America’s military aggressiveness, but nothing could be further from the truth. Rambo is a solitary creature, not party of any military machine.

Hell yeah. He's too badass for sissy stuff like politics!

But SS knows his diplomacy . . .

6. Watching Rocky Balboa, I was so moved throughout, not just because the film was so well-done, nostalgic, exciting and poignant, but mostly because I could really feel you as his creator speaking through him...his trials as a fighter seemed to so greatly parallel your trials, not just as an actor, but as a husband and father as well, which made it even more compelling. What is your personal connection to Rambo? In other words, how does this character represent you as an actor and a human being?

Andrew G. , New Jersey

6.) Rambo I believe connects with myself and many other people who have always felt their looking at society through a window, a sense of not belonging or being an outcast because they just see the world differently. Rambo is a realist and as we know, reality is a bitter pill to swallow.

I'd forgotten how much I love this character. I've got to Netflix First Blood.

First Blood was absolutely fantastic. I think there's a special edition out, see if Netflix has that.

Cail wrote:I thought SPR was overrated. The first 20 minutes are pretty good though.

Very much agree. SPR has fantastic battle-scenes, and that's it. The drama and characters came across as cliched and hollow, I thought.

First Blood is a truly excellent film. I have little hope for Rambo IV. There's such a thing as just being too old for it. Indiana Jones IV, for that matter . . .

I'm gonna have to go get First Blood. That really was a great, great film.

For the record.....

Cool spreadsheet. Funny to see that the best Rambo is the one where he kills the least.

I just watched a trailer for John Rambo (the one linked above had been removed). I must say, it's great to see that someone made an ultra-gory action movie, rather than some PG-13 piece of crud. I may actually be looking forward to this one . . .

Stallone is an interesting guy. Very smart, but also a supremely arrogant prick in many ways. He's always said his dream role would be playing Edgar Allan Poe which is, well, ridiculous.

I saw it with my 15-yr-old son. Great guys' night out!

Make no mistake: this is bloody, gory, graphic sh*t. However, I think that it's too easy to dismiss the movie on this basis. There is a story amid all the violence. It's a simple story, but it's there.

If you don't know (*Spoiler alert*), it's about some Christian missionaries who want to help the tragically oppressed people of Burma. They try to enlist Rambo's help, and he tells them, "You ain't going change anything." When Rambo says it, you believe it. He's speaking from experience. He knows a thing or two about war and oppression.

But of course, these people are bleeding heart types who believe in the power of hope, and aren't daunted. The first pivotal moment in the movie is when Rambo gets convinced to help. It's kind of subtle, and it happens quickly. But it's a moment that will have you thinking after the movie is over. The movie, like Rambo, isn't big on speeches. It says what it needs to say, without beating you over the head with it. It might even seem a little too easy, a little too simple. But you've got to listen to the silences. Some of the best moments are when Rambo doesn't speak, refuses to speak.

So he helps them, even though he thinks it's hopeless. And what you might expect to happen, happens. The sh*t hits the fan. The bleeding hearts do some bleeding. Along with whole villages of innocent people. This is where the violence is most effective. This isn't Ahnolt blowing people up with an accented one-liner. This stuff is real, brutal, and heart breaking. It makes all the violence to come (yes, this is just a prelude) seem perfectly justifiable, and not gratuitous at all. These people definitely get what's coming to them. Oh, and people in Burma really are being slaughtered. So this small peek into their plight is just heart wrenching.

Spoiler

The baby being ripped out of a mother's arms and being tossed into a burning building like a piece of trash was particularly disturbing.

So, as you might expect, Rambo has to save the day. And he does. There are some nice character moments in all the mayhem. Mercenaries can actually be good guys. And there's one almost-ridiculous moment where Rambo slips into MacGyver mode. But it's so badass I give it a pass.

Spoiler

Bomb.

But the most interesting thing about the movie happens at the end. There's a "coming full circle" scene. I won't give it away. But what's interesting about this scene isn't . . .

Spoiler

how it mirrors the first Rambo movie, down to that same damn duffle bag and army jacket. But it's how the repeated phrase, "You're not going to change anything" is proven false. It's not in the way you'd expect . . . the missionaries don't actually do any good in Burma. But one of them actually changes this cold-hearted, pessimistic, loner, war-machine from the 70s. He decides to go home and reconnect with his father. Cheesy? Maybe if it were overdone. But this was subtle enough that you might miss it if you were merely focusing on how his wardrobe had come full circle.

Fantastic movie. I had a blast. If anything, it was too short and moved too quickly. I wish there had been more character moments. There were some quiet times, but not enough. I felt like some of it was too rushed.

I'll leave you with . . . you never knew bullets could do that to people . . .

1. Between the two immortal characters you have portrayed, which is your favorite and why? I am a huge fan of both of them.

Scott P
Brookings, South Dakota

1.) That’s a tough question. One really taps into the philosophical side, which is Rocky, and that character can speak freely and it’s a very rare situation when your alter ego can be exposed like that. I’ll never have that experience again. Imagine being able to inhabit a character for thirty years. It’s a freak occurrence. So he would be my favorite, but Rambo taps into something I believe all men harbor inside, which is a sense of indignation and isolation that usually has to be resolved through physical endeavors but in the end there is no satisfaction because the price that is paid is too intense and destructive. So Rambo is destined to live his life in solitude.

4. Mr. Stallone,

My buddy outright refuses to watch the upcoming RAMBO... he sees absolutely no reason to do so. Even
the trailer did nothing for him. Mind you, he doesn't like violence (it doesn't worry me as I'm desensitized
to movie violence), and the trailer did focus on that aspect of it. He happily watched ROCKY BALBOA ('cos
he's a fan of the series -- and well, who isn't? -- not to mention that it just plain ruled!) but he has
no interest in this... which I find strange since John Rambo (in First Blood, anyway) is just as, if not
more, interesting than any of the characters you've portrayed (equal with Sheriff Freddy Heflin, I
reckon). So, please explain why he should go see this!

If anyone can sway him, it'll be you...

Callum

Miramar, Wellington

4.) I believe this Rambo is by far the most responsible action film I’ve ever done since “First Blood”. The content is mature and the word “violence” is being used in the wrong context. It’s a film about survival of a peaceful persecuted group of people in Burma. It’s about clashing ideals of missionaries who believe God can make all persecution go away through love and the counter force of confronting evil with bravery and a force of righteousness that people can rise up and slay tyrants if they’re willing to put their life on the line. I love this film and I believe if people go to the theatre they’ll be pleasantly surprised by it’s many layers.

aintitcoolnews.com/node/35378

So I guess you guys didn't rush out and see it like I did . . . ?