So, let me give a quick recap on my thoughts on the first three movies so that there’s some context for my feelings on this fourth installment, terribly titled Rambo. The first movie (First Blood) is a fantastic action movie that deals with some dark themes, and so it’s actually a strong story and performance from Sylvester Stallone that propels this into the amazing film that it is. The second movie (Rambo: First Blood Part II) isn’t quite on the same level, due to it not having as engaging of a story, but it still winds up being great by focusing on ramping up its exciting action sequences, resulting in a flawed but fun movie. Then, Rambo III just sucks and is forgettable, due to being bland in story and action.

Now, this fourth installment (Rambo) winds up being my second favorite in the series, and here’s why.

Let’s talk about the plot first. Due to it coming out 20 years after the last movie, Rambo is much older now, and so he’s kind of just hidden himself off, and has become quite downtrodden. Early on in the movie, some Christian missionaries ask Rambo to help them bring aid to the poor, starving, and sick. This mission winds up going south pretty quickly, and the members of the group are either killed or kidnapped. Rambo tries not to care, but soon finds himself joining a group of mercenaries to go into Burma and rescue the missionaries.

On the surface, I feel like this sounds like a generic plot, and in a sense it is. However, it’s the focus on Rambo as a character that really sells it, much like First Blood. This brings me to my biggest point. The reason why I like this movie more than the second and third is because it tells a story that I’m actually invested in again, and so it’s so much more engaging. It really brings a dark, grim tone back to the series, and dives deeper into Rambo’s psyche again. It’s not quite on the same level of storytelling as First Blood, but it’s the best attempt the series has made since then to tell a strong story, and it mostly succeeds.

However, the other big component here is the action. As I’ve talked about, the second and third installments put their focus into having crazier action and a higher body count each time. Some might forget that Rambo only actually killed one person in the entire first movie, whereas this number grows exponentially in the following installments. This fourth movie by far has the highest body count of the series thus far (we’ll see how the fifth movie fares with this), having about three times as many kills as the third movie. It’s with this that I want to give my biggest endorsement of the movie…that Rambo never sacrifices the story or the action in favor of the other. It’s actually probably the strongest blend of the two for the series, although I still definitely prefer First Blood as an overall movie. However, both the story and the action are equally important here, and the result is a much stronger movie than I could have expected.

The only reason I might see someone not enjoying this movie (outside of if you simply just don’t like the series, or action movies in general) is if you don’t like excessive blood and gore. I don’t want to undersell just how brutal this movie can be at times. You see many body parts just being torn apart by gunfire, along with many other brutal acts, sometimes involving children. There’s even a scene where Rambo physically rips a guy’s throat out with his own hands. Don’t get me wrong, the movie doesn’t present this brutality in a tasteless way or anything, but I can understand how people who get turned off by blood and gore might not like this movie.

Other than that, I don’t see many reasons to dislike this entry in the series. Sylvester Stallone actually took the reins on this movie by writing and directing it, which really shows his dedication and passion for the character and the series. So, you know the movie is in the hands of someone who genuinely cares about delivering a good movie. I was surprised by how good this movie was, considering the series was seeing diminishing returns in quality since the first movie. However, while First Blood is still the definite standout of the series, Rambo is easily the best of the sequels.

4/5