Rambo 4
May 19, 2007 4:45 PM   Subscribe

Too much Rambo? Looks a little different than the other movies. Will this level of violence make the theaters?
posted by bigcheesegump (112 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Yo, Pepsi.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:49 PM on May 19, 2007


My kingdom for the image tag.

Note: I do not have a kingdom.
posted by milquetoast at 4:58 PM on May 19, 2007


Meh, the first one was actually pretty good, but I'm not bothering with any of the sequels.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:58 PM on May 19, 2007


I can't tell if that's really cool or really Orwellian.
posted by Citizen Premier at 4:59 PM on May 19, 2007


I didn't think it seemed that violent, at least until he turned the guy in the jeep into hamburger.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 5:01 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


It's like he is channeling Chuck Norris.
posted by Mr_Zero at 5:01 PM on May 19, 2007


Whoa! First its all serious and disturbing with innocent burning villagers and stuff. Then the violence goes all grindhouse, slasher movie gory. Not like the cartoony violence of the 80's action movies. Weird.
posted by 4Lnqvv at 5:02 PM on May 19, 2007


Yeah, I'll see it. I'm a sucker for shit like this.
posted by brundlefly at 5:08 PM on May 19, 2007


I'm guessing this might trigger a unrated release. Violence get's a lot of slack at the MPAA, but not the extent that the trailer shows here.

But hey, they got my $10 when he decapitated that guy.
posted by Derek at 5:10 PM on May 19, 2007


Full decapitation in a preview? Not something you see every day. Also, there better be some exploding arrows.
posted by brain_drain at 5:10 PM on May 19, 2007


Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Cool, this looks like a follow up to the brooding that was First Blood, then...

Hamburger.

If done right, it could be quite powerful. If you make the violence not over the top, but truly gruesome, you could turn Rambo into a pretty effective anti-war movie (as the original book was).

There is a scene in Proof of Life where Russel Crow kills a man by slitting his throat with the serrated blade on a Leatherman Tool. It's incredibly violent and very well done in that you see his character gagging slightly as he does it. It demonstrates both the violent act, and an appropriate reaction to it all in the same moment. This could be a set up for the same kind of thing.

It would be fantastic to take the Rambo legacy and turn it into something thoughtful, though I fear it will be just another excuse to blow shit up.
posted by quin at 5:12 PM on May 19, 2007


Not that I have anything against blowing shit up. Big fan of that in movies, in fact.
posted by quin at 5:13 PM on May 19, 2007


As someone said, the only real difference between this and the original movies is that you dont have guys just falling over when they get shot; in this one they splatter.

I'll drop $10 on it.
posted by mrbill at 5:16 PM on May 19, 2007


Let's see:
-Explosions: check
-Chopping dude's head off: check
-50 cal. at close range: check
-cheesy one-liners: check
-ripping would-be rapist's throat out bare-handed: check
-more Explosions: check

I'm so on board. I'm a sucker for mindless-blowing-things-up movies.

WOLVERINES!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 5:16 PM on May 19, 2007


brain_drain : Also, there better be some exploding arrows.

2:54 into the trailer.
posted by quin at 5:16 PM on May 19, 2007


With the recent necrophilia for Reagan this seems appropros.
posted by ao4047 at 5:23 PM on May 19, 2007


I must have missed it without the extreme close-up on the explosive tip like in the second movie. (The subsequent explosion should have been a give-away, I guess.)
posted by brain_drain at 5:23 PM on May 19, 2007


holy shit. Even with the warning I was stunned at the level of violence. It's like they're compensating for the age of the main character (and the over-the-hill status of the actor portraying him) by amping up the gore to parody levels. I almost expected to see Stallone attach a shotgun to the severed stump where his hand used to be. GROOVY!
posted by jonson at 5:26 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


I'm guessing this might trigger a unrated release. Violence get's a lot of slack at the MPAA, but not the extent that the trailer shows here.

Oh come on, have you seen Saving Private Ryan?
posted by delmoi at 5:27 PM on May 19, 2007


It's great that they aren't PG-13izing this series.
posted by dogwalker at 5:28 PM on May 19, 2007


Frankly I'm surprised they didn't exhume Richard Crenna's corpse and use him claymation style to be blown up by the Burmese. Merchant-Ivory this ain't.
posted by MAYORBOB at 5:28 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Thanks for the heads-up!!!!!
posted by The Deej at 5:31 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


This is going to be awesome. Terrible awesome.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:32 PM on May 19, 2007


delmoi writes "Oh come on, have you seen Saving Private Ryan?"

Spielberg has a lot of pull and Ryan was an "important" movie. A horror or action film with comparable violence would have had to be trimmed to get an R.
posted by brundlefly at 5:36 PM on May 19, 2007


Horror movies scare me; this shit just repulses me. Fuck it.
posted by kozad at 5:38 PM on May 19, 2007


This looks good, actually. Looks true to ole' John Rambo if you ask me.

You know, go back and watch some of the past movies of Chuck Norris, Arnold, Stallone, and Bruce Lee. Those movies were full of blood, gore and violence that you don't see much these days. In the last few years I saw a few of these and they were much more bloodier than I remember. Shit, check out Commando (Arnold) it's pretty gorey.

I wonder how much of this trailer will end up in the movie when it comes out. Keep the gore!

It also looks like John Rambo talks a little more in this one...
posted by punkrockrat at 5:39 PM on May 19, 2007


Wait, so someone made a one-link post to a trailer for a mainstream movie, and no one is screaming for the head of the OP?

Did someone replace my regular Metafilter with decaf?
posted by psmealey at 5:40 PM on May 19, 2007


Okay, I'm in. Of course, I thought Apocalypto was an awesome movie, so i'm obviously sick.
posted by Bookhouse at 5:49 PM on May 19, 2007


This is a pretty bad FPP, and I've seen my share.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:49 PM on May 19, 2007


I'm not keen on ultraviolence, but I like Julie Benz, so I'll have to think about this one.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:53 PM on May 19, 2007


GO RAMBO! KILL THE FOREIGNERS! [NOT JINGOISTIC]
posted by mrnutty at 5:54 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


It'll definitely make it direct to dvd.

Sha-BANG!

It actually looks watchable. Not as watchable as The Transformers, but close.

Jeez, did you see that new preview? Does that look like the shit or what? Oh, sorry... Um, Rambo... the action parts look great, the blonde looks irritating, Stallone can do no wrong by me.

His brother Frank, however...
posted by squidfartz at 5:56 PM on May 19, 2007


psmealey writes "Wait, so someone made a one-link post to a trailer for a mainstream movie, and no one is screaming for the head of the OP? "

What you're failing to consider is that this is JOHN FUCKING RAMBO we're talking about here.

Oh, and the Transformers trailer does look great, squidfartz. And this is coming from a card-carrying Bay-basher.
posted by brundlefly at 5:58 PM on May 19, 2007


Although I'm not a fan of the RAMBO movies, I might see this just to see what Stallone is doing with himself. I saw Rocky Balboa at BNAT8, and it was surprisingly decent, so if it's taken him this long to take good projects, even if they are sequels to bad projects, I'll support the guy.
posted by smallerdemon at 6:00 PM on May 19, 2007


Glad they gave him a defenseless white lady to save, so that the asians won't feel singled out for demeaning.
posted by hermitosis at 6:00 PM on May 19, 2007 [2 favorites]


129....144 - EQUAL TO: ROBOCOP, 190 - EQUAL TO: TOTAL RECALL, 280+ = BLOODIEST MOVIE EVER
(except maybe for Hot Shots 2)
posted by darkripper at 6:02 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]




smallerdemon writes "so if it's taken him this long to take good projects, even if they are sequels to bad projects, I'll support the guy."

Rocky and First Blood were bad projects?

*points while screeching*
posted by brundlefly at 6:03 PM on May 19, 2007 [2 favorites]


I am loving the theme of namby-pamby "but we've got to save the poor people" folks traipsing into a war zone and being unable to take the HEAT. Bloody activists.
posted by chrismear at 6:04 PM on May 19, 2007


It's like they took everything good ever made and put it into one movie. And then turned it up to 11.
posted by KingoftheWhales at 6:06 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


My hope is that about halfway through all the guys Rambo has killed suddenly rise up with faces full of fangs and Julie Benz laughs maniacally and reveals herself as their vampire queen, and then Rambo spends the last hour of the movie killing them all again. In a strip club. In Mexico. And then Machete shows up.

(I might be a moron, but this movie almost looks...good? I mean, relative to other movies where a guy kills a lot of guys.)
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:06 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Didn't Stallone used to be a restaurant owner with Bruce Willis and Arnold Swarrzenegger? See, if we'd actually have gone to Planet Hollywood regularly and let these three old men make a profit, they'd still be doing that and they wouldn't be getting old on the silver screen reliving their glory days. This is all our fault. I mean okay, Die Hard, First Blood, and Terminator were entertaining movies. However, they're doing some of their own stunts. I'm afraid one of them might break a hip or something. This ain't fun no more.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:16 PM on May 19, 2007


kittens - I agree, making a movie like this without Danny Trejo is just silly.
posted by djb at 6:18 PM on May 19, 2007


I also wish the Rambo franchise would decide if it wants to be a mindless blood and gore fest or if it wants to be a sappy peace and love chickflick. You can't have it both ways. Either embrace death and destruction or preach at us that war is hell.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:19 PM on May 19, 2007


I've never understood how a movie can be "mindless." It seems like a round-about way of saying, "I don't want to deal with the politics or ideas of this movie because it would probably depress me."

In any case, I'm shocked to learn that there are feral plastic surgeons hiding the Vietnamese jungle, operating on vain, aging American soldiers gone AWOL. Or maybe that's why he's bow-hunting fish: To extract their oil and inject it into every inch of free territory on his face with a syringe carved from wild boar tusks.
posted by StopMakingSense at 6:21 PM on May 19, 2007 [4 favorites]


This movie trailer was brought to you by CELEBREX. Prescription CELEBREX should be used exactly as prescribed. Side effects that may occur while taking this medicine include diarrhea, dizziness, indigestion, stomach pain, gas, nausea, or headache. If they continue or are bothersome, check with your doctor. Fluid retention has been reported. Ask your doctor about CELEBREX!
posted by miss lynnster at 6:21 PM on May 19, 2007


kittens, you are me and I claim my compound bow with explosive arrowheads.
posted by Skorgu at 6:39 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


It looks like it was made by a fan, poorly edited and the font at the end is ridiculous. Still, he killed some coloured people. Two thumbs up.
posted by fire&wings at 6:47 PM on May 19, 2007


elphTeq: Sorry for being unclear in my post here but I am shocked at the level of violence in this trailer/movie.

The point of this thread wasn't to say 'Hey look! New Hollywood movie!' I wanted to see what MeFi had to say about it (see insightful comments by StopMakingSense and quin)

On topic, a buddy of mine forwarded the link from AICN where it says that Stallone personally chose these clips to show to Cannes (?) and other movie studios. Is this a sign of the movie in trouble and looking for support or is this just Stallone taking control of the project in his own unique way?
posted by bigcheesegump at 6:47 PM on May 19, 2007


Apparently Sly says this is "A Christian film. Allrighty then.

And with all due respect fire&wings, that's a lame comment. "Coloured people" comment aside, the trailer has the "Aint It Cool" logo all over it, no "fan" would have access to new footage of the now geriatric Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, and Rambo IV is currently in filming production. So duh. It's a real movie trailer.
posted by miss lynnster at 6:53 PM on May 19, 2007


I wish I could say something more intelligent than "this looks retarded."

Hmm... this looks sublimely retarded.

My work here is done.
posted by Mister_A at 6:54 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


And "The font at the end is ridiculous"???? What are you, Giambattista Bodoni now?
posted by miss lynnster at 6:55 PM on May 19, 2007


Of course that violence will get into theaters! Don't you know, letting your kid see a female nipple will ruin them for life, but let them see the mindless slaughter of hundreds of people, they'll love it!

-The MPAA
posted by jake3456 at 6:57 PM on May 19, 2007


"Wait, so someone made a one-link post to a trailer for a mainstream movie, and no one is screaming for the head of the OP?"

I tried to set the tenor with the first post, and milquetoast, God bless his eponymous soul, gave it his all. Can we help it if we can't get any support?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:05 PM on May 19, 2007


<spoiler>

At the end of this one he joins the US Senate and fellates the president during war time with mealy mouthed criticisms of the torture perpetrated by his own country.

</spoiler>
posted by kigpig at 7:10 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


It would be fantastic to take the Rambo legacy and turn it into something thoughtful, though I fear it will be just another excuse to blow shit up.
posted by quin


Thank you Mister Pacifist.
Ahem.
posted by The Deej at 7:11 PM on May 19, 2007


Obscene use of the prayer of St. Francis.
posted by bullitt 5 at 7:22 PM on May 19, 2007


"Wait, so someone made a one-link post to a trailer for a mainstream movie, and no one is screaming for the head of the OP?"

I tried to set the tenor with the first post, and milquetoast, God bless his eponymous soul, gave it his all. Can we help it if we can't get any support?
posted by mr_crash_davis


The whole thing was worth it for my "Thanks for the heads-up" comment. Which I may be forced to favorite my own self.
posted by The Deej at 7:29 PM on May 19, 2007


Best YouTube comment:

He helped the Taliban last time. who is helping this time the KKK?
posted by KokuRyu at 7:43 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


I never saw Rambo I - III but the white shadow is in this one, so it might be worth seeing. Plus Stallone always looks his best in a mullet.
posted by vewystwange at 7:57 PM on May 19, 2007


Whoa. That is one cranky sixty-year-old.
posted by Partial Law at 8:25 PM on May 19, 2007


GO RAMBO! KILL THE FOREIGNERS!

At first I thought he was going to save Burmese villagers from the atrocious military junta. I would like to see an action movie with a plot like that.
posted by Falconetti at 8:25 PM on May 19, 2007


A few years ago, a friend and I were watching Predator 2 and we started thinking about how the level of violence we used to see in Hollywood movies back in the 80s and early 90s just didn't exist anymore.

Yes, violence was still existent in slasher movies and the like, but it didn't have the same level of wanton, casual violence that was infused into the very core of movies like Predator and of course, Rambo.

At the time, we lamented the passing of gratuitous violence in Hollywood cinema. Sure, Hollywood was still churning out decent flicks but we longed for a movie where we could just sit back, munch on some popcorn and watch as some low level henchman got wasted by the hero of the movie.

That was about 4 years ago, when we were both 25.

Last year I was watching Wolf Creek, an Australian slasher flick loosely inspired by true events. I was 28 and for the first time ever in my life, I found myself truly disgusted at what I saw.

In the intervening years, I had not found God. I had not obtained some shiny new moral compass. I did not believe that this movie would "corrupt the children" or some such crap. But now, after years of watching violent movies and enjoying and dismissing the pretend violence it portrayed, I suddenly found myself abhorring the horror.

What could have brought on this change, if nothing mentioned above had occurred. I sat down with my friend once more, the same friend with whom 4 years earlier I had discussed the lack of violence in movies, and found he had recently had similar feelings of disgust when watching such films. We brainstormed, and realized what had happened.

With feelings of shame, horror and perhaps even a tinge of fear and disgust, we realized we had... grown up.

And so today I find myself clicking on a link for the first official trailer for the new Rambo movie and find a modern day movie trying to emulate the violence of an era in cinema in which it had been born. I saw pretend decapitations, I saw fake depictions of people being gutted, and I saw special effects being used to show a guy being turned into hamburgers. And while I wasn't disgusted per se, I found nothing that would see me shell out $15AU to go see it.

I predict that this film will likely fail. The world is a very different place to the one that the original Rambo premiered in. The world has grown up, as has its original audience. Hollywood and Rambo apparently have not, and this heralds its doom.
posted by Effigy2000 at 8:31 PM on May 19, 2007 [9 favorites]


Effigy2000 ftw.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:54 PM on May 19, 2007


What makes me uncomfortable in this clip is not the level of violence, but that the yeehaw-let's-kill-charlie stuff only happens once the pretty white girl gets slapped around a bit. But then I thought: maybe that's the clever political point this film is going to try an make - it's going to be a nuanced critique of our failure in the west to fully humanise the victims of conflict in far-away countries, and also perhaps a damning indictment of the mass media's tendency to only see the world through western eyes.

If it doesn't get the Palme D'or, then it's a disgrace.
posted by liquidindian at 9:14 PM on May 19, 2007


The world has grown up, as has its original audience.

Have you met the world?
posted by shakespeherian at 9:14 PM on May 19, 2007 [12 favorites]


Amen, Effigy2000.
posted by strawberryviagra at 9:20 PM on May 19, 2007


We came from monkeys, we once were hunted
Perhaps we recognize that hunted human face
Maybe the suburbs are just far too antiseptic
Kids need some splatter splatter messing up the place.


The world has grown up, as has its original audience. Hollywood and Rambo apparently have not, and this heralds its doom.

Man, I dunno. Here in the land of the fee free, we tend like it when the bad guys get blowed up. I seem to recall that "War of the Worlds" bombed everywhere but the US.

That said, I can't even watch pretend violence. I first saw Robocop when I was 17 and had to leave the theater. I coudln't understand why people were laughing.
posted by lysdexic at 9:21 PM on May 19, 2007


It'll be interesting to see if Stallone gets tortured in this one. The main thing I remember about Part III - aside from Rambo's being able to single-handedly down Mig helicopters - is the prolonged strapped-to-the-bedsprings torture sequence.

Chuck Norris has a similar scene in one of the "Missing In Action" films (2?). Sort of a staple - how much pain can you take? Except USA is all weird about torture post-Abu Ghraib, and makes psuedo-porn-kinda torture flicks like "Hostel", instead of macho, tough-guy-torture flicks like "Rambo". So it'll be neat to see if there's a new take on the whole torture Stallone biz.
posted by stinkycheese at 9:32 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Oh there'll be torture. But it'll be Stallone torturing his audience.
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:39 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


stinkycheese -- I believe the prolonged strapped-to-the-bedsprings torture sequence was in Rambo II. You gots to keep your suspend all disbelief plot points straight.
posted by MAYORBOB at 9:53 PM on May 19, 2007


omg white people in trouble?!
posted by ODiV at 10:08 PM on May 19, 2007


Yeah, sorry. I think Chuck Norris may have actually been tortured in all three MIA films too. It's been awhile since I've seen any of these.
posted by stinkycheese at 10:09 PM on May 19, 2007


Darla! Yay!
posted by jiiota at 10:17 PM on May 19, 2007




tedious... which is a shame, I've seen Stallone do decent acting, not often but it is there, guess he must want the wads of cash, must have wasted the rest of it on steroids.
posted by edgeways at 10:57 PM on May 19, 2007


I hate to be 'that guy' but I think I may need to be here, for a moment.

First Blood aka 'Rambo 1' is a very different movie than it's successors. He is not fighting brown people, it wasn't supposed to be a orgy of violence. It was intended to be a look into the mistreatment of Vietnam vets (specifically, dangerously well trained vets) at the hands of a small town authoritarian.

At the end of the story, Rambo is supposed to die. The book and original idea for the film were not violence for violence sake, but 'This is violence. It's the result of our decisions. Are we ready to accept that?'

To make it a slightly less tragic film, they decided to rewrite the ending. And taken on it's own, it worked.

But then, they decided to make sequels. And thus the original message was totally lost. And suddenly everyone needed a bigger and scarier knife.

I very much enjoyed Rambo 2 and 3. I also loved Predator 1 & 2, Robocop, the Terminator, and Red Dawn. These were the awful/ wonderful violent films of my youth. I needed them, and they made me the person I am today.

But I will not stand to hear someone putting First Blood in the same category as the follow up films. 2 and 3 were popcorn flicks, 1 was edge of your seat stuff.
posted by quin at 11:07 PM on May 19, 2007 [2 favorites]


I don't think it was an explosive arrow. I think the arrowee fell back on a mine. /nitpick
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 11:09 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Oh you have a horribly long name slmtdahcj-mints, but after watching the trailer and suggesting that he was using explosive arrows above, I think you may be right.

But even so, it's clearly a call back to the 3rd film.
posted by quin at 11:16 PM on May 19, 2007


The world has grown up

Naww, you've grown up. There's no shortage of the old you willing to pay for this.

I think the only thing that could possibly make this better is clips from Walker: Texas Ranger randomly inserted.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:45 PM on May 19, 2007


the only thing that could possibly make this better is clips from Walker: Texas Ranger

Rambo tearing off Norris's chest hair a la Game of Death. Norris roundhouse kicking Rambo back to 'Nam.
posted by zippy at 12:03 AM on May 20, 2007


This guy is a fucking savage. Someone should take him to that bridge near the edge of town and tell him not to come back.
posted by nixerman at 12:20 AM on May 20, 2007


the only thing that could possibly make this better is clips from Walker: Texas Ranger

"Rambo told me I have AIDS!"
posted by Optamystic at 3:41 AM on May 20, 2007


GO RAMBO! KILL THE FOREIGNERS!
posted by mrnutty at 2:54 AM on May 20 [+]


Yeah, it makes me sick how US action movies always need some foreign evil. And then after the token provocation the evil dumb despiccable foreigners get blown to bits by the noble american hero.
I even hated this in the orginal Rambo movies.

So now it's the Burmese, huh?

But I like your concise comment better, mmutty.
posted by jouke at 4:39 AM on May 20, 2007


It looks like it was directed by Uwe Boll.
posted by billysumday at 4:40 AM on May 20, 2007


God damn those hateful Burmese and their horrible Mountain Dogs. We will have our cathartic make-believe vengeance on them.

I very much enjoyed Rambo 2 and 3. I also loved Predator 1 & 2, Robocop, the Terminator, and Red Dawn... I needed them, and they made me the person I am today.

I saw and enjoyed all of those films in my youth as well, but I always considered Monty Python and the Holy Grail to have made the largest imprint on who I turned out to be.
posted by psmealey at 5:05 AM on May 20, 2007


Sylvester Stallone is very good at making money.
posted by gwint at 5:41 AM on May 20, 2007


It looks like it was directed by Uwe Boll.

There should be a Godwin's Law for filmmaking. Honestly, say what you will about this or any film...except that. Uwe Boll? Uwe Boll??? YOU GO TOO FAR, BILLY!!
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:00 AM on May 20, 2007 [1 favorite]


it makes me sick how US action movies always need some foreign evil

Come now; while there is no shortage of flicks with foreign evil, there are plenty of flicks with home-grown evil. Hollywood is an equal-opportunity employer.
posted by moonbiter at 7:59 AM on May 20, 2007


billysumday writes "It looks like it was directed by Uwe Boll."

What kittens for breakfast said. That's not something to be tossed around lightly.
posted by brundlefly at 9:40 AM on May 20, 2007


It'll be interesting to see if Stallone gets tortured in this one. The main thing I remember about Part III - aside from Rambo's being able to single-handedly down Mig helicopters - is the prolonged strapped-to-the-bedsprings torture sequence.

He was put up against the bedsprings in the second movie and those weren't Mig helicopters. You're thinking of Hinds.

it makes me sick how US action movies always need some foreign evil

You might want to look into Gary Busey's filmography a bit.

As far as the level of violence goes, well, people don't do graceful flips when a bomb goes off nearby and they tend to turn into bits of meat when they're hit with big bullets. If you've ever been an action movie fan, it's a little late to get squeamish.
posted by Cyrano at 9:52 AM on May 20, 2007


Oh, and I'd like to add a DARLA!!!
posted by Cyrano at 9:54 AM on May 20, 2007


At first I thought he was going to save Burmese villagers from the atrocious military junta. I would like to see an action movie with a plot like that.

This would require at least a minute or two of expository dialogue (by a gristled foreign aid worker in a dingy cafe, perhaps, or else in a "news" item on a background TV) explaining that SLORC isn't representative of the will of all ethnic Burmese, not to mention that the ethnic minorities in Burma have been the most brutalized by the junta. Not to mention what a "junta" is.

In the time it takes to do all that, you could totally disembowel one of them dudes and play his small intestine like a stand-up bass.

I could be wrong, but I'm guessing the latter will track better with test audiences.

I am loving the theme of namby-pamby "but we've got to save the poor people" folks traipsing into a war zone and being unable to take the HEAT. Bloody activists.

Also, before we go lumping all foreign aid workers with the same crude over-generalizations as befall brown people in Hollywood action movies, I'll just note that one of the coolest NGOs I've ever come across got its start building portable solar-powered clinics for Karen field medics.

Unless this was arch sarcasm, in which case carry on.

posted by gompa at 9:57 AM on May 20, 2007


I've always felt that graphic, squirm-inducing violence is preferable to clean, cartoonish violence. Violence is messy, and should be depicted as such.
posted by brundlefly at 9:59 AM on May 20, 2007 [1 favorite]


tearing off Norris's chest hair a la Game of Death . . . .

Actually, that was in Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon in the US).
posted by landis at 10:40 AM on May 20, 2007


HERO SAVES WHITE WOMAN FROM BROWN DEVILS. FILM AT 11.

Rambo 4 or Birth of a Nation? You decide!
posted by Avenger at 10:53 AM on May 20, 2007


This movie looks pretty fucking awesome. I can't usually tolerate extreme gore in horror movies, but in action films it is all too appropriate.
posted by Snyder at 11:51 AM on May 20, 2007


Too much, Rambo.
posted by Abiezer at 12:21 PM on May 20, 2007


If you all remember the FIRST Rambo move - First Blood was about an alienated 'Nam vet who was victimized and pushed to his limits by the man - represented by red necks. Rambo was a long haired loner. A fucking LIBERAL!
He mentions Agent Orange and "losing" the war.

I wasn't until the sequels that he became totally immersed in Reagan era jingoistic bullshit.

I do remember first seeing the movie (or one of th sequels I can't recall exactly) on a plane to North Carolina for my brothers wedding (on the way to Fort Bragg - so the plane was filled filled with guys going through Airborne or SF Charm School).

AND Sitting next to my dad a former Green Beret himself. There was lots of booing. My dad was chuckling allot.

At the end of the movie my old man leans over and says something to the effect of:

"Ya know while I was in Vietnam "The Stallion" was in LA shooting porn. But it's nice to know I COULD have won the war all by self. If only I'd have known."
posted by tkchrist at 12:22 PM on May 20, 2007


The gore is actually quite refreshing. It heightens the anger and violence when we see people splatter, instead of simply fall down. In context, however, it's disturbing to see Burmese as villains. Myanmar really needs more positive portrayal, as most of us in the West don't know what's happening there -- but then, this movie's plot needed some more faceless SE Asian villains. It looks like Rambo is reluctant once again, up to a point, and how full of remorse he is, and whether he actually dies this time could provide a little balance for the killing.
posted by asfuller at 12:38 PM on May 20, 2007


I went to Hollywood Stock Exchange and maxed out on stock for Rambo IV. Why? Cuz I don't like it. When I pick movies I like, or would like to see, I often lose my virtual shirt.

I probably won't see this film. I liked parts of First Blood, and found Rambo II sickeningly laughable. In hindsight I don't even recall hearing about Rambo III.

This will probably make bucket loads of money. So virtually speaking I'm backing it with fake money. This is probably why Hollywood is so bad, because people with real money don't support financially what they want from movies - just what they think will sell.
posted by ZachsMind at 12:56 PM on May 20, 2007


In hindsight I don't even recall hearing about Rambo III.

It was a total piece of shit on the order of Dolph Lundgren's Red Scorpion, if you remember that. The best part, though, was that it was released within about a month or so of the Soviets' announcement that they were pulling out of Aghanistan, which pretty much cratered whatever currency it was aspiring for.
posted by psmealey at 1:10 PM on May 20, 2007


Good idea, ZachsMind. I should do that too. I've got $30+million on there thanks to sucky movies I knew would succeed.
Alas, if only I was as good with real money. Sigh.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:13 PM on May 20, 2007


Teaser? Jeez, they used to at least wait for the full length trailer to give away the first and second acts.
posted by brevator at 3:49 PM on May 20, 2007


It was a total piece of shit on the order of Dolph Lundgren's Red Scorpion, if you remember that. The best part, though, was that it was released within about a month or so of the Soviets' announcement that they were pulling out of Aghanistan, which pretty much cratered whatever currency it was aspiring for.

I've read somewhere that it was a blockbuster in Kabul and the talibans loved it.
posted by darkripper at 5:10 PM on May 20, 2007


I'm still waiting for a sequel to Death Race 2000.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 5:49 PM on May 20, 2007


Wait a minute ... there may be another death race ... I thought I was kidding.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 5:54 PM on May 20, 2007


We're only distracted from the smell of shit by more shit, it seems.

Bring on the honeywagons, Hollywood, and bury us deep! Mmm, yeah. That cloacal stink is almost making me forget how horrible the last load was! More!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:09 PM on May 20, 2007


If you all remember the FIRST Rambo move - First Blood was about an alienated 'Nam vet who was victimized and pushed to his limits by the man - represented by red necks. Rambo was a long haired loner. A fucking LIBERAL!

Well, no, because First Blood is really about the conservative myth of the spat-upon Vietnam Vet--John talks about being called "baby killer" by the hippie ingrates. It's a great movie, though, unlike the sequels. Expect this one to be a post-Iraq parable affirming the use of violence for human rights purposes. Also, the Stallone Christianity that was kind of sweet in Rocky Balboa is threatening to look preposterous this time.
posted by Kirklander at 8:55 PM on May 20, 2007


I'M IN UR JUNTA KILLIN YER GOOKS FER JEEBUS
posted by oncogenesis at 10:23 PM on May 20, 2007


Haaammmmm-burga!
posted by phaedon at 11:55 PM on May 20, 2007


Expect this one to be a post-Iraq parable affirming the use of violence for human rights purposes.

Don't we have a Civil War thread on the front page at this very moment?

John talks about being called "baby killer" by the hippie ingrates.

Well, itterations of the soldier as hired/paid killer (also simplistic/backwoods/rube) do show up here now and again. And we're pretty hippie 'round these parts. But, then again, I'm sure we've all come to an agreement on how to characterize a million-and-a-half people as one one homogenous group, right?
posted by Cyrano at 6:38 PM on May 21, 2007 [1 favorite]


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