Coming 20 years after Rambo III and a few years after the awesome Rocky Balboa, to say that I was excited about Rambo in 2008 is a massive understatement. Stallone showed that he could still go in Rocky Balboa so I was very interested to see what John Rambo had been up to all these years since he waged war on the Soviets in Afghanistan back in 1988!
How to Download Rambo
Rambo was released on January 25, 2008. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
I think that Rambo and Rocky Balboa are two shining examples of how to make a sequel many years after the last movie in that series was released. I love this movie, I saw it in the theatre twice and I have watched it numerous times at home. To me, this was the perfect send-off for the character of Rambo…. And then they had to go to the well one time too many with Rambo: Last Blood.
Key Facts About Rambo
| Movie Title | Rambo (2008) |
|---|---|
| Release Date | January 25, 2008 |
| Download and Streaming | Available for download or streaming on digital platforms |
| Director | Sylvester Stallone |
| Main Character | John Rambo |
| Setting | Thailand and Burma |
| Plot | Rambo is living a quiet life in Thailand but gets involved in a mission to rescue hostages in Burma. |
| Action and Conclusion | The movie features intense action scenes and is considered a sequel to the earlier Rambo films, capturing the spirit of 80s action movies. |
The Story
This is a direct sequel (well 20 years after the fact) to Rambo III. Rambo is trying to live a quiet life in Thailand where he catches snakes and works as a riverboat captain, taking people up and down the river. It was cool to see an older Rambo and what he had been up to and it did seem like he had put his fighting days behind him for good.
In Burma, there is a lot of trouble! A ruthless leader by the name of Major Pa Tee Tint is causing all kinds of devastation, killing loads of people, kidnapping women to use as sex slaves, and stealing children to raise as new soldiers. This is one very, very bad dude and the good people of Burma are suffering as a result.
Rambo’s Involvement
A group of missionaries are going on a mission to help those in need and they ask Rambo to take them up the river in his boat. Rambo eventually agrees to this, but he wants no part of this war as he feels like he has well and truly put war, fighting, and all of the death that comes with it behind him.
Action and Conclusion
Come on, this is a Rambo movie, you know that he is going to have to get into the fight! The missionaries end up in trouble and people end up being taken hostage. This leads to Rambo joining up with some mercenaries to try and get them back. I liked seeing Rambo have to try and work with others.
As you would expect, Rambo is a badass action movie. I think that they managed to capture the spirit of 80s action movies very well here. If Rambo was say 20 years younger, this could easily have been a new Rambo movie that came out in the early 90s as a sequel to Rambo III, it felt like a natural progression of the series.
One thing that I think is really awesome about this movie is the ending. This would have been the perfect way to bring the story of John Rambo to a close! Perhaps as Rambo: Last Blood took so long to come out that was the intent here? Anyway, I feel that Rambo well and truly holds its own with the other three movies that came before it. If you like them, you will like this, it is as simple as that.
