RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II - 4K Blu-ray (Carolco, 1985) Lionsgate

Eviscerated by most critics as the worst movie sequel of all-time, hyperbole indeed, as movie sequels were not the norm in picture-making back then, Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) attempted to pick up where the events of First Blood left off – or rather, three years into the foreseeable future. There is no getting around the fact Sylvester Stallone’s incarnation of David Morrell’s iconic survivalist is one of the most immediately recognizable action heroes of the postmodern age; the muscled-up, strong n’ silent type, rather uncharacteristically a man of conscience and neutrality in a world spinning wildly off its politicized axis. Rambo: First Blood Part II is a vibrantly-induced actioner with enough testosterone flowing through it to make even an anemic put on ten pounds of muscle. As directed by George P. Cosmatos, the picture perfectly captures the renewed strength and optimism of the American spirit as heartily promoted during the potent presidency of Ronald Reagan. Aside: I recall a ‘National Lampoon’ cartoon from the period, depicting Reagan’s head on Stallone’s rippling body with the caption ‘Ronbo: Reagan’s Way’ affectingly to meld the public persona of Reagan’s no-nonsense White House to America’s internationally renowned ass-kicking military might. Having ramped up his game on a Molotov cocktail of anabolic steroids, Stallone herein bears no earthly resemblance to the underdog fighter, Rocky Balboa that had endeared him to audiences in 1976, nor even to the John Rambo first introduced to us in First Blood (1982). And truthfully, Part II departs about as far from the relatively low-key premise of the first picture as is creatively possible, while still getting away with calling itself ‘a sequel’.

Stallone’s abilities as an actor are limited. There, I said it. However, perhaps even more astutely knowing his range, Stallone was exceptionally cagey throughout the seventies and eighties, cherry-picking roles that kept his aspirations in check, even as his physical girth continued to morph with his rapidly escalating drug use. Rambo’s appeal to any hot-blooded male is, frankly, transparent. Take an ordinary put-upon guy of average intelligence and looks, juice him up and set him loose to articulate the popular rage. This, Stallone’s Rambo does exceedingly well. As a character, John Rambo is lent the ballast of a calculated integrity scripted by James Cameron, with considerable input from Stallone, cribbing from author, David Morrell’s instincts, first novelized in 1972.  So, Rambo’s ancestry plays its part – half-Native (accounting for his survivalist skill set)/half-German (genetically blessed and good with weapons).  It helps, at least in a rather formulaic way, that Stallone’s taciturn and self-reliant vigilante has a conscience and a soul – marginally, speaking – girded in raw male armor, spritzed with enough oil to effectively glisten for the camera. For John Rambo, war is personal. He rather abhors the political side of America’s ambitions, distilling the vastness of conflict down to an invested crusade he is determined to win, in spite of his instructions to remain a conscientious observer. Rambo is not one to sit on the sidelines.

If only to unearth one good reason to see Rambo: First Blood Part II, we defer from Stallone’s bandana-wearing, perpetually sweat-soaked and rippling hulk with an Uzi, to the more meagerly endowed Jack Cardiff - cinematographer extraordinaire, who lends virtually every frame of Part II its visually-arresting patina. Cardiff’s careers hailed all the way back to 1935 and a string of superbly crafted Technicolor masterpieces conceived for Powell and Pressburger, among them, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948). If only for these, Cardiff would already be deserving of a hallowed place in cinema history. You can spot a Cardiff movie immediately, and Rambo: First Blood Part II bears every blessed hallmark in Cardiff’s extraordinary use of color. As the action in Part II is as idiotic and implausible as anything seen on an old sixties’ G.I. Joe serial, Cardiff’s formidable styling herein elevates virtually every moment in Part II to an emblematic exchange of bullets and brawn. It looks good, so it stands to reason it must be good.

Virtually all of the Rambo movies are variations on a singular theme: a knight’s errand where the nobler warrior’s conscience is pitted against seemingly insurmountable odds and hellish circumstances. In Part II the mission is over-simplified: Rambo, to parachute into Thailand and spend 36 hours taking photographs of POW camps he has known only too well in the past. Rambo’s wrangler, Col. Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna) outlines the rules of engagement. But as soon as Rambo is left to his own devices, he becomes his own man. Militarily speaking, he remains a soldier. Intellectually however, he rewrites the playbook to right the wrongs of ‘policy’ on the fate of human degradation. His logic is sound, but his actions are sincerely flawed. And his motivations, having no wiggle room within policy, create the bottleneck that spurs the rest of this adventure on. Having rescued one POW, Rambo incurs the unease of his stiff-britches superior, Marshall Murdock (Charles Napier), who kiboshes his heroism, abandoning both men in the dense underbrush to fend for themselves. After all, nothing can be left to ‘screw’ with the ‘official story’.

Incensed by this betrayal, Trautman rails at Murdock who holds steadfast to the logic that if any POWs are rescued the result would be an all-out invasion of North Vietnam. Leaving Rambo vulnerable to capture, the inevitable occurs. He is taken into custody by the Soviets – allies of the Vietnamese – and brutalized to make him reveal not only his mission, but broadcast a false narrative back to the U.S. base. Of course, both sides have underestimated him. And so, Rambo’s only message is back home, as it were, is he will survive and avenge himself at Murdock’s expense. To aid in this impossible recovery, Rambo is sheltered by a Vietnamese girl (Julia Nickson) later killed, thus leaving Rambo unencumbered as her butch and beefy male protector. The trifecta of villains after our hero – the Vietnamese, the Soviets and Murdock – are offset by Rambo’s singular prowess as a hands-on/wits-played survivalist, exercising the tired cliché of ‘you can’t keep a good man down.’ So, rather predictably, Rambo redoubles his efforts as liberator of the remaining prisoners. With all of the pyrotechnics a ballooning $25.5 million movie budget can buy, Rambo frees his brethren, finds his way back to base unscathed, and rather contemptuously spares Murdock’s miserable life, though not before likely scaring the bull-headed bureaucrat into leaving more than a little deposit in his under-drawers. Personally, I wouldn’t mess with any guy ramped on roids and carrying a grudge.  

Rambo: First Blood Part II ends rather uncharacteristically with a bit of problematic philosophizing; Stallone seemingly to have channeled his inner Eastwood and a bit of Charlton Heston’s Moses in delivering his truth to power. Perhaps borrowing its iconography from Hollywood’s western mythology, the picture finds enough strength in the disillusionment of a solitary man revisited, critiqued and finally, over-simplified. So, efficacious conflict needs no vindication. Part II’s anesthetizing hailstorm of bullets and butchery is a conflagration to effectively expunge any and all dramatic tension from the movie screen. And Rambo’s anti-elitist swagger in these final moments offers only surface appeal. Explaining to Trautman there are likely other camps and other POWs in desperate need of a John Rambo, this John Rambo declines to push on and save the day, forcing Trautman to play the patriotism wild card. This too is almost immediately shot down by Rambo. Although acknowledging his love of country – extended to every fighting man and woman – Rambo points to his unease about his country’s love for its military personnel being reciprocated. He has a point there. Asked by Trautman how he will live from now on, Rambo’s reply “Day by day” suggests a fresh start to an old concern. Glory requires guts – splayed, spilled or otherwise iron-cast to get the job done. Perhaps, Rambo, for all intent and purposes, has inexplicably lost his stomach for the ‘good’ fight. Resolute, resentful and having suffered enough for ten super men, John Rambo hangs up his Uzi along with his anger to begin anew…well, maybe.  

Lionsgate has put its best foot forward again, releasing Rambo: First Blood Part II in a pristine 4K remaster that will surely please fans of this iconic 80’s escapist actioner. The restoration was sourced by StudioCanal from an original 35mm camera negative and the results could not be more impressive. While the standard Blu-ray (also included herein) merely offers an ‘acceptable image’ with marginal crispness, its UHD 4K counterpart delivers the sort of one/two wallop we have come to expect in Ultra Hi-def. The higher resolution reveals startling clarity to the enth degree. The steamy rain, jungle foliage, craggy rock formations, etc. Wow! This image shows off Jack Cardiff’s superb cinematography to its very best advantage. For a movie pushing 33 years, color is remarkably refined and bold. Contrast is bang on and black levels are velvety deep, with only occasional, and very minor crush. Point blank: you are going to LOVE the way this looks. The disappointment here is the audio – still DTS 5.1 – virtually identical to its standard Blu-ray counterpart. Exactly why Lionsgate did not spring for a new lossless audio is a curiosity. Oh well, they’ve spent both time and money here to make sure the image is A-1 perfect. So, we’ll forgive them this shortsightedness. As with First Blood, the only extra featured on the 4K disc of Part II is an audio commentary from Cosmatos. Frankly, it’s dull and uninspired, offering little beyond snippets and sound bites to dampen, though never entirely whet the appetite.

The Blu-ray houses a trio of brand-new featurettes: We Get to Win This Time, and Rambo Takes the 80’s (divided into 2-parts). Cumulatively, these top out at 47 minutes and are a succinct, though comprehensive examination of the movie’s creation and legacy, featuring interviews – both vintage and new – from cast and crew. Holdovers from previous releases; Action in the Jungle, The Last American POW, Sean Baker: Fulfilling a Dream are also included, as is the all-too-brief pair of interviews with Stallone and the late Richard Crenna, plus featurettes on the restoration process and trailers and TV spots. Bottom line: If you are an 80’s action junkie, then Rambo: First Blood Part II is decidedly your drug of choice and Lionsgate’s 4K release is superb. Bottom line: very highly recommended!

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

4.5