Rambo III:Ultimate Edition

Rating:
Summary: greatest action star of all time at his zenith
Review: Rambo 3 is usually regarded as the weakest in the series. However, I love this film, simply because Stallone plays a borderline superhero better than anyone else. How many other men can combine such a powerful physical presense with so much force of character? While the real-life Stallone is certainly not as virtuous as Rambo, he is known to have incredible willpower and determination. These qualities dominate his portrayal of John Rambo.You look into this man's eyes and you simply cannot imagine him being small or petty. He is reminiscent of Harry Callahan in that regard. Whatever his limitations may be, his integrity and courage are beyond question. In addition, Stallone is so devoted to the discipline of bodybuilding that he has actually managed to create a distinctive look for this film. (As he has done on many other occassions for various movies.) Stallone is so powerfully built in Rambo 3 that he actually seems to belong in the rugged Middle Eastern desert environment.His range may be limited, as we saw in his 'comedy' films, but when he sticks to his forte, playing great heroes, Stallone is the greatest ever.
However, Rambo 3 has other good qualities besides Stallone. There are several great action sequences. The opening stick fight is brutal and effective. The helicopter attack on the Aphgan village is horrific and violent. Crenna's character seems to summon a warmth from Rambo that we do not often see. They work well together. The climactic battle is great. The villain is effective. This is a great action film. While the story may not be as interesting as the first or second entries in the series, it is outstanding in its own right. It is simply a bit more comic strip in nature. It is rather like an updated version of Captain America. This is not intended to be a realistic war movie.
The special features are also quite good. However, the movie is worth the money even if there were no extras. I wish Stallone would make more movies like this one.

Rating:
Summary: More proof of the curse of children
Review: I was trying to figure out why I, and most other folks it seems, don't believe that this episode has enough to hold our interest as the others. It certainly has action and destruction, but something is not quite right overall....
Then it hit me. The kid. That's thing that has always rubbed me wrong about this film. And the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Any film in which the adult hero gets all buddy-buddy with a child (regardless of the child's "importance" to the plot) tends to lose peoples' interest. For example: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Wars: Episode 1, Last Action Hero, and so forth. Children simply do not belong in an adult action world, and the films which involve them in the storyline truly do seem to suffer from public disinterest, not to mention bad filmmaking.
This film also has comparatively more "talk" than the first two, and is slower to build. The scene in which Rambo is participating in the Afghan horseback game is clearly ridiculous filler material, and some of the characters are just annoying. I can't explain why. They just are. Especially that kid. He bugs me just as much as he bugs Rambo.
We also see Rambo's trainer/mentor Col. Trautman get into the action, not that that is anything exciting. It's odd that the guy who claims to have made Rambo the killing machine that he is has none of the abilities of his student. For a "Green Beret"--especially one who allegedly has enough skill to warrant being a trainer--his performance in combat is pathetic. Trautman is less a "killing machine" than a washing machine.
There are however some humorous moments which is a new concept to the franchise ("It turns blue.") and not entirely unwelcome, but I believe less talk about the Afghan plight against the Russians, less children, and the body count of the second film would have helped this one immensely. I think it was trying to be cerebral and that is not good for this genre.