WARNING!! READ BEFORE YOU BUY!!
Once again sony pictures have released another mess. they have mislabelled the set, rambo 3 is NOT 5.1, it is in fact the same disc that appeared in a previous set that i also own. first set i bought had a faulty rambo 2 disc so i took it back and now i find that the 3rd film is NOT what it is claimed to be. Be totally aware of what you are buying.

A GOOD DOSE OF ACTION! AND ESSENTIALS FOR THE SELF RESPECTING MAN!
If you haven't got theses movies already, then this set is a good buy and good value! Unlike many boxsets where the movies are usually devoid of extras, each film has a reasonable amount of special features (more than the Rocky boxsets!). I've actually got the box set with Rambo 1-3, and Rambo 4 as a separate DVD - this set is basically the same as the set I have with the new film added to complete the series (that is until Rambo 5 is released, seriously look it up on Wikipedia - it's coming!).
A quick run down of the films:
First Blood (1982); Set in the US, the most realistic of the series and more down to earth action than what followed. Often reminiscent of the likes of Deliverance and Southern Comfort, in it's forest settings as Rambo relies more on self made traps & hand to hand combat to evade capture from the authorities before finally laying hands on the beloved M60 Machine Gun in a scene that would inspire countless 80's action flicks! The violence is far less cartoonish here, and the use of wooden spikes, spears and THAT knife will often make you WINCE!

Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (1985); A complete change of pace and perhaps the best known of the series. Shifted to Vietnam, with a storyline identical to Chuck Norris'(earlier) Missing In Action series, this is where character & plot now took second place to BIG action setpieces. Helicopter gunship battles, huge explosions, and the M60 again - but even more OTT! Stallone by now at the peak of physical shape, and the Rambo character every inch a Force Of Nature. Rambo 2 also saw the first appearance of the infamous compound bow, and the explosive tipped arrows, as effective against Russians as against the Vietcong, the two enemy forces at foul play here.
Stallone would reunite with director, George. P. Cosmatos, the following year for the excellent Cobra.

Rambo 3 (1988); seemingly the most criticised, I actually preferred it to
Rambo 2. I found the action setpieces to be better orchestrated (although by now even more OTT). Now set in Afghanistan, the movie in the past 20 years has shifted from dated to now sadly relevant! As with Rambo 2, the Soviets are a major adversary for Stallone, and the sheer amount of firepower unleashed on screen is incredible! I understand that this was the most expensive movie ever made in it's day, and say what you like about it, but every dollar is on the screen! This film looks the most epic, with the most spectacular action setpieces. The film was cut for theatrical release in 1988 but is restored uncut for this DVD, and it is second only to Rambo 4 in it's levels of violence.

Rambo 4 (2007); I wont bang on too much about this as I've reviewed it separateley in more depth. Suffice to say, It's a return to the jungle warfare of Part 2, this time in Burma. Stallone is WELL up to it, and the action scenes are easily the bloodiest ever put on film! It's an absolute bloodbath - the earlier films showed a lot of kills but the actual detail of the casualties here is almost pornographic!

In conclusion, a great set of films, all different in ways & classics of the time! They aren't rocket science and they don't pretend (with the exception of First Blood) to be serious studies of War!
I certainly prefer them to much of todays sub-Matrix style rubbish.....

Richard Crenna (Colonel Trautman) RIP.

Legendary- heroes never die...
This set contains all four Rambo movies a saga spanning twenty-six years

Rambo First blood (1982) - when for no apparent reason, a small town police chief arrests a vagrant hitch-hiker, little does he realise that he has set in motion a catastrophic series of events. The vagrant in question is in fact John Rambo congressional medal of honour winner and Vietnam war hero. Responding to the harassment of his captors with sudden ferociousness Rambo makes a daring escape from the small town jail, and heads for the shelter of the nearby mountains as the manhunt begins Rambo prepares himself for a one man war.

The first and undoubtedly the best of the series which combined action with the sensitive political issue of the treatment of Vietnam veterans. The action sequences stand up still to the likes of today's Hollywood blockbusters. Edited well and a powerhouse performance from Stallone makes this a winner which unlike a lot of action films from the eighties has not become cheesy with age. Rating 10/10

Rambo First blood part 2 (1985) - Rambo is released from prison and is sent back to Vietnam on a secret mission to track down American soldiers MIA. Rambo parachutes into the foreboding jungle with nothing but a hunting knife and a bow and arrow, he is ordered not to engage the enemy just to take reconnaissance pictures but betrayed by his own Rambo struggles against deadly odds, vowing to get revenge on those who betrayed him and lead the POWS to safety.

Part 2, penned by Stallone and James Cameron, ups the action ante , its still took a hard jab against American foreign policy regarding Vietnam soldiers but the political dealings generally took a back seat droned out by the sound of endless gunfire. The action sequences are frantic and enjoyable giving Schwarzenegger's eighties flicks a run for there money in terms of body count, Part 2 has aged not so well but its well worth watching and will satisfy any action junkies needing a fix. Rating 8/10

Rambo III (1988) - when Rambo refuses the request of his old platoon leader Colonel Trautman for a new mission he chooses to continue with his new Buddhist beliefs. However, when the colonel is kidnapped by the soviets at the Afghanistan border and the American government are unable to take official action, Rambo goes in to rescue his friend.

Rambo III proves to be the worst in the franchise, while it quiet happily fills the required action quota and then some, the script feels dulled with the film draging in places and it shows the most signs of it age out of all the films, regardless of this its still worth a watch for its well orchestrated sequences of over the top action just don't be expecting an action classic. Rating 7/10

Rambo (2008)- Rambo has been leading a quiet life in Thailand until he is asked to ferry a group of missionaries into war-torn Burma. When they are captured, Rambo teams up with a rag tag regiment of mercenaries and heads back into the jungle on a rescue mission that will force him to return to the battlefield with explosively violent consequences. The one man killing machine is back with a vengeance.

Heroes don't die they just reload, twenty years it took for the fourth instalment and Rambo has changed, very much a old hero revamped for a new generation, Stallone shifts the political angle away from Vietnam veterans and shines the spotlight on the raging civil wars in Burma. Because of this Rambo seems to somewhat loose some personal connection with the war he finds himself involved in, as later in the film character development gives way for the relentlessly violent action scenes.

This is where the fourth films strengths lie. The action is ferocious, bloody and chaotic, I've seen a lot of action films and final sequence just blew me away a visceral experience that grabs you and doesn't let go. Rambo proves to hold some of the most exciting action sequences ever committed to film however this film is not for the faint of heart infinitely more gruesome than the previous three entries the violence portrayed in no holds barred. Stallone succeeds in pumping new life into the franchise with one of the greatest action movies ever made even if the hero isn't quite how you remember him. Rating 9/10

Hide Reviews