Rambo: First Blood, Part II.

Rambo on the warpath.

Release Date: May 22, 1985. Running Time: 96 minutes. Screenplay: Sylvester Stallone, James Cameron. Producer: Buzz Feitshans. Director: George P. Cosmatos.


THE PLOT:

Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is well into his sentence for the events of the first film, doing hard labor in a prison work camp, when he receives a visitor: Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna). His old CO has a mission for him, with the possibility of a Presidential pardon at the end of it. The job? To go into Vietnam to scout a suspected POW camp, and to take photographs of any evidence of American prisoners.

The man in charge of the operation is Murdock (Charles Napier), a major who seems more concerned with politics than actual results. Rambo accepts the mission despite his distrust of Murdock, parachuting into Vietnam and meeting up with his contact, Co (Julia Nickson). She expects to find nothing but an empty camp. Instead, they discover several POWs, who are still being actively tortured by the Vietnamese army.

Though his orders are only to take pictures, Rambo can't make himself leave a prisoner to be tortured.  He rescues the man before fleeing to the extraction point. When Murdock learns that Rambo has "one of ours," however, he orders his men to abort the extraction - leaving Rambo at the mercy of an old enemy...

The men in charge: Murdock (Charles Napier) and Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna).

CHARACTERS:

Rambo: Somehow, all of Rambo's PTSD issues have vanished during his incarceration... because unlike the first film, this is basically a cartoon that has no room for psychological complexity. Still, even if Rambo has been flattened out to two dimensions, Stallone remains quite good, playing the character and not himself. Key to his success is his nonverbal acting. He absorbs what others say around him, but he says relatively little himself. I have seen some reviews comment on Rambo's sudden technophobia, but I actually think this is justified. I don't interpret his disdain as being for technology itself; he uses technology (helicopters, rocket launchers, exploding arrows) repeatedly. I think what he disdains is Murdock's belief that technology is a complete replacement for human ingenuity and training.

Col. Trautman: Richard Crenna continues to project authority and integrity. This is fortunate, because Trautman is more plot device than character. He springs Rambo for the mission, then expresses his outrage after Murdock abandons the extraction. Most of his scenes amount to either acting as the Voice of Moral Authority or as Rambo's Cheerleader, and many of his bits honestly could have been cut without being missed.

Murdock: A weasel, which actor Charles Napier makes evident in body language and attitude from his very first scene. His dismissiveness toward Rambo in the early scenes recalls Sheriff Teasle's reactions at the start of First Blood - but even Teasle would hold Murdock in contempt. He's an obvious bureaucrat who can't even fully handle the climate of Thailand from the inside of a base (that, given all the computer equipment, has to be air conditioned). In case we've missed that we're supposed to hate him, the script has him stake a claim to having been involved in a military operation in 1966... which Rambo privately tells Trautman has to be a lie, since the company he claimed to be with was actually somewhere else entirely.

Lt. Col. Sergie T. Podovsky: This being the mid-'80s, the movie has to bring in the Russians as the real villains, as personified by perpetual '80s movie bad guy Steven Berkoff. Save for adopting a cod Russian accent, there's no daylight between Podovsky and Berkoff's Beverly Hills Cop baddie Victor Maitland. If you told me this character was Maitland pretending to be Russian for the sake of illegal drug smuggling operations, I would entirely believe you. Still, Berkoff is well cast, his cold sadism a contrast to Rambo's anger.

Co Phuong Bao: Julia Nickson, a television mainstay in the '80s and '90s, is a bit too gorgeous; I doubt most covert missions in the jungle include access to a full cosmetics kit, and backing off on the makeup for most of the film would have made for a stronger contrast when she does make herself up as a prostitute to infiltrate the camp. Still, credit to this very '80s film for providing Rambo with a non-white female partner who is shown to be smart, resourceful, and loyal. Less credit goes to the attempt to shoehorn in a romance. The two actors are fine as partners, but they have zero romantic chemistry, and the scene-and-a-half creating the "love story" boasts by far the worst writing in the picture.

Rambo and Co (Julia Nickson), watching the POW camp.

DUMBER THAN IT NEEDED TO BE...:

Rambo: First Blood, Part II won the Golden Raspberry Award as 1985's Worst Picture. I can only think that Sylvester Stallone must have done something to personally offend the Razzie voters, because there is no way that this could be seriously considered to be the worst film of any year - but I will admit that it's dumb. Dumber, in fact, than it needed to be.

The first draft, by James Cameron, had the same basic story and action beats, but it also retained references to Rambo's PTSD and took time to characterize some of the Vietnamese soldiers. When author David Morrell wrote his (excellent) novelization, he referred to the Cameron script as "a gold bar" and estimated that his book version was equal parts Cameron script, Stallone script, and his own original material. Meanwhile, Cameron himself was appalled by the final film, and made sure to never again write a script where he lacked any control over the final result (though after the back-to-back successes of The Terminator and Aliens, that likely didn't require him to take much of a stand).

Possibly the stupidest moment is the mid-film plot twist, that sees Murdock ordering his men to abandon Rambo's extraction. This was witnessed and recorded, and it would certainly have leaked to the press.  A few scenes later, we later learn that Podovsky intercepted and recorded the conversation... meaning that if all else failed, the Soviets would have leaked it to make the U. S. look bad.  The resulting PR nightmare would have been far worse than Murdock's angry speculation to Trautman about veterans going on the news wanting "to start the war all over again"... and while Murdock may be a weasel, he doesn't come across as moronic enough to not realize this.

Heck, given the excitement of the military men when they hear that Rambo has rescued a live POW, Trautman returning empty-handed would certainly be noted. When Trautman is later placed under house arrest, this combined with the fact that the colonel outranks Murdock leaves me suspecting Rambo might just return to find Murdock and his henchmen in confinement.

The movie is highly inconsistent in its portrayal of the POWs and their condition. We first see them looking half-dead, with rats and spiders crawling around in their cage and even on them. When Rambo rescues one, he has to carry the man because he can barely walk. At the climax, however, these same POWs are suddenly combat-ready. Not only do they know how to use high-grade military equipment despite having spent more than ten years in cages - They still have the upper body strength to aim and fire heavy machine guns effectively. 1983's Uncommon Valor (directed by First Blood's Ted Kotcheff) handled a similar POW rescue more believably, showing POWs who were incapacitated and, in some cases no longer English-fluent. Then again, Uncommon Valor at least tried to be a real movie, while Rambo: First Blood, Part II is a live action cartoon.

This makes no sense at all if you stop to think about it...
but, like most of the film's action, it sure is fun to watch.

...BUT IT'S A WHOLE LOT OF FUN:

Still... that very cartoonishness is this film's salvation. This is comic book pulp, with an invincible hero squaring off against a hissing villain and a spineless bureaucrat. If the first film was carried by the performances of Stallone and Brian Dennehy, then the second film is carried by skillful editing and by Jerry Goldsmith's score, which is finely calculated to get your adrenaline going.  This is super-dumb and over-the-top, with the last thirty minutes amounting to an extended action piece... but it's canny enough to embrace those qualities, which makes it highly watchable.

The final thirty minutes boasts some fantastic action scenes. Yes, Rambo's one-man-army act doesn't stand up to serious scrutiny; for some of his attacks to work, he has to know exactly where his enemies are going to be before they get there, with no advance scouting time. But if you care about such things, you're already watching the wrong movie. You get Rambo attacking from under the mud, Rambo blowing up people and buildings alike with exploding arrows, Rambo commandeering a helicopter to fly the POWs to safety, and a well-directed helicopter standoff between him and Podovsky. All backed by Jerry Goldsmith's terrific score.  

Col. Podovsky (Steven Berkoff) - an old-fashioned, hissing villain.

OVERALL:

If there's any doubt that the Razzies had it in for Stallone, note that the equally idiotic-but-enjoyable Rocky IV also was nominated for Worst Picture, despite it also being a tremendous popular success. The Razzie voters should have held their fire; it wasn't too many years later before Stallone started turning out some actual bad movies, rather than this well-turned popcorn fun that just happened to be incredibly stupid.

If you're in the mood for culture, then I understand that Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth is excellent, and I genuinely look forward to watching it. But if you're in the mood for some mindless action, then Rambo: First Blood, Part II fits the bill just fine.

Break out the popcorn and beer, turn your brain off, and enjoy the 'splosions. If you feel a twinge of guilt, just remind yourself that this isn't any dumber than your average Michael Bay flick - and at a brisk 96 minutes, it's a heck of a lot shorter.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

Previous Film: First Blood
Next Film: Rambo III

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First Blood.

Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) pushes the wrong man just a little too hard...

Release Date: Oct. 22, 1982. Running Time: 93 minutes. Screenplay: Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, Sylvester Stallone. Based on the novel by: David Morrell. Producer: Buzz Feitshans. Director: Ted Kotcheff.


Introducing John Rambo. The guy who walks around with enough firepower to blow up a small country, and who takes out entire armies with his bare hands. The figurehead for cheesy '80s action.

But it didn't start out that way...


THE PLOT:

John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) doesn't want any trouble. He came to Hope, Washington to reconnect with an old war buddy. After he learns that his friend has died from cancer caused by exposure to Agent Orange, all he wants is to get a bite to eat and move on.

Enter Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). He prides himself on keeping his town free of drifters, on keeping things "boring... the way we like it." When he spots Rambo - an obvious vagrant - he drives him to the other side of town, urging him to move on immediately. But Rambo is already upset by his friend's death, making this the exact wrong day to antagonize him. The instant the sheriff lets him out of the car, Rambo turns around and starts walking back into town.

Teasle arrests him on the spot and takes him back to the station, where a group of deputies takes his order to clean Rambo up as license for abuse.  Flashing back to past torture at the hands of the Vietcong, Rambo lashes out at his captors. He escapes with ease - but kills one deputy in the process.

Then full information on Rambo comes back. He's not only a veteran, he's a Green Beret who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was trained "to kill, period!" And now his sights are firmly set on Teasle...

Teasle clashes with Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna), Rambo's former CO.

CHARACTERS:

Rambo: Sylvester Stallone's performance is startlingly good.  In the very first scene, when Rambo goes to the home of his old friend, he's clearly nervous.  He tries to chat lightheartedly with his friend's wife, but he sounds uncomfortable with the sound of his own voice as he fumbles through his wallet to find a picture of him with the man. After she reveals that her husband is dead, Rambo looks as if he's been slapped. He gives the photo to the widow and leaves with barely a word. Stallone's acting is letter-perfect, and that carries through the entire movie.  I was particularly impressed by his nonverbal work, from his sullenness at the police station to the way he lashes out in fury at the end - as much against a society that's abandoned him as against Teasle himself.

Sheriff Will Teasle: The movie would not work if Rambo didn't have an opponent worthy of his anger. Brian Dennehy's Teasle is as much at the movie's center as Rambo himself.  He is almost Rambo's opposite. Rambo barely speaks; Teasle talks a lot. Rambo is uncomfortable around other people; Teasle is a grandstander, casually interacting with townspeople while making sure that he's always the dominant figure. When Rambo ignores his authority by heading back into town, that defiance is a trigger. Teasle has several opportunities to stop the situation from turning into a disaster, and plenty of warnings about what might happen. But he's too angry, too stubborn, too prideful to allow any challenge, and the entire town pays the price.

Col. Trautman: Richard Crenna was a last-minute addition to the cast, after the originally attached Kirk Douglas left the production over creative differences. Crenna reportedly had to be fed his lines on his first day, because there had been no opportunity for him to learn the script. Give credit to the old pro: There isn't a sign of this in his performance. I do have a few issues with some of Trautman's dialogue, with most of his lines seeming a little too "trailer-ready" for my tastes.  However, Crenna does well at projecting the colonel's authority even as he mostly is left to watch from the sidelines, his efforts to defuse the situation consistently rebuffed by Rambo and Teasle alike.

Rambo faces abuse at the hands of the local police.

THOUGHTS:

First Blood is just about the least likely movie to spawn a big, dumb action franchise. It isn't particularly big.  There are only three real set pieces, and they mostly don't play out in a way designed to get audiences cheering. A scene in which Rambo incapacitates Teasle's posse is downright disturbing, with the scene playing out from the deputies' viewpoint and Rambo feeling like an almost supernatural boogeyman.

It also is surprisingly substantial. Rambo and Teasle are in many ways reflections of each other. Both are veterans (unless you look fast at Teasle's desk, you're likely to miss that in the movie; in the book, Korean War veteran Teasle is resentful of the attention paid to Vietnam veterans). Both are stubborn men, and their refusal to give creates the incident. Trautman offers solutions that might defuse the situation, but Teasle refuses to accept any advice, no matter how out of control the situation spins.

Rambo also, as Trautman observes, does "everything to make this private war happen." He's the one who, at knife point, tells Teasle to "let it go." But he's every bit as unwilling to do so as the sheriff. He's not wrong when he says, "There wouldn't be any trouble if not for that... cop."  When Trautman attempts to get him to surrender, though, he just sullenly replies: "They drew first blood, not me."

Reportedly, the initial edit of the movie came in at more than three hours. If this is true, then tremendous credit goes to the editors.  The 93-minute final cut is tight and spare, with barely an ounce of fat on it. The first 25 minutes is a masterpiece of economical storytelling. The major characters are introduced, with their personalities revealed entirely naturally through their interactions, and then the plot is put into motion with Rambo's arrest, mistreatment, and escape. By the time Rambo is fleeing up a mountain with Teasle standing at the base, screaming up, "You've gone as far as you're gonna go!", everything has been put in place for the film that follows.

Rambo unleashes his rage... on fuse boxes and empty buildings.

CHARACTERS AND ACTION SET PIECES:

I've long felt that Ted Kotcheff has been overlooked as a fine director. His 1970s and '80s film work include such varied titles as: Fun with Dick and Jane, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, North Dallas Forty, and Uncommon Valor (of which Rambo: First Blood Part II is practically an uncredited - much dumber - remake).  In all these films, he demonstrated a consistent ability to deliver comedic or action set pieces without losing sight of his characters. His helming of First Blood reflects this strength.

The action scenes are well-mounted. Rambo's initial escape is exciting, with Jerry Goldsmith's excellent score kicking in as he steals a motorcycle and heads out of town. There's real tension when he's pinned down by the sadistic Deputy Galt, and an effective near-horror movie atmosphere when he ambushes the deputies. Later, a scene involving inept National Guard members is played for laughs - and yet this comedy confrontation comes closer to killing Rambo than anything else in the film!

The ending set piece is different, focused squarely on Rambo as a character. His anger has taken over by this point. Armed with weapons stolen from the National Guard, he lets loose. But it's not so much a confrontation as an expression of rage. The people have already cleared out, and he blows up ammunition from a gun shop to draw the police away. What he unleashes his anger on are electrical boxes and empty buildings. The only other person in this sequence is Teasle, but he isn't engaging Rambo. He just observes from the police station roof, appalled by the destruction and likely realizing how much his pride has cost (refreshingly, this last is not spelled out). He and Rambo aren't even in the same room until the final moments.

"Nothing is over!" Rambo refuses to stand down.

OVERALL:

It is difficult to reconcile First Blood with the franchise it spawned. The action scenes are well-realized; but much more than the action, the story is propelled by the two main characters and their contest of wills. The acting is good across the board, with Stallone and Dennehy both outstanding.

For viewers wary of the "Rambo" franchise... Well, you're not wrong about many of the films that followed. But First Blood is a genuinely good movie, one that remains well worth seeing.  Within its genre, I don't think it could have been much better, hence...


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Next Film: Rambo - First Blood, Part II

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