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Directed by: Peter MacDonald Premise: During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,
Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) aids
the Afghani resistance and is captured by a Russian commander. Rambo (Sylvester
Stallone) travels into Afghanistan to save Trautman. What Works: Rambo
III is targeted toward the audience that enjoyed the
second Rambo picture and it continues many of that film’s strengths.
In the second and third films, the appeal of the Rambo character is rooted in
his ability to overcome obstacles through sheer will and physical force, and
this film plays into that successfully, giving the character plenty of
opportunities for physical heroism. As a sequel, Rambo III does its duty to raise the stakes; Rambo’s muscles are
bigger, his survival knife is longer, the action scenes are busier, and the
scope of the film is larger. This film also steps up the relationship between
Rambo and Trautman as the two of them are in action together. What Doesn’t: The
main trouble with Rambo III is its
slavish repetition of the plot and scenarios of First Blood Part II. A lot of the sequences, such as the cave fight
and the helicopter combat, are taken right out of the previous film. Rambo
III also embodies a significant change with the franchise. Between the
release of the second and third film, a Rambo
cartoon was broadcast on television and its influence can be seen in Rambo
III, especially in its hokey dialogue and G.I. Joe-like
sense of adventure. Rambo III takes
the exaggerated, comic book-like approach of First Blood: Part II to a new level and little about Rambo
III or the Rambo character, as presented here, resembles anything in the
original film. In some ways Rambo III
represents what First Blood was
condemning. If First Blood was a
pseudo-Western, taking to task the institutions that turn young men into
killers, Rambo III goes completely the other way by making Rambo a godlike
figure of brutish masculinity. In that respect, Rambo III is no worse than what many other films before and since
have done but it’s confusing in the way it jerks around the politics of the
series. That discontinuity may have affected Stallone’s performance in Rambo
III, which is easily the weakest of his contributions to the series, and the
overwhelmingly hawkish attitude of the film robs the character of the tension
that gives the other films in the series a heroic charge. DVD extras: The
Lions Gate DVD release has a commentary track by director Peter MacDonald
and deleted scenes Bottom Line: Rambo III may satisfy fans of 1980s action films but it lacks any of the memorable set pieces of the second film or the lean thriller qualities of the original. This is a movie that is best enjoyed ironically as a piece of 1980s kitsch. |
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