America’s favorite action hero returns.

I don’t ask for much in a RAMBO movie. Following FIRST BLOOD, the series has degenerated into one sequence of mindless bloody violence after another. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But when a film of this nature features an accumulative 10 minutes of actual fun, and about 60 minutes of downright nauseating and horrific civilian deaths, there’s something in that math that just doesn’t add up. I don’t want to watch that. I want to see Rambo pounding on bad guys; not defenseless children being brutally stabbed and having their limbs blown off. It’s not like the movie offers any type of great insight into the cost of war, so why even spend time on scenes like that? For the longest time I sat dumbfounded whilst staring at my screen, thinking the whole point of these painfully long chunks of film were to get the audience as angry as possible before the muscular and shirtless Rambo could pop out of the trees and save the day. It would’ve worked, too, but the movie’s over before it even get’s going. In fact, Rambo spends the entire final battle of the film behind a mounted machine gun, blasting from afar. Where’s the fun in that?

It doesn’t help that Rambo as a character is essentially extraneous here. His character barely even has a real connection to the storyline. It’s almost as if they took a script for a random generic war movie and just plopped Rambo in the middle. He’s still cool (when is Sylvester Stallone not?*), but the character’s badass factor isn’t enough to hold the movie together.

*It was a hypothetical question. You don’t need to remind me of his role in SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER.

Video: Presented in 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen.

Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX.

This 2-Disc Special Edition of the movie comes loaded with extras.

The second disc merely contains a digital copy of the film.

Audio Commentary (with Stallone):

Deleted Scenes: There are 13 minutes worth of excised scenes. Nothing special.

Legacy of Despair: The Struggle in Burma: Explores the real-life problems in Burma.

It's a Long Road: The Resurrection of an Icon: Details the development of the film, including Stallone discussing how they changed the film’s original storyline.

A Score to Settle: The Music of Rambo: The title says it all.

The Art of War: Completing Rambo: A brief insight into Stallone’s ideas regarding sound usage.

The Weaponry of Rambo: A look at the film’s prop weapons.

A Hero's Welcome: Release and Reception: Covers the film’s Las Vegas premiere.

Also included are the film’s Theatrical Trailer and Previews.

More depressing than fun, the return of Rambo is not nearly as rewarding as the return of Rocky Balboa.