Rambo (2008 film)

This article is about the 2008 film. For the first film of the Rambo series, see First Blood.

Rambo
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sylvester Stallone
Written by	Art Monterastelli Sylvester Stallone
Produced by	Avi Lerner Kevin King Templeton John Thompson
Starring	Sylvester Stallone Julie Benz Matthew Marsden
Music by	Brian Tyler Themes: Jerry Goldsmith
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release dates	January 25, 2008
Running time	93 min.
Countries	United States Germany
Languages	English, Burmese, Thai
Budget	$50,000,000
Box office	Domestic: $42,754,105 Foreign: $70,489,050 Worldwide: $113,243,155

Rambo (also known as Rambo IV or John Rambo) is a 2008 action film starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam veteran John Rambo. Stallone also co-wrote and directed the film. It is the fourth installment of the Rambo franchise, twenty years since the last film Rambo III.

Rambo holds the record with the most kills out of the entire Rambo series, with 236 kills – more than that of the previous three movies combined. Stallone justified this in a press conference by saying the violence in the film was to underline the ongoing problems in Burma. Including the intake of $41,368,619 in DVD sales, the film's total gross revenue is $154,611,774.

Cast

• Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo
• Julie Benz as Sarah Miller
• Matthew Marsden as School Boy
• Graham McTavish as Lewis
• Tim Kang as En-Joo
• Rey Gallegos as Diaz
• Jake La Botz as Reese
• Maung Maung Khin as Tint
• Paul Schulze as Michael Burnett
• Cameron Pearson as Jeff - Missionary #4
• Thomas Peterson as Dentist - Missionary #2
• Tony Skarberg as Videographer - Missionary #3
• James Wearing Smith as Preacher - Missionary #5
• Kasikorn Niyompattana as Snake Hunter #2
• Shaliew "Lek" Bamrungbun as Snake Hunter #1
• Supakorn "Tok" Kitsuwon as Myint
• Aung Aay Noi as Lt. Aye
• Ken Howard as Rev. Arthur Marsh
• Aung Theng as Pirate Leader
• Pornpop "Tor" Kampusiri as Snake Village Owner
• Wasawat Panyarat as Snake Village MC
• Kammul Kawtep as Snake Village Young Charmer

Filming

Filming started on February 23, 2007 and ended on May 4, 2007. The movie was shot at Chiang Mai, Thailand as well as in Mexico and the United States.

While filming near Burma, Stallone and the rest of the crew narrowly avoided being shot by the Burmese military. Stallone described Burma as a "hellhole". He said "we had shots fired above our heads" and that he "witnessed survivors with legs cut off and all kinds of land-mine injuries, maggot-infested wounds and ears cut off."

Alternative titles

The most recent installment of the Rambo franchise has undergone many name changes during pre-release, and has been known as the following:

• Rambo IV - The title used in Brazil, due to the fact that First Blood was originally released as simply Rambo in that country.
• John Rambo - Mirroring the final installment of the Rocky franchise, Rocky Balboa. In Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Israel, Romania and Italy, John Rambo was used because First Blood's original title in these countries is Rambo. This title prevails in Spain too, where the first film was retitled as Acorralado ("Surrounded"). A workprint version of the movie that has made its way to the Internet has the title "John Rambo".
• Rambo: Regreso al Infierno (Rambo: Return to Hell in Spanish) - The name of the film in Mexico and Latin America, and Rambo: El Regreso (Rambo: The Return) in Chile, as First Blood was also known as Rambo in those territories. In other latin countries, the film was re-titled from Rambo: Regreso al Infierno to John Rambo: Vuelta al Infierno (John Rambo: Back to Hell in spanish) and in some other Latin regions, the film's original title John Rambo still remains.
• Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra Is the name sometimes used in the UK.
• Rambo 4: John Rambo - Back to Hell - Singapore title

On October 12, 2007, Lionsgate announced that the film title was being changed to Rambo: To Hell and Back. After some negative feedback from the online community, Stallone spoke with AICN's Harry Knowles and said:

"Lionsgate jumped the gun on this. I just was thinking that the title John Rambo was derivative of Rocky Balboa and might give people the idea that this is the last Rambo film, and I don't necessarily feel that it will be. He's definitely a superb athlete, there's no reason he can't continue onto another adventure. Like John Wayne with The Searchers."

Box office

Rambo opened in 2,751 theaters on January 25, 2008 and grossed $6,490,000 on its opening day, and $18,200,000 over its opening weekend. It was the second highest grossing movie for the weekend behind Meet the Spartans. As of June 29, 2008, the film has a domestic box office gross of $42,754,105 and a foreign gross of $70,489,050, giving it a worldwide total of $113,243,155.

The film has grossed $38,966,551 in DVD sales, bringing its total film gross to $152,209,706.

In an unprecedented move, Europe's biggest cinema chain (and the third biggest in the world), Odeon, controversially refused to show the film on any of its screens in the United Kingdom, blaming "commercial differences". UCI has followed suit in its Republic of Ireland cinemas, which are managed by Odeon. The Film was rated R by the MPAA for strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images and language.

The film was, however, shown in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland by other theater chains such as Empire Cinemas, Vue, Cineworld and Ward Anderson. The film was not shown in the French-speaking part of Switzerland due to legal and commercial problems with the distributor, even if it was available on screens of France and the Swiss German-speaking part.

Critical reception

Critical reaction towards the film has been mainly mixed; it earned a 37% rating on movie review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for the New York Times, A.O. Scott wrote, "Mr. Stallone is smart enough — or maybe dumb enough, though I tend to think not — to present the mythic dimensions of the character without apology or irony. His face looks like a misshapen chunk of granite, and his acting is only slightly more expressive, but the man gets the job done. Welcome back." Michael H. Price of Fort Worth Business Press wrote, "Stallone invests the role with a realistic acceptance of the aging process, and with traces reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart in 1951’s The African Queen and Clint Eastwood in 1992’s Unforgiven — to say nothing of the influences that the original First Blood had absorbed from Marlon Brando in 1953’s The Wild One and Tom Laughlin in 1971’s Billy Jack." Jonathan Garret (a former writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution) said in an interview: "Rambo is the most violent movie I have ever seen. The last 11 minutes of the film are so violent, it makes We Were Soldiers look like Sesame Street".

When asked what his take on the film was, First Blood writer David Morrell said, "Overall, I'm pleased...This is the first time that the tone of First Blood the novel has been used in any of the movies...It's not a 4-star movie--the villains are superficial, and the climax is overextended. But this is a solid three stars." Morrell also felt that the characterization was accurate and in-depth.

The Burmese military junta has ordered DVD vendors in Burma (otherwise known as Myanmar) not to distribute the film due to the movie's content. Rambo is available on bootlegs however, and it is a great hit amongst the Karen Freedom Fighters and Burmese exiles critical of the Burmese military dictatorship. According to Karen Freedom Fighters, this movie gave them a great boost of morale. Burmese Freedom Fighters have even adopted dialogue from the movie (most notably "Live for nothing, or die for something") as rallying points and battle cries. "That, to me," said Sylvester Stallone, "is one of the proudest moments I've ever had in film." Also, overseas Burmese praise the movie for its vivid portrayal of the Burmese military's oppression of the Karen people.

Home video release

The DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions were released in the U.S. on May 27, 2008. The DVD is in 1 and 2 disc editions. The Special edition has a 2.40 anamorphic widescreen presentation and a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track. The single editions have a standard 5.1 Dolby Digital track. The Blu-ray Disc has Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and DTS HD 7.1 Tracks. The DVD and Blu-ray on disc one have the film, deleted scenes, 6 featurettes, and commentary by Sylvester Stallone. The Blu-ray also has 2 extra special features, that includes a trailer gallery.

The 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions have a digital copy of the film. There is also a 6 disc DVD set of all four Rambo films, packaged in a limited edition tin case with over 20 bonus features. A Blu-ray set with Rambo 1-3 was also released.

The DVD was released in the UK on June 23, 2008.

Despite its average sales at the box office, the DVD version of Rambo sold considerably well. As of now it stands 19th place of the top selling DVDs of 2008 with 1.7m units sold and an overall gross of $37m. Since the intake of $41,368,619 in DVD sales, the film's total film gross is raised to $154,611,774.

Director's cut

When asked about the moral of the film in a Daily Yomiuri Online interview, Sylvester Stallone mentioned that he will be doing a Director's Cut of the film, which will go by the original title of John Rambo. Nevertheless, the news became most well known after a May 2008 interview with Jay Leno when he announced the work of a director's cut, and that the proceeds would go to Burma. On top of this, an online petition appeared shortly after the announcement in order to "motivate" Stallone in completing this new cut. At the 2008 Comic-Con, it was vaguely announced that the director's cut (or as they labeled it, "extended cut") would be released in 2009, though no other specifics were given. Additionally, the director's cut premiered at the 2008 The Zurich Film Festival. The Directors cut has been released in Europe as John Rambo - Uncut.

Sequel

On February 2, 2008, Sylvester Stallone informed Reuters in an interview that making a fifth Rambo would depend on the success of the fourth movie but that he thought he was "gearing one up" and that it would "be quite different". On March 10, 2008, Moviehole.net revealed that in an interview with Metro magazine, Stallone said that he was "half-way through" writing Rambo V and that it would not be another war movie. On March 20, Moviehole.net also said that ScreenDaily.com had revealed that the film would be shot in Bulgaria and later received word from a source that Bulgaria was to double for John Rambo's home town in Arizona. On September 9, Moviehole.net reported that Stallone had finished writing Rambo V and will be directing it. He is also set to write Rambo VI as well. On November 3, 2008, Stallone confirmed that they will be filming a Rambo V and that it's in the works. Stallone said: "Rambo will be back. We've just got to give you guys a story that's worthwhile." It is rumoured that the new film's plot (which was an alternative for Rambo) involves Rambo's unknown daughter being kidnapped by cult leaders and he goes on a mission to rescue her. On February 4, 2009, Sylvester Stallone quoted, "Yeah, we are doing another Rambo, but the conflict is whether to do it in America or a foreign country."

External links

• Official site
• Rambo at IMDb
• Rambo at Rotten Tomatoes
• Rambo at Metacritic
• Rambo at Box Office Mojo
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