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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... current day count
136 .......................... 126
__________________________
May 4th
—— 1988 ——
Rambo III
—— action ——
Who knew that the most hated entry in the Rambo franchise,
would end up as my favorite one so far?
The majority of people prefer the more down-toned approach of the first entry, while a few tend to talk about the second film as the definitive one from this franchise because of being more action-packed and ultimately a better and stronger film than the first… But somehow, there seem to only be a handful of people, who view the third entry as the best of the bunch, and I find myself wondering why. Because in all seriousness, it is the most comfortably crazy and power-packaged picture in the franchise, which doesn’t hold anything back when the testosterone explodes during the last third of the film. This is the kind of John Rambo I always saw on the screen – even during the first film – but only here it is more obvious than ever and doesn’t try and cover anything up.
I thought the first one was fairly good entertainment, but it was too stupid to be taking as seriously as it wanted to be, and the character of John Rambo was both written and acted in way, that completely contradicts with a real war veteran and their individual moves and methods to survive and do problem solving. I just didn’t buy into it, and when the second film came along it felt like it was going in the right direction, but ultimately fell flat for its frantic direction, terrible screenplay and laughable editing… The third film, however, while having an embarrassing forced message of some sort (kind of like Rocky IV), it works great as an action film and, in my honest opinion, a proper development of the Rambo character. His everyday lifestyle seems believable and better portrayed; his reasons for going on a mission seem plausible and ultimately believable; and the execution of it all is a blast by the end of it. But for all the action I felt like this definitely had better dialogue than the second film as well, even though some might disagree here, mainly because it has become a bad habit to do so when this entry gets a little praise.
I loved all of the set pieces in this film; the action was far more creative and delivered “dead-on” with no mercy or time for sappy dialogue or cringe-worthy middle pieces, while the tension of it was surprisingly effective. I also loved how Colonel Trautman finally got some more screen time, and it made for a great rescue mission in the spirit of true war veteran loyalty. I guess the film ultimately falls in the category of guilty pleasures, but still I can’t deny that I genuinely loved this. I thought it was a fit for Rambo, both character and story-wise, to do what he did and act like he did in this film. And, of course, the big budget “money show” gets to shine for every penny when the wide-ranging action bombs away at your screen! I’m ever so ready for the fourth Rambo film, though I already watched it back when it came out. I barely remember it though, since I was like 13... But Stallone and buckets of blood is always a good combo…
__________________________
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... current day count
136 .......................... 126
__________________________
May 4th
—— 1988 ——
Rambo III
—— action ——
Who knew that the most hated entry in the Rambo franchise,
would end up as my favorite one so far?
The majority of people prefer the more down-toned approach of the first entry, while a few tend to talk about the second film as the definitive one from this franchise because of being more action-packed and ultimately a better and stronger film than the first… But somehow, there seem to only be a handful of people, who view the third entry as the best of the bunch, and I find myself wondering why. Because in all seriousness, it is the most comfortably crazy and power-packaged picture in the franchise, which doesn’t hold anything back when the testosterone explodes during the last third of the film. This is the kind of John Rambo I always saw on the screen – even during the first film – but only here it is more obvious than ever and doesn’t try and cover anything up.
I thought the first one was fairly good entertainment, but it was too stupid to be taking as seriously as it wanted to be, and the character of John Rambo was both written and acted in way, that completely contradicts with a real war veteran and their individual moves and methods to survive and do problem solving. I just didn’t buy into it, and when the second film came along it felt like it was going in the right direction, but ultimately fell flat for its frantic direction, terrible screenplay and laughable editing… The third film, however, while having an embarrassing forced message of some sort (kind of like Rocky IV), it works great as an action film and, in my honest opinion, a proper development of the Rambo character. His everyday lifestyle seems believable and better portrayed; his reasons for going on a mission seem plausible and ultimately believable; and the execution of it all is a blast by the end of it. But for all the action I felt like this definitely had better dialogue than the second film as well, even though some might disagree here, mainly because it has become a bad habit to do so when this entry gets a little praise.
I loved all of the set pieces in this film; the action was far more creative and delivered “dead-on” with no mercy or time for sappy dialogue or cringe-worthy middle pieces, while the tension of it was surprisingly effective. I also loved how Colonel Trautman finally got some more screen time, and it made for a great rescue mission in the spirit of true war veteran loyalty. I guess the film ultimately falls in the category of guilty pleasures, but still I can’t deny that I genuinely loved this. I thought it was a fit for Rambo, both character and story-wise, to do what he did and act like he did in this film. And, of course, the big budget “money show” gets to shine for every penny when the wide-ranging action bombs away at your screen! I’m ever so ready for the fourth Rambo film, though I already watched it back when it came out. I barely remember it though, since I was like 13... But Stallone and buckets of blood is always a good combo…
__________________________