Rambo: First Blood Part II

_**Comic book action flick about Rambo going back to Vietnam**_ The imprisoned Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is offered a mission by Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) to go back to his old stomping grounds in ’Nam to see if there are any living American POWs. Charles Napier, Martin Kove, Julia Nickson and Steven Berkoff are included in the peripheral cast. “Rambo: First Blood Part II” (1985) contains what you would want from a Rambo flick: A muscular protagonist, a one-man-army scenario, a noble cause and loads of action, particular of the jungle warfare variety. It also has a quality cast, fabulous locations and a moving score. Unfortunately it’s marred by a glaring comic book vibe that spurs chuckles throughout, which is disappointing for fans of the outstanding first film. However, if you can acclimate, “Rambo II” can be enjoyed as a serious adventure, albeit thoroughly comic booky. It’s entertaining for what it is, but it’s my least favorite of the franchise. The next movie (1988) is more-of-the-same, albeit set in Afghanistan. The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Mexico (Guerrero, Sierra Madre del Sur de Chiapas & Sierra Madre del Sur de Oaxaca). GRADE: B-/C+

Confined during Uncle Sam's pleasure, "John Rambo" (Sylvester Stallone) is offered a chance of freedom by his former CO "Trautman" (Richard Crenna) but that means his return to Vietnam where he must try to rescue some POWs. It's not exactly a sanctioned operation, so he knows that it's risky - he will have little support from his own side and can expect a great deal of peril as the jungle, the VC and brutal megalomanic "Podovsky" (Steven Berkoff) stand in his way. Although it is quite well stitched together, and it doesn't hang about, I found the jeopardy of this film completely lacking. The usually reliable Berkoff is just too much of an ham right from the start of his sparing appearances and neither Crenna nor Charles Napier's "Murdock" add much to the mix either. The predictable ending as our agile, bullet-proof strongman strives to free his colleagues and deal with a bit of betrayal/duplicity from within his own camp - though accompanied by plenty of stealth, rocket-fire, pyrotechnics and explosions - is all just a bit jaded. The photography and action scenes do benefit from a big screen, if you can, but neither the acting nor the really stilted dialogue are going to have you gripped. Sorry - not a patch on the original film.