Reaction & Review | Rambo: First Blood Part II

Welcome, one and all, to an all new Reaction & Review. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna be continuing the Rambo series by taking at look at the second movie that came out in 1985. That movie is "Rambo: First Blood Part II".

Now, for those of you who are new here and is reading this for the first time, I'll briefly explain what's going on here. A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed the first Rambo movie, which was simply called "First Blood". It was my first experience with the Rambo series, because I had never seen any of the Rambo movies beforehand, and I decided that I was going to cover all 5 of the Rambo movies for the next couple of months. And in the case of "First Blood", I thought it was really great. The story and everything involving it was very engaging, and I wound up absolutely enjoying it.

We now come to the second entry in this series, and I honestly don't know very much about it. From what little I could remember, I think it's suppose to be a prequel of sorts, where we get to experience Rambo's time in Vietnam. Because if you'll recall my review of the first movie, I mentioned that Rambo had these PTSD flashbacks in which those memories of his helped kick off the plot to the first film. So I believe we're going to go more in depth of those moments and see what exactly Rambo was going through during his time in the war.

Now I'm hoping that this movie is gonna be as good, if not better than the first movie was. Which I know sounds like a bold task, considering how great that first movie was, but it is still certainly possible. I don't know if that will be the case or not, but I'm gonna find out momentarily. And the only way I am gonna find out how good this movie could possibly be, is if I shut up, and I push play, and I'm gonna do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Rambo: First Blood Part II".

9 minutes later

All right, I have a question, and I understand it's probably a stupid one, but I want to ask this. So Rambo's been given specific orders to take photos of any American soldiers that are potentially being held hostage at a POW camp, and he's not to engage against any enemy combatants. So...what happens if anyone of them attacks Rambo first? I mean, knowing Rambo, and what he did in the first movie, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't take that very well if one of them ever got the jump on him. I'm just saying, maybe it would've made a bit more sense to say that unless they provoke first, then Rambo could have clearance to defend himself.

16 minutes later

You know, guys, I'm just noticing that this movie is taking more of a narrative approach with it's story. And I actually think that's a good thing. I'll get more into this later when I eventually review the movie, but, so far, I'm really liking this approach that the movie currently is taking.

16 minutes later

You know, I was wondering how the hell that explosion was gonna occur on collision, considering that the metal boat crashed into a boat that was made entirely out of bamboo! But I guess it doesn't matter anyways, because it was still a really cool explosion.

7 minutes later

I'd like to say right now, guys, that I sincerely hope that Murdock gets what's coming to him at the end, because given what I've already known about him, I hope Rambo, or even Colonel Trautman for that matter, delivers a kind of justice that is perfect for him. And no, I'm not gonna tell you what I just learned about Murdock, you're just gonna have to watch the movie for yourself.

12 minutes later

Well, guys, I will say that was probably one of best responses Rambo gave to Murdock. Whether that actually happens or not is still up in the air, but that was definitely a great response.

10 minutes later

Wow. Out of all the kills that Rambo has delivered to these Russian soldiers, that one was probably the more surprising. And really cool, too. Just seeing him completely camouflaging himself in mud, despite the fact that it's raining. Well, then again, he sorta did that in the first movie, too. But still, Rambo certainly knows how to blend into whatever environment he's currently in.

4 minutes later

I didn't think it was possible, guys, but the explosions in this movie are better here than what was in the first movie! I never thought I'd have to comment on explosions in a movie before, these ones are definitely interesting. I'm a little bit surprised by that.

The Review

Well, guys, that was "Rambo: First Blood Part II". Let me go ahead and shut the film off...OK. So...where to begin with? Well, I said earlier that I was hoping for this movie to be as good, if not better than the first movie. And considering how good "First Blood" was, this movie had a bit of a bold task to out perform it's predecessor. And you know what? It totally does just that. This movie was amazing! It seriously is that awesome.

So, let's just dive right into this movie by talking about the writing. Now, I mentioned earlier that I was predicting that this movie was gonna be some sort of a prequel, in which we got to see Rambo's time in Vietnam. Well...as was the case with how well I predicted the first movie, I was TOTALLY off here. And it's not done on purpose, I assure you. I go into a lot of these movies blind, considering that this series, Reaction & Review, is about me watching movies that I've never seen before. And I usually don't do a whole lot of research going into some of the movies that I watch, because I want to be surprised and find out what I'm getting myself into. Now if there's information that's worth noting, then I will totally talk about it before I dive into whatever movie that I'm about to watch. But beyond that, I try to go into these movies as blind as possible. That way, it makes these experiences that much better. At least, to me, it does.

So, with this in mind, I'm rather happy that I was wrong here. Because what we have for a plot is MUCH better than what I had originally predicted. It's pretty much a follow-up from where the first movie left off, in which Rambo is in prison for what he had done in the first movie. And then Colonel Trautman comes along and says to Rambo that they have a special mission for him because he's the only one that could pull this off. And that if Rambo succeeds, then he will be pardoned of all his crimes. The mission? Well, there's a POW camp in Vietnam that the U.S. military base has been keeping tabs on, because they believe that there might be some missing soldiers there that are being held prisoner. Originally, they were presumed to be dead, but they want to be sure for themselves. So then Murdock, who's technically the head of this operation, orders Rambo that he has to get photographic evidence of any U.S. soldiers that are being held there against their will. And he's also been instructed to NOT engage with any of the enemy soldiers there that are guarding the camp. Which Rambo does at first, but Rambo being Rambo, he later starts to take the matter into his own hands, as he ends up freeing one of the soldiers that was being held in a cross-like fashion. And basically, the movie sets itself up as Rambo is taking on both the Vietnamese soldiers and the Russian soldiers at the same time. How exactly they come into play is something that I'm gonna try not to spoil here.

One thing I really liked about the writing here is how it builds itself up. I've talked about this before in past reviews regarding action movies that mostly follow a status quo. That being which they mostly are about the action and less about the story and characters. Now for some people, that's totally fine. I can totally see why some people would prefer that kind of thing for their action films, because they like seeing shit blow up or just guns blazing left and right, and they mostly could care less if there's a story going on or not. And while that's not entirely my thing, I get why some people would prefer that kind of thing for their action movies. This movie, however, was able to do something that not a lot of action movies are able to do correctly or just not do them at all. You see, this movie starts off rather quietly with the stuff I mentioned earlier involving Rambo and his instructions about trying to get photographic evidence of soldiers being held at this POW camp, but he's also joined up with a female soldier named Co. She kinda serves as both a love interest for Rambo, while also being an aide to Rambo if he ever gets into any sort of trouble, such as when he himself gets captured at one point during the movie, and she has to try and save him. But she and Rambo also get some down time as well, because they're just talking, and sharing a little bit of character development together. Which is something you didn't really see much from Rambo in the first movie, outside of a couple of moments he had with Colonel Trautman. Here though, we definitely get to see more of it in this movie. And it is a rather nice touch to see. Now before I get on back to my point about how the movie builds itself up, I should mention that our characters here are mostly really good. And as for Murdock, and whether not I was hoping he would get what's coming to him...well, I won't spoil on whether or not that happens. Again, it's just something you're gonna have to see for yourself if you're someone who still hasn't seen any of the Rambo movies yet.

But anyway, getting back to my point, because I kinda jumped into the characters for a moment, the way that this movie builds itself up is that it does things a bit slowly. Unlike the first movie, where we sorta just got into the action rather quickly, this movie starts off slow, and then it builds up to our action scenes, leading into the final climax of the movie, where we REALLY get to see guns going off and explosions everywhere. This is the kind of action movie that knows how to build itself up and then gets a huge payoff towards the end. Unlike a lot of movies where they just want to rush into their action scenes with little to no depth, this movie is a textbook example on how to do it right. Now sure, the first Rambo movie did sorta get into it's action as well, but you still got a chance to learn a little bit more about the titled character as the movie went on. And this sequel definitely did what most sequels should do. You take whatever problems the predecessor may have had, and improve on them in your sequel. Now that isn't to say that the first movie had very many problems. The only real gripes I could think of that the first one may have had was that the plot was rather paper-thin at best. But then again, this movie's plot is also sorta the same thing. And much like the first movie, it's really easy to follow. Which, for an action movie, is really all I could ask for. So this movie's story is pretty standard, but it's one of those movies that will make you care about what's going on. And, coupled with the fact that we have great characters here, it makes for a really awesome movie.

So yeah, if it's not made any clearer already, the writing here is really solid. What about the acting? Well, we do have our returning cast members such as Sylvester Stallone as Rambo and Richard Crenna as Colonel Trautman. And they turn in really good showings. Most of the rest of our cast here also turned in really good showings, too. I didn't notice any cases of poor acting from anyone, which includes and extras and minor actors, so that's definitely a plus. Now to show you how little research I did going into this movie, there was one actor's name that I wasn't expecting when I started up the movie. That one actor goes by the name of Martin Kove. And somehow, within the span of 3 movies for the last couple of months, he shows up in this movie. And for those of you wondering what movies I'm talking about, I'm referring to both of the "Shadow Warriors" movies that I covered last month. However, unlike those two movies, his role in this thing is a bit more restrained. So it's not like he does anything too crazy in this movie, outside of one particular thing that I won't try to go into detail here for the sake of spoilers. But yeah, he was kind of a surprise to me, because I didn't think I was going to cover anything else that he was going to be in, and yet, he did. So...yeah, that threw me for a bit of a loop there. But anyway, getting over that, the acting from the cast in this thing was really solid, so kudos to all of the cast members for giving it there all in this thing.

Special effects here are really good. And on the subject of the pyrotechnics, I will say this. If you thought the first movie had some pretty cool explosions, then THIS movie will definitely deliver on more of those. And unlike the Michael Bay "Transformers" movies, where it's pretty much a standard for him to have explosions wherever he possibly can, this movie, like I said, builds up to all of that. Granted, you do get a couple of explosions a little bit early on, but most of the rest of them are saved for the latter portion of the film. Including one moment in particular that ended up being incredibly funny. Again, won't say for spoilers sake, but it was definitely the funniest moment of the entire movie. Everything else here in terms of explosions are really cool. And the best part about them is that they get better with each one that goes off. If you think you've seen the coolest explosion in this movie, the next one will top itself, and it just doesn't stop! That's how well handled the explosions are used in this movie. Everything else involving the muzzle flares for the guns and blood effects are all done very well, too. So overall, the special effects in this movie are fantastic.

Camerawork here is great. The lighting here is done really well. The sound-mix here is really good. Our score here, once again, was done by Jerry Goldsmith. And similar to the first movie, it's just as sound here. Now whether it's better than the first movie's score is something that I can't say. I would say that both are almost on par with each other. But if I HAD to give a slight edge to either movie, I would probably have to say this movie edged it out a bit. Again, it's not by much, considering both movies scores were done by Goldsmith, and he always knew how to make great music. So really, it's just personal preference from me. Both scores are great, regardless. But on the topic of this movie, the music here works, and it works really well.

Ultimately, guys, when all is said and done, can I recommend "Rambo: First Blood Part II"? Absolutely, yes! This movie was fantastic. I can especially recommend it to those who have seen and liked the first Rambo movie. It does a great job on being an awesome sequel by taking whatever minor gripes the first movie may have had, and tweaking them a bit in order to give us a slightly better story. Again, both movies plots are somewhat bare bones. But again, like I said earlier, you don't really need much in order to make an action movie story stand out. As long as it's interesting, entertaining, and it gives you a reason to care about it, then mission-fucking-accomplished! "Rambo: First Blood Part II" does all of that. And I cannot wait until I get to the next Rambo film, and I'm genuinely curious to see where else Rambo is going to go from here. For now, though, I'm going to say, again, that I can totally recommend Part II, just so as long as you've seen the first movie, and you really enjoyed it. And as for myself...well, seeing as how I mentioned the Michael Bay "Transformers" movies earlier, I think I'm gonna go and watch the animated "Transformers" movie from the 80's. It's been a little while since I last seen it. Plus, it also has an amazing soundtrack, too. So I'm gonna go and do that next right after I'm done putting this review together.

And with that, guys, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all later. Peace.