Rambo III Movie Review

Regardless of how you feel about the First Blood series, you have to hand it to Rambo III for pulling off one of the most inventive title switcheroos in Hollywood history. How's that? The movies go from First Blood to Rambo: First Blood Part II, to Rambo III. Shouldn't this be Rambo II? It's enough to make a Vietnam vet's head spin!

In this final entry into the incredibly profitable, gory, and mumbletastic Rambo series, Sylvester Stallone has traded writing partner James Cameron for Sheldon Lettich (of such films as Bloodsport), and his hair is so long he can barely see through his bangs. Good thing he's got that headband to keep it out of his face.

In Rambo III, John (Stallone) finds himself called into duty once again, this time to save his old boss, Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna), being held hostage in Soviet-controlled Afghanistan. Of course, 15 years later, Rambo's venture into this hostile territory seems almost educational, and in fact, the DVD includes a short film contrasting Rambo III's history lesson with the current-day reality of the area.

Of course, little of this changes the fact that Rambo III is a movie with little more than a body count on its mind. Nice production values and a tendency toward hand-to-hand combat instead of dull gun battles elevate it over its immediate predecessor, but mindless action is still mindless action.

Rambo enthusiasts will want to run -- don't walk -- to pick up the new four-disc DVD set of the three Rambo movies (plus a disc full of extras). Admittedly, this isn't The Godfather collection, but each film has been carefully restored and enhanced with Dolby Digital and DTS audio, as well as a commentary track. Various documentaries pepper the movie discs and of course the extras disc, offering close to a full 24 hours of entertainment. And in pure Rambo style, it's all wrapped up in an impressive book-like package and bound in a metal case. As John Rambo himself might say: "Auuugggggrrhh!"