Customer Reviews

Rambo: First Blood Part II [VHS]

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

"The war and all this may be wrong, but, dammit don't hate your country for it."

"Hey..., I'd die for it."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want..., what they want. And every other guy that came over here & gave everything he had & spilled his guts, wants. For our country to love us, as much as we love it. That is what I want."

- Rambo speaks, to his Colonel, as the voice of every American Veteran, (past, present, & future) & reminds Americans & the world over that freedom has a price thats worth fighting for, but, sometimes the simple personal rewards are elusive in "Rambo: First Blood Part II"

Thanks to the big screen & video success of "First Blood", Rambo lives on this second installment, thats just as good as the previous film, but, tends to get quite cartoonish towards the films end.

Serving a five year plus jail sentence for the trashing of the town in "First Blood", "Rambo" opens with the former Green Beret hammering rocks in the local prison. That doesn't last long as Colonel Sam Trautman, Rambo's former CO in the military, pays him a visit & offering him a sweet deal.

Satelite recon had picked up some unexpected movement in the P.O.W. camp that Rambo escaped from in '71. The camp is supposed to be abandoned, but, may still be holding some of Rambo's former P.O.W.'s. Rambo's mission is to sneak into the camp and take pictures & document actions of the camp's activities and report back to base. Trautman & American Forces would step in and invade the camp reclaiming & bringing home the P.O.W.'s. This would also lead to Rambo being reinstated in the special forces and, if the mission is a success, a Presidential Pardon on his prison record, with Rambo walking away a free man.

Rambo reluctantly accepts the challenge, but, upon sneaking into the camp he does indeed find many American Troops still being held hostage beaten, malnutritioned, and one breath away from death. Rambo screws his Kodak moment, taking matters into his own hands. If you've watched "First Blood" you know what happens next.

Filmed entirely in Mexico, "Rambo" is a different film than the first, but retains and expands the violence quotient. Stallone exchanged working in weather that was ten to fifteen below zero & wading in water thats 39 degrees farenheit (remember the scene in "First Blood" where the National Guard is out looking for Rambo who was all along hiding amongst the rocks of the river? Yeah, that water was 39 degrees farenheit. Thats cold ass water to be hiding in). Instead, for "Rambo", Sly worked in weather that reached 110 degrees and, in one scene where Rambo is captured by the Viet Cong, is dipped, from the neck down, in pig slop complete with real live leeches (the Russian General uses Rambo's knife to pick one off his chest. Gross).

The helicopter battle at the end of the film was pretty dangerous. The helicopters flew so low, that in one quick shot of the Russian copter flying over one of the huts, the copter takes the roof off! Director George P. Cosmatos left the scene in to show the danger & peril of the battle.

Stallone's daily schedule was getting up and working out for two to three hours in the early morning, a ten to twelve hour shooting day, & a two to three hour workout at night. All told, Stallone's average work week with the workouts included was approx. 80 to 90 hours a week. Its also said that Stallone was at his leanest, practically resculpturing his body for this movie, as well as, for "Rocky IV".

"Rambo: First Blood Part II" was released for the Memorial Day weekend of 1985, and proceeded to punch a hole in American pop-culture. Everything from toys, bubble gum cards, & a cartoon series were produced to cash in on the success of the film.

As for the S.E. DVD, this is definitely the definitive edition of the film (the recent Ultimate Edition is a dissapointment). Features include a retrospective of the film from Cosmatos, Stallone, Richard Crenna & others, to trailers, an audio commentary from the director, DTS audio soundtrack with Dolby Digital & surround. Rambo is not expendable and neither is this DVD.

Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is a prisoner who is picked since he is an extraordinary vet who has won purple hearts among several other honors, to go on a mission in Southeast Asia to rescue POWs (prisoners of war). Being the hero that he is, Rambo isn't satisfied just taking photographs of a dangerous and possibly deadly camp, he would rather get into the action and make as many rescues as possible.

Rambo can fly a helicopter better than most full-time pilots, he can shoot the bow & arrow with such skill that Robin Hood wouldn't even stand a chance, and he really knows his stuff when it comes to any kind of fighting with weapons, to say the least.

I've always been a major fan of Sylvester Stallone's action flicks, and "Rambo: First Blood Part II" is one of my absolute favorites. Action movies are my favorite kind of movie, and Sylvester Stallone is probably my favorite action movie actor of all time.

As always, Stallone more than delivers the goods in "Rambo: First Blood Part II." This movie has some of the absolute best action sequences ever put into a film. Even though this film was made in 1985, it has spectacular special effects and edge of the seat action sequences that can stand up even to today's climbing standards of movies.

But action isn't all the "Rambo: First Blood Part II" has to offer. It also features a great, suspenseful musical score, a satisfying script, a great plot (and I didn't even reveal half of it to you!), it NEVER gets boring even after watching it several times over and over, and the great compliments could keep rolling from my mind to the keyboard all night.

If you like all-around classic action films, don't hesitate to add "Rambo: First Blood Part II" to your collection. Unlike most sequels to great movies, this one can stand up to the original in shining honor.

As I said in my review of "First Blood", these movies are so much more than machine guns and explosions. There is so much truth portrayed in them about the Vietnam war, what is really was, and it's affect on men like John Rambo. Rambo is not at all a bad person, but rather a kind one who tries to get his life together after the war. Here he is released from workhouse prison by his friend and mentor, Col. Trautman, to rescue POW's in the jungles of 'nam. I won't put any spoilers in my review here, or anybody who hasn't seen this excellent sequel, but I'll use a quote from Trautman to the scumbag Murdock, "You act as if you're dealing with an ordinary man here." George P. Cosmatos's directing is superb, and stays in the middle of the action. The tension and drama isn't silly or bogus; it's superb in my opinion. Cosmatos would later go on to direct the modern-day classic Western, "Tombstone". Buy this movie today. In my opinion, it offers hope and courage that combats the Vietnam fiasco. It's anti-war piece....showing that war really is hell. It also shows there are many true patriots, men like Rambo and Trautman.

ARTISAN Entertainment's release of RAMBO: First Blood Part II should be the standard by which all DVD's are judged - excellent picture (with the exception of a few minor lines in a couple of scenes), great sound, plus a veritable plethora of special features. For starters, RAMBO comes in a "keep case," not one of those junky "snap cases" you get from Warner Bros. The cover photo is printed right on the disc, a feature Disney is now bragging about as if they invented the idea. The disc itself contains the digitally mastered widescreen version of the film; a very interesting commentary track with director George Cosmatos; vocally enhanced motion menus; theatrical trailer; production notes; cast and crew info; a fun trivia game; and to top it all off, the documentary, "An American Hero's Journey!" What more could you ask for? As any good American knows, RAMBO is the classic sequel to First Blood, and stars Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, Richard Crenna as Colonel Trautman, and Charles Napier as the nefarious CIA Special Operations officer, Murdock. This time, the intrepid "one man army" is sent on a mission to search for POW's in Vietnam. But Murdock orders him not to engage the enemy, just take pictures. Of course, Rambo is not satisfied to stop at photography; he means to bring his fellow soldiers home -- at all costs. Abandoned by Murdock's men, Rambo fights a war with both the Vietcong and the Russians all by himself - and very effectively I might add! The ultimate action thriller, "RAMBO: First Blood Part II" is a film no DVD collection should be without. A+

Note that Rambo: First Blood Part II is rated R for lots of violence, gunplay, and really COOL explosions!

Version: U.S.A / Lionsgate / Region Free
VC-1 BD-25 1080p / 23.976fps / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:35:58 (h:m:s)
Movie size: 21,325,658,112 bytes
Disc size: 24,359,135,536 bytes
Average video bit rate: 21.97 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 4233 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 4233kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps

Subtitles: English / Spanish
Number of chapters: 16

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Version: U.K / Optimum / Region A / B
VC-1 BD-25 1080p / 23.976fps / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:35:55 (h:m:s)
Movie size: 20,505,513,984 bytes
Disc size: 23,373,405,514 bytes
Average video bit rate: 17.01 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2111 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 2111kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS-HD Audio French 2046 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS-HD Audio German 2046 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS Audio Portuguese 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps
DTS Audio Spanish 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps

Subtitles: English / Danish / Dutch / Finnish / French / German / Norwegian / Portuguese / Spanish / Swedish
Number of chapters: 12

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Version: E.U / Studio Canal HD DVD
VC-1 HD-30
Running time: 1:35:50 (h:m:s)
Movie size: 16,294,049,792 bytes
Disc size: 17,071,625,621 bytes
Average video bit rate: 17.03 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

This, of course, is a great classic movie, and many of the reviews for this product are rating the movie (and in standard DVD format, no less), rather than the quality of its Blu-Ray presentation.

As far as the Blu-Ray presentation goes, I was underwhelmed. I didn't do a direct compare, but casually watching it, the visuals and sound did not seem any different to me than the standard DVD presentation. The Blu-Ray does contain a documentary and "Out of the Blu" Trivia Track that are not on the DVD, but has the same commentary from the director and no additional features.

I'm slowly converting my DVD collection to Blu-Ray, but I'm doing it primarily for the enhanced visuals and sound. This Blu-Ray just didn't deliver that for me, so I'm glad I rented it first.

This sequel lives up to the original.
Stallone's way of saluting the VietNam war vets.
Along with most 80's action movies RAMBO II takes alittle
turn in the story, but to me it keeps the movie interesting.
John Rambo One of the best action heros in the 80's,
as well in the 21st century a new Rambo movie has been released this year.
I rate this movie a 5 of 5 stars!!

This was one of the best in the Rambo trilogies. And something dawned on me: Wouldn't it be interesting if this was a prequel to First Blood? I mean the first movie was awesome, and it introduced the world to John Rambo. The sequel and Rambo 3 has Rambo with a machine gun throughout the entire films. Sure he had one in First Blood, but that was toward the end of the film. I think that this movie should have been a prequel because it's soooo goood in every way. I look at the trilogies and I compare them how the Indiana Jones movies were done: Movie, Prequel, and Sequel. This movie shows why John Rambo is considered America's hero!! A definite must have!!!

This is by far Sylvester Stallone's best action to date. I must recommend it to any Sly fan. He is the best action hero working in motion pictures today.

Stallone rules!

Not to take away from First Blood, but Rambo was not really challenged in the first flick. Oh, you
think that a backwoods sheriff's office and a handful of grocery clerks compare to the Viet Cong and
Soviet Armies... while looking over your shoulder for the CIA at the same time?

This is one of the best action flicks of all time. It may not have the depth of characters and story
as the first installment, but it does have action, and a build to a much anticipated climax. Just great,
and it gets better with age.

The quality of the transfer is incredible on your choice of Widescreen or Standard discs, 5.1 OR DTS
audio (alert the neighbors), and bennies like director commentary make this a great find. 5 Bows