Rambo (2008)

In Thailand, John Rambo joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit.

Director:

Sylvester Stallone

Writers:

Art Monterastelli, Sylvester Stallone

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	John Rambo
Julie Benz	...	Sarah
Matthew Marsden	...	School Boy
Graham McTavish	...	Lewis
Reynaldo Gallegos	...	Diaz (as Rey Gallegos)
Jake La Botz	...	Reese
Tim Kang	...	En-Joo
Maung Maung Khin	...	Tint
Paul Schulze	...	Michael Burnett
Cameron Pearson	...	Missionary #4 (Jeff)
Thomas Peterson	...	Missionary #2 (Dentist)
Tony Skarberg	...	Missionary #3 (Videographer)
James With	...	Missionary #5 (Preacher) (as James Wearing Smith)
Kasikorn Niyompattana	...	Snake Hunter #2
Shaliew 'Lek' Bamrungbun	...	Snake Hunter #1

Storyline

Vietnam veteran John Rambo has survived many harrowing ordeals in his lifetime and has since withdrawn into a simple and secluded existence in Thailand, where he spends his time capturing snakes for local entertainers, and chauffeuring locals in his old PT boat. Even though he is looking to avoid trouble, trouble has a way of finding him: a group of Christian human rights missionaries, led by Michael Burnett and Sarah Miller, approach Rambo with the desire to rent his boat to travel up the river to Burma. For over fifty years, Burma has been a war zone. The Karen people of the region, who consist of peasants and farmers, have endured brutally oppressive rule from the murderous Burmese military and have been struggling for survival every single day. After some inner contemplation, Rambo accepts the offer and takes Michael, Sarah, and the rest of the missionaries up the river. When the missionaries finally arrive at the Karen village, they find themselves part of a raid by the sadistic ...

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Plot Keywords:

rambo | missionary | burma | mercenary | thailand | 

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Taglines:

Live for nothing, or die for something.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images and language

Details

Official Sites:

Instagram Official Facebook

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Burmese Thai

Release Date:

25 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rambo IV: End of Peace

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,203,876, 27 January 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$42,754,105, 27 March 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$113,244,290

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate,The Weinstein Company,Millennium Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 99 min (extended) 80 min (cut) (FSK 16 rated)

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many critics and audience members felt that the horrific wounds inflicted by the M2 .50-cal. heavy machine gun in the finale were so gory that it was unrealistic. However, returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who had used the M2 in combat noted that the wounds were quite accurate, and if anything, toned down from reality. In the audio commentary on the DVD and Blu-ray versions, Sylvester Stallone himself makes note of this fact.

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Goofs

When Rambo is using the .50 caliber machine gun in the final action scene, it runs out of bullets and makes several clicking sounds to indicate it is empty. The gun would only click empty once since the gun's action only operates by firing, thus cycling the round and cocking the action.

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Quotes

Sarah: What do we do?
School Boy: Nothing we can do.

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Crazy Credits

Salad and Fruit Hand - Buakai Boonsri

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Alternate Versions

To secure a "Not under 18" rating from the FSK, the German theatrical version was cut by ca. 1 minute. To achieve this rating for the DVD, one additional minute was cut. For the salethrough version (rated "Not under 16"), almost every violent bit was removed. The uncut version was released with a SPIO/JK certificate.

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Connections

Referenced in Dave's Old Porn: Joe Rogan/Ginger Lynn (2012)

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Soundtracks

Tiny
Written and Performed by Jake La Botz
Published by Bug Music o/b/o Under the Well Music (BMI)

User Reviews

An modern 80s action movie that pulls no punches.

Rambo is an 80s-style action movie with modern sensibilities. Stallone is not a one-man army as in previous movies but rather a dogged old soldier that comes to terms with what he actually is while racking up a body count that would make Tarintino proud. In many ways, this movie parallels Rocky Balboa as a mature ending to a series of sometimes over-the-top but fun action movies. John Rambo in this movie is an aging but potent killing machine that for the first time since First Blood accomplishes his mission in a very believable manner. The action is visceral and downright gory at times surpassing the hard-core scenes of Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan. The film pulls no punches when showing exactly what a Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle can do to a human body. Stallone mutters only a very few lines of dialog in this movie... there's no speeches or patriotic flag waving going on here but there is a clear lesson on how well liberal idealism holds up under barbaric realities amid genocide and war.

A must see but not one for the kiddies.