On Febraury 23, 2011, Culture Mob posted a throughtful review by Josh Katz of Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo. Here’s a taste:
- To call Sylvester Stallone’s 2008 action epic Rambo “frustratingly watchable” mislabels the matter somewhat—the film is compulsively watchable. On an aesthetic level, it is a well-shot, well-cut, entertainingly-if-not-always-competently acted, and relentlessly paced piece of work. I’ve seen it five times, and it goes down smooth every time.
- I believe Sylvester Stallone wanted to make an important movie. If you listen to the commentary track on the theatrical cut of Rambo or watch his Production Diaries on the extended cut (and I recommend giving these a whirl, just to get a sense of how eloquent and thoughtful Stallone can be), he seems committed to bringing the plight of the Karen genocide in Burma to light.
- Stallone is a master of action movie filmmaking; that much is certain. He instinctively understands where the camera needs to go to maximize visceral and spatial impact, how to split the balance of exposition and action, and how to vary action scenes while marrying them to logical narrative momentum.
You can read the whole piece here.