The most common argument for film censorship is a notion that films, if they are made irresponsibly, might be destructive influence on impressionable minds. The author of this review rejects that argument, but also admits that sometimes films indeed can lead people to do some things that they wouldn’t have done it otherwise. The clearest example happened thirty years ago, when the war erupted in former Yugoslavia. This event was greeted with great happiness by many teenagers and young men who saw it as one jolly good adventure in which they are about to be heroes and easily defeat hordes of enemies. It took some time before they learned that having superior firepower, adequate training and common sense tactics is more important than acting tough or looking “cool”. Many things might explain that phenomenon, but few explanations are as clear as the immense popularity of Rambo: First Blood Part II, 1985 action film directed by George Pan Cosmatos.
The film had its origin in another bloody and protracted conflict which had happened decades earlier in Southeast Asia. Protagonist, played by Sylvester Stallone, is John Rambo, former elite soldier of US Special Forces and decorated Vietnam War veteran who found that his country had little use or respect for him in peacetime. This led to the conflict with local police in rural Washington, which served as a plot for popular 1982 film First Blood. The plot of its sequel begins with the aftermath of those events – Rambo serving prison sentence. He is visited by Colonel Trautman (played by Richard Crenna), his former superior officer and mentor, and offered pardon in exchange for taking part in delicate covert mission for US government. When he arrives in Thailand, Marshall Murdock (played by Charles Napier), civilian official in charge of operation, explains that the government received information about number of US servicemen, officially listed as missing in action during Vietnam War, still being secretly held as prisoners in Vietnam. Rambo’s task is to infiltrate site of suspected prison camp and collect photographic evidence. Using his superb skills, knowledge of terrain and help of local intelligence contact Co Bao (played by Julia Nickson) he not only finds prisoners but actually brings one of them from captivity. At the designated extraction point Rambo is betrayed by Murdock who abort the mission. Rambo is prisoner again, but with help of Co and his superb skills, he is set free and begins long and arduous journey towards the Thai border.
First Blood Part II, or, simply, Rambo II, is not only the most successful film in the series, but also one of the greatest hits of its time and the most iconic films of the decade. It has easily overshadowed the first film and, unsurprisingly, many of this film fans don’t know and don’t care that First Blood even exists. That might be easily explained by the completely different tone of the second film. While the first instalment in the series was a very good action film, it was quite realistic and dealt with some serious and unpleasant issues and had the protagonist who, despite displaying superb and almost superhuman skills, was lonely and vulnerable human in the end. Almost nothing of such nature appears in the script co-written by Stallone and James Cameron, which instead employs medium of action film as a tool of seemingly crude, but immensely effective Cold War propaganda. Unlike Hollywood films which until mid 1980s almost always treated Vietnam War as tragic and needless waste of American and Vietnamese lives, Rambo II takes right-wing revisionist and revanchist approach, suggesting that US military, at least its segment embodied by the likes of Rambo, could have and should have obtained a victory, if not for the major backstabbing by self-serving bureaucrats and traitorous politicians back home. This notion, very much like the one that was popular in Germany following defeat in World War One, is embodied in the character of Murdock who even explicitly explains motives for similar betrayal that occurs during the film. Rambo II, made at the zenith of Cold War, also uses the real life issue of missing US servicemen and conspiracy theories about their fate (some of which were promoted by serious journalists like Sydney Schanberg of The Killing Fields fame) as a convenient excuse to re-fight the Vietnam War and thus the exercise the demons of humiliating defeat. This idea is even explicitly promoted through Rambo’s question “Sir, do we get to win this time” at the beginning of the film. Long before the end many of the audience would know the answer and Rambo triumphs not only over his former Vietnamese adversaries but also over their Soviet allies, embodied by sadistic Lt. Col. Podovsky (played by Stephen Berkoff).
Rambo II was, unsurprisingly, one of Ronald Reagan’s favourite films. Also unsurprisingly, it was hated by critics and most Hollywood, where left-of-centre views of Vietnam War would more in tune with anti-war films of previous decade and upcoming Platoon. Bad reviews and Razzies meant little in comparison with formidable results on the global box office and the word “Rambo” entering many vocabularies as synonym for relentless, skilful and invincible warrior. Rambo served Cold War propaganda very well and his fictional victory over Communists in this film proved almost prophetic when Soviet Union fell apart few years later. Thanks to Rambo, who as a single soldier managed to take out whole army, most of the world accepted US military as invincible and omnipotent, which would be foundation of US global hegemony until 9/11 and Iraq War.
This achievement, however, couldn’t be made without Rambo II being at least solid action film. There are flaws, and the most visible is the script, which made Rambo into rather one-dimensional character. Things are even worse with character of Co Bao, who provides cliched and unconvincing romantic subplot that would be predictably resolved in a way that provides another motive for protagonist’s showdown with his enemies. On the other hand, Stallone did work hard to build specific physique for this film and make Rambo’s success in hand-to-hand at least look believable. His iconic look is also put to good use in scenes when Rambo is tortured, which in many ways resemble Christian iconography. In all that Stallone is helped by steady direction of George Pan Cosmatos who keeps quick pace and doesn’t allow audience to ask to many unnecessary questions. Instead, he delivers scenes in which Communist soldiers are killed in various ingenious and spectacular ways, although it becomes slightly repetitive near the end, especially in the scene of helicopter raid on prison camp, which uses too much pyrotechnics. Stallone and Cosmatos are helped by not particularly inspired, but mostly adequate soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith (mostly based on his work in first film, which is much better). Veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff puts Thai and Mexican locations to good use. In the end, Rambo II, seen without its ideological and propaganda aspects, represents imperfect but justifiably iconic piece of 1980s cinema that still can entertain. That includes even the audience that knows that some people in real life died trying to repeat what its fictional protagonist easily did on screen.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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