Geoff T's Rambo Marathon #2
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

So how do you make a follow-up to a solid post-Vietnam drama? Screw it, just have Rambo obliterate everything in his path.

This is the kind of movie that defines action films of the 80s, overly violent, patriotic and just plain explosive. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I enjoyed this a little more the the original. The first is clearly the far better movie, but this one as a whole just seems like more fun, as admittedly absurd it can get at times.

Set a few years after First Blood, Rambo is imprisoned at a penitentiary after the damage he did to the town…

The second instalment in the Rambo film franchise, Rambo: First Blood Part II may lack the intricate themes of the original that turned it into an instant classic right away but certainly goes big with its action set pieces by packing in more explosions & body counts and takes the "one man army" approach a tad too far.

First Blood Part II continues the story of John Rambo and picks up from where it signed off in the previous chapter. The plot finds Rambo released from prison for a top-secret mission that requires him to return to Vietnam in order to document the possible existence of POWs but he soon finds out the real motive behind this covert operation.

Directed by…

Scavenger Hunt #36-March 2018
Task #3 Watch a movie that won the Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture.

I was trying to figure out how to rate this:
-really bad?
-bad?
-semi-ok?

I opted for semi-ok. After all, this installment of Rambo explores the themes of the U.S. government bombing their own people and lying through their teeth about it. That has to count for something. Then Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) talks about how his knife is good luck... and he's not joking folks. The serrated knife actually comes into play. We are not left disappointed. His younger brother (Frank Stallone) even sings a standard sounding pop song for the end credits. It was called “Peace in Our Life” but it should…

If first blood was a story about a Vietnam vet unable to shake the pain and blood shed he’s endured, if it were about him trying to find his place in the world, then this sequel decidedly turns him into a straight up action hero... not that there wasn’t an element of that prior, but here they go all the way. This means that while part 2 is entertaining as hell, and filled with amazing action set pieces and a great location... it lacks that emotional pull that was present in the first. 

John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is doing hard time in jail when his former boss, Col. Troutman (Richard Crenna), offers him a deal. If Rambo travels to Vietnam…