Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Director:

George P. Cosmatos

Writers:

David Morrell (characters)
Kevin Jarre (story)

Release Date:

22 May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

What most people call hell, he calls home.

Plot:

John Rambo is removed from prison by his former superior, Colonel Samuel Troutman, for a top-secret...

Plot Keywords:

Rambo | Vietnam | Prison | Green Beret | Soldier

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 16	2:00 AM	AMC
Mon. Nov. 16	1:30 PM	AMC

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	John J. Rambo
Richard Crenna	...	Col. Samuel Trautman
Charles Napier	...	Marshall Murdock
Steven Berkoff	...	Lt. Col. Podovsky
Julia Nickson-Soul	...	Co Bao (as Julia Nickson)
Martin Kove	...	Ericson
George Cheung	...	Capt Vinh (as George Kee Cheung)
Andy Wood	...	Banks
William Ghent	...	Capt. Vinh (POW camp commander)
Voyo Goric	...	Sgt. Yushin (as Vojo Goric)
Dana Lee	...	Captain Kinh
Baoan Coleman	...	Gunboat captain
Steve Williams	...	Lifer
Don Collins	...	POW #1
Christopher Grant	...	POW #2

Also Known As:

First Blood Part II (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #27558) | West Germany:18 (video rating) (cut) | Iceland:16 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 (video release) (uncut) (1998) | Finland:K-16 (video release) (cut) (1989) | Finland:K-18 (original rating) (cut) (1985) | Malaysia:18SG | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:Not Rated (uncut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | France:U | Norway:18 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Company:

Anabasis N.V.

Trivia:

Co-writer James Cameron claims that he only wrote the first draft of the script and that Sylvester Stallone made many changes to it. When the film was released, the "political" content of the movie was considered controversial. Many felt the Vietnam conflict was "altered" to look and sound heroic. Cameron commented that he only wrote the "action" and that Stallone wrote the "politics".

Goofs:

Continuity: Rambo's helicopter makes a crash landing in the water. Colonel Podovsky closes in with his helicopter and is about to fire a missile. A closeup of Rambo's helicopter shows a hole in the windshield, but when it cuts to the wide camera shot, there is no hole in the windshield. It cuts back to the closeup, and there is a hole in the windshield, which Rambo fires a rocket launcher through.

Quotes:

Trautman: Good luck son.
Rambo: Murdock said he was with 2nd battalion 3rd Marines at Kon Tum in '66.
Trautman: Yeah.
Rambo: The 2nd Battalion was at Kud Sank. You're the only one I trust.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Korkusuz (1986)

Soundtrack:

PEACE IN OUR LIFE

An addictive, legal drug

"Rambo" is definitely one of the greatest action movies of all-time. I think this was the movie that started all of those one-man army movies that, to this day, have not yet died out (such as Dolph Lundren movies). At least Rambo has a good reason to act like a one-man army: he's an ex-Vietnam vet who was tortured in Vietnam and now reacts violently whenever he feels he is, or is going to be, tortured.

It is very different from "First Blood", and, I think, much better. In "First Blood", they mention that Rambo is a war hero and that he is the best soldier a Colonel Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) has ever seen. In this movie, we get to see what kind of war hero Rambo is.

The movie was scripted by Rambo himself (Sylvester Stallone, writer of all five "Rocky" movies) and also James Cameron (writer of the "Terminator" movies, "Aliens", "True Lies" and "Titanic", all well-known classics). With two very talented writers like them, you know that a pairing up can only mean great things.

The action is very intense for a mid-80's movie. If you watch an old version, the movie looks old but the action and the music (which I very much love) seem much newer.

Jerry Goldsmith (who scored "First Blood") has outdone himself with this very entertaining follow-up score. The themes return with an extra touch of intensity, and added themes come alone as well. Jerry Goldsmith is a very talented composer.

The last half-hour or so of the movie is when all the best action takes place (along with the boat scene and the camp escape scene, which don't take place in that half-hour). It's half an hour of running, shooting, stunts, and explosions. It never lets up, and while all this is going on, Rambo's character is constantly being developed with his ways of war.

You'd probably never expect one man to take on an entire camp full of soldiers, but when you see exactly how Rambo is, you understand where he gets his confidence.

"Rambo" is definitely one of my favorite action movies, and I watch it all the time. I have it practically memorized, but I keep watching it. It's always entertaining, and Sylvester Stallone is great. If they make a "Rambo IV" and maybe a "Rambo V", and even a "Rambo VI", I'll buy and watch all of those movies simply because it's Rambo.