IN PURSUIT OF RAMBO: TRIBUTE TO RAMBO

Col. Trautman: “You may try, but you can’t get away from what you really are,
Rambo: “And what do you think I am?”
Col. Trautman: “A full blooded combat soldier.” -- Rambo III

IT’S a long road, but Rambo is back after two decades, as fans eagerly await to see their favourite action hero don his bandana and wield his knife for the last time.
In the latest outing aptly titled John Rambo which opens in cinemas worldwide today (Jan 25), Rambo returns to save a group of Christian human rights missionaries against the atrocities of Burmese soldiers. He also gets to assemble a team of mercenaries to rescue the surviving relief workers.
As the story goes, Rambo has withdrawn to a simple and secluded existence in Bangkok where he spends his time salvaging old PT boats and tanks for scrap metal.
A group of Christian human rights missionaries led by Michael Burnett and Sarah Miller, approached him to rent his boat and take them up the river to Burma.
Rambo accepts the offer. When the missionaries finally arrive at Karen village, they are ambushed by sadistic Major Pa Tee Tint and a slew of Burmese army men. Rambo leads a rescue team with five young mercenaries to liberate the survivors in his deadliest mission ever.
Like a blast from the past, audiences can expect a lot of gore and explosive action which the franchise is famous for.
In examining the Rambo character, Stallone said in a past interview: “Rambo is from the dark side of the subconscious. He is the avenging arm of what I consider ethical in life -- a patriotic soldier. There’s an enemy out there who will have to be put down, and Rambo knows what it will take to do the job once first blood is drawn.”
For Stallone, who turns 62 this year, reprising the role is one of his toughest yet, but the time is ripe to end the series with dignity as he did with Rocky Balboa last year.
Rambo, one of the biggest film legends in history has come a long way indeed, and it would do him no justice without paying tribute his some his blockbuster films from the past.
Here is a quick review of some of the highlights. Action!
Based on the 1972 novel, the film First Blood written by David Morell was shot in the Canadian jungles.
John Rambo, a decorated Vietnam vet, former green beret, and congressional Medal of Honor winner, went to visit his last surviving buddy in the small town of Hope but found he was dead due to the effects of Agent Orange.
Feeling lonely he trudges back and encountered Sgt Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) who drove him out of town because of the way “he looked.” But Rambo, defied orders and decided to turn back, thus the “war” began.
In one of the action scenes Rambo said:

“Don’t push it or I will give you a war you won’t believe,”

which captioned the rest of the explosive sequels.
On the character, Stallone said: “If you live in a violent world you cannot be sheep. Society dictates how we must live.”
First Blood, the first of the Rambo series, vowed audiences with several impressive stunts including a scene where Rambo jumped off a cliff to avoid being shot at from a helicopter, and broke his fall against tree branches. He landed with a thud and a deep gash on his arm. With needle and thread, he stitched back the wound as blood oozed out.
A man of a 1000 skills, Rambo was as resourceful as he was strong. Armed only with a knife, he turned a gunny sack into a jacket, made booby traps and spear from tree branches. He even lighted a piece of cloth around his knife, and used it as a torch to find his way out of an abandoned tunnel.
Rambo became larger-than-life with the sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II in 1985, where he single-handedly blew up an enemy camp in Vietnam and rescued a group of POWs with a helicopter as he said: “To win a war you have to become war”.
The film also saw Rambo using a custom-made bow tipped with explosives to destroy enemy trucks.
In a boat scene, agent Co Bao (Julia Nickson-Soul) asked Rambo:

“Is that why they picked you, because you like to fight?”, and Rambo replied: “I’m expendable.”“What means expandable?”, asked Co; “It’s like someone invites you to a party and you don’t show up, it doesn’t really matter,” replied Rambo.

Impressed by his gung-ho approach, it was reported that former United States president Ronald Reagan once quipped : “I’ve seen Rambo II and the next time this happens I’ll know just what to do.”
By the time Rambo III rolled out in 1988, the name was emblazoned on billboards around the world, as Stallone became one of the biggest action stars on the planet. (He is still a big influence in middle eastern countries where Rambo is regarded as a war hero in some countries).
While Rambo mania swept the world in the 80s, an assortment of Rambo knives, bows and arrows, toy guns and even Rambo vitamins were selling like hot cakes.
But when the film was associated with violence, Stallone came to the defence saying: “The millions of atrocities and brutal acts against helpless people are the ones that should be counted.”
He explained: “I made Rambo III because of the pain of the Afghan people have suffered as a result of the brutal war of the Soviets. Millions of people have been killed and maimed. So I don’t think the question is whether Rambo committed a few violent acts.”
Rambo is not just about war, he reiterated: “Rambo is a man of many colours, he is trying to find serenity, but how can you be serene in one small part of the world when the rest of the world is coming apart.”
In Rambo: First Blood Pt II, Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) who was like a father figure to Rambo said: “Feel Vietnam is dead,” but Rambo replied: “Sir, I am alive it’s still alive ain’t it?” Towards the end of the movie when they met again,

Trautman said: “The war, everything that happened here may be wrong… damn it, don’t hate your country for it.”
Rambo replied: “Hate? I die for it.”
Col. Trautman: “Then what is it you want?”
Rambo: “I want what they want, and every other guy who came over here and spilled his guts and gave everything he had wants... for our country to love us, as much as we loved it. That’s what I want.”

Stallone philosophy remained unchanged. “The strongest feelings a man has are for his religion, his feelings for his loved ones, and his love for his country. And if you don’t have men willing to die for their country you don’t have a country.”
With the closure of two of his famous roles, Rocky Balboa and now John Rambo, Stallone leaves behind a legacy to the world, not with knockout punches or ricocheting machine guns, but a vital message of hope and redemption urging audiences to stand up and fight back for their dreams instead of watching them wash down the drain.
Stallone’s real motivation in his films can be summed up in his quote:
“What did I truly enjoy seeing up on the big screen? I enjoyed heroism, I enjoyed great love. I enjoyed stories of man’s ability to rise above his station and take life by the throat and never let go until he succeeded.”
Like Rambo, there is burning a question deep inside we would all like to ask: