Rambo III

I remember when I was young, it seemed like Rambo III would never come along, but it did right when the 80s was coming to a close, and it gave everybody the one-man-army action they wanted. While it’s not as well done as First Blood Part II was, it’s still a fun 80s piece made better with a well done 4K HDR release that’ll make you want to pull out the red headband.

It seems like the more Rambo tries to stay out of trouble, the more it finds him. This time Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) meets with John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) in Thailand and tries to talk him into training some fighters in Afghanistan. Rambo doesn’t want any part of it, which leaves Trautman on his own where he’s soon captured by a Russian Colonel who tortures him for information. Of course Rambo isn’t going to sit back and let this happen, as he ties on the headband, sharpens the combat knife, and grabs some heavy weapons to save his friend and the world.

I enjoyed seeing Rambo back in action here, but this is clearly the black sheep of the films as you can tell they had a big budget and tried way too hard to outdo the second film, but it mainly falls on its face most of the time as it never seems to come together like it should. Even still, the explosions and weapons have never looked or sounded better than on this 4K HDR release.

There’s some cool special features to take a look at too, starting with audio commentary by director Peter MacDonald who discusses some of the production and filming of the movie, and there’s the usual behind the scenes bits, a look at some of Rambo’s weapons of choice, some deleted scenes included an alternate beginning, and more.

It’s not as great or well done as the first two entries, but Rambo III is still a fun action ride for fans and those looking to turn off their brains and watch cool explosions, oiled up muscles, and lots of weapons. Thanks to a nicely done 4K transfer with HDR, and some nifty special features, this is a release worth pulling out the bow and arrows to hunt for.