RamboMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Rambo."

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Avg. Critic Score: 46 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Crust

    Moved to take charge by something like chivalry, Rambo hits his stride in the film's second half, meting out justice in an unjust world and ultimately the movie works best when warbling its out-of-tune greatest hits. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Rambo teaches that fighting sucks, good intentions can be futile, and coalitions of the willing are a charade: A man's got to do what a man's got to do. Read full review

  • 60
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    The movie does have its own kind of blockheaded poetry. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety | Brian Lowry

    Stallone (who looks fit but mostly keeps his shirt on) has no intention of bogging the action down, but it's still a notably cheerless exercise, without knowing winks or stabs (pardon the expression) at humor. It is in all respects, rather, a completely workmanlike effort. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    It's 90 minutes of flying, dismembered limbs and explosions of blood, but give the man credit. Stallone can do action. If you want action and nothing but, here it is. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    This muttering boatman seems to have lost his old-time heroism. No longer is Rambo killing for a cause, but for kicks. And his portentous blather, even by Rambo standards, becomes unintentionally hilarious. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    In short, No. 4 is one big snore. Read full review

  • 38
    Boston Globe |

    Rambo isn't dull. It is, however, often murkily directed, a real shortcoming in an action movie. In the big rescue-the-prisoners sequence, it's very hard to keep track of who is doing what to whom where. Read full review

  • 25
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    There is a blessed dearth of dialogue, but much of it is unintentionally hilarious. Read full review

  • 0
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey

    With its first-person-shooter perspective and gun-andrun narrative, this one's for the PlayStation crowd. It's not a movie. It's an adrenaline pump and purveyor of raw carnage. Read full review

View more reviews for Rambo on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Non-stop violence is too overpowering for kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that the fourth installment in the Rambo franchise is, like its '80s predecessors, full of blood and violence (rendered even more disturbing by the last two decades' technological advances). The main character is a one-man killing machine; when pushed to defend himself or others, he'll use anything -- from his bare hands to a rock to a weapon -- to destroy his enemies. Despite being 61, Stallone still has a considerable following, although most of his biggest fans are men old enough to be fathers at this point. While younger kids may not be interested, teen boys may well want to see what all the fuss is about this iconic character. In addition to the disturbing amount of violence, there's also a great deal of strong language and an awful scene that's clearly the prelude to a gang rape.
  • Families can talk about whether the amount of violence in this movie is fitting, given its subject matter. Are there times when violence needs to be graphic to get a filmmaker's point across? Why or why not? What's the appeal of explicit violence in the movies? What effects does watching this kind of content have? The fact that violent movies stimulate parts of the brain bears some commentary from the parental units.
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Christian aid workers show bravery by continuing their mission in the face of danger. Rambo, as always, decides to take matters in his own hands to help the mercenaries assigned to rescue the missionaries. Lots of male bravado, but the woman character does show she's committed to her cause.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: From the opening news reel of atrocities being committed in Burma, the film is -- save for a few early sequences -- nonstop violence. People are shot, burned alive, blown up, stabbed, hacked, hanged, and raped. Women are shown taunted and then about to be raped. Children are killed. Limbs fly around as bombs and land mines are triggered. Heads explode or are decapitated and bodies dismembered. Name a weapon, and it's used -- arrows, knives, handguns, automatic weapons, etc.
  • sex false3 Sex: Young women are forced to dance in front of their brutal captors. They're then hit, and their clothes are ripped off (breasts are visible) as they're about to be raped. Sarah touches Rambo's hand and embraces Michael. A boy is shown escorted to the general's quarters, where the general caresses his head and face before shutting the door.
  • language false5 Language: As with most military action flicks, the language is ever-present -- "f--k" is the most uttered word, with "s--t" and "a--hole" close seconds.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: The Burmese soldiers drink heavily during the pre-rape dance scene.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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