Rambo - The Complete Steelbook Collection (UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Lionsgate
Release: October 27, 2020
Rating: R
Film:

First Blood - 4.5/5
Rambo: First Blood Part II - 3.5/5
Rambo Part III - 3/5
Rambo - 4/5
Rambo: Last Blood - 2.5/5


Plot
Since its debut nearly four decades ago, the Rambo series starring Sylvester Stallone has become one of the most iconic action-movie franchises of all time. An ex-Green Beret haunted by memories of Vietnam, Rambo has battled small-town prejudice, freed POWs, rescued his commanding officer from the Soviets, and liberated missionaries in Myanmar. In his final mission, Rambo's vengeance is unleashed after an old friend's granddaughter is kidnapped in Mexico.

My Thoughts
First Blood is one of my favorite movies from the 1980s and holds up extremely well nearly 40 years later. When I first saw it as a teenager, I didn't appreciate the complexities of the story about a Vietnam veteran struggling to cope in a civilized society. At that time, I just loved that Sly kicked everyone's ass because they picked a fight they couldn't win.

Given the commercial success of the film a sequel was bound to happen, and it came three years later in 1985. I remember there being an uproar at the time about the senseless violence in the film%u2014which is rather tame by today's standards, and I had to sneak out to the theater to see it since my parents didn%u2019t want me to see such violence. Regardless, it's a decent action film although the believability factor is quite low.

Stallone loves revisiting his iconic characters and in 1988 the third film was released, this time he's battling the Russians in Afghanistan. Damn the cold war was fun! Anyway, if the second movie was far-fetched then this one takes things much further and clocks in at "check your brain at the door" territory.

After a 20 year hiatus of playing Rambo, Stallone was back again (probably after successfully revising the Rocky franchise in Balboa - why not?). After the last film, Rambo has been living a quiet life in Northern Thailand as a river boatman when he%u2019s recruited by a group of missionaries for a daring rescue mission. Much like Balboa, this film works much better than expected and it was nice to see the iconic character on screen again.

The final film in the saga (hopefully) came out last year and a last-ditch effort to keep the character alive. Overall, this is probably the weakest film in the series as the plot is shallow thin and as graphic as Rambo II was at the time, it looks like a PG film compared to this.

Video:

First Blood - 4.5/5
Rambo: First Blood Part II - 4.5/5
Rambo Part III - 4/5
Rambo- 4/5
Rambo: Last Blood - 4/5

Audio:

First Blood - 4.5/5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Rambo: First Blood Part II - 4/5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Rambo Part III - 4/5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Rambo - 5/5 (Atmos)
Rambo: Last Blood - 4.5/5 (Atmos)


Special Features:

• Packed with Special Features from all five Rambo films, including Deleted Scenes, Exclusive Featurettes, Theatrical Trailers, Audio Commentaries, and more!
• Digital Copy of each film

Conclusion
This steelbook collection is outstanding and comes housed in a large steel box with great Rambo artwork. Each movie has its own steelbook packaging and if you're a fan of the franchise, this is the way to own these movies. None measure up to the first film as far as the story goes, but the 2008 film comes the closest. Regardless, if you're an action junkie these are fun to revisit - well, maybe not the last film - but any collector will love to have these on the shelf. Recommended for fans.


Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110%u201D 2.35:1 Fixed Screen
Anthem AVM60 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-980
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
JL Audio Fathom F110 Subwoofers x 2 (stacked)
JL Audio Dominion D110 Subwoofer x 2 (stacked)
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

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PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

Totally agree that if you're a Rambo fan, this set is a must have. Crazy good...


Regards,

[David Vaughn]

Forum software screwed up most of the punctuation marks...I was able to fix it. Thanks for letting me know Ralph!