Rambo First Blood 2 (Blu-ray) (1985)

Generic Mugwump 9 of 10
Rambo: First Blood Part 2 follows Mr John Rambo, a Vietnam veteran, now slumming in up in a federal prison after beating Brian Dennehy one too many times at Mouse Trap. He is approached by his old military superior with the news that there are still some Americans in Vietnamese POW camps, and it is proposed that he go and partake in the operation to rescue them...Rambo: First Blood Part 2 has many layers and themes, never is anything quite as clear cut as, say, a Lundgren movie would be. We don't just have Rambo combating a bunch of leftist Northies intent on proving the domino theory to be correct, we also have a nefarious bureaucracy. The chiefs are out to get want they want, regardless of anything else, the Kafkaesque administration, too absorbed in public relations to give a shit about Rambo, those POWs, or anyone else...Rambo: First Blood Part 2, like the planet we scamper on, is an object of many layers. The violence is the crust which forms the rim around which all else is contained. The authoritarian corruption is the mantle which acts as a porous intermediary on proceedings. And at the core it's a story of two people, brought together under the ugly stage of conflict, who knew one another as few people have, who typified what is it to have a divine, diaphanously enriched connection, one that transcends life itself. - Aaron Fleming
 
BlogCritics.org 7 of 10
The "popcorn movie" is a tradition in Hollywood. These are the movies that lack any sort of logic, plot, or believable acting, but are so much fun, you find yourself enjoying them in the anyway. It could be argued that "Rambo II: First Blood" is the original. You'll never see another movie with such a low level of logic produced again anytime soon. But, who cares? It's fun..."Hot Shots: Part Deux" parodies the two Rambo sequels, but mostly just focuses on this one. What's amazing about that film is that hardly any of it is changed from what is actually in "First Blood II." It simply recreates most of the action with different actors. Even Weird Al Yankovic took a stab at this one in his only feature film, "UHF." The truth doesn't need to be stretched...There are so many moments in this movie where your jaw will drop; you couldn't possibly believe what you're seeing. Where the original had some substance and merit, this one throws all of that away to create the quintessential dumb action movie...As if Stallone wasn't up against enough competition in the "Rocky" films, he creates "Rambo" and does even more. Oddly, this is the most popular film in the series (at least according to box office) even though the original is a stronger film overall. It's also rare when the sequel draws in more money, yet another way John Rambo managed to beat the odds. - Matt Paprocki