Review Detail

9.6 5 10
Extended Edition June 27, 2012 4318
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
This edit is a "hybrid" between the Theatrical cut and the Extended cut of the film, which means it's basically the extended cut except with all the brutality of the theatrical still in. I really liked this movie when I saw it in the theaters... it's not a fun '80s action movie, but rather subverts that and gives you so much of the violence that it's horrifying, as it should be. More thoughts on the film itself are here: https://letterboxd.com/nottheacademy/film/rambo/

If you haven't seen the extended cut of this, then those will be the big differences you notice. A detailed comparison of them all is here: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=624222 Essentially, they try to tone down the film a bit and build up the relationship between Rambo and Sarah, let you inside his character and motivations more. Personally, I think this slows the film down a bit and makes it melodramatic at parts. Including like 3 scenes in a row where Sarah tries to convince Rambo to take the missionaries on the boat is just dreary overkill, and it was actually more convincing when he just said "no" once and then changed his mind later.

If you like the stuff from the extended cut but thought this film was more appropriate with all the violence and brutality intact, this cut is for you. The material is incorporated seamlessly by Gieferg, often impressively switching between different cuts to create the most complete version of a scene. However, I have to say that I still prefer my theatrical cut, having now seen it this way. I think Stallone got it right the first time and this extra character work isn't rich enough to feel like more than padding.

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Digital
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