RAMBO

I read something interesting over at David Morrell’s website: he likes the new film Rambo based on the character from his novel First Blood. He thinks the film is the most faithful adaptation of the John Rambo character, and that Sylvester Stallone does a terrific job portraying the broken, self-loathing man Morrell imagined when he created the character for his 1972 novel. He says, in part:

This is the first time that the tone of my novel First Blood has been used in any of the movies. It's spot-on in terms of how I imagined the character—angry, burned-out, and filled with self-disgust because Rambo hates what he is and yet knows it's the only thing he does well.

I’ve been a little suspicious of the film for a few reasons—the trailer looks extremely violent (although pretty good to my action-junkie eyes), it’s release date was pushed back at least once, and the producers exiled David Morrell from the production. You may remember a post I did last summer about Morrell’s isolation from the film, and his frustration about it. So his kind words carry some weight in my mind for the simple reason that he didn’t have a thing to do with anything. I doubt he ever spoke to the director, screenwriter, or anybody with anything to do with the film. And I’m glad it passes the author test—if he likes, I bet I will. And this is a film that I would really like to enjoy.

A Note: First Blood is a novel you should read—assuming you haven’t—because it absolutely rocks. This one turned the action thriller on its head, and its themes of war, violence and death are as relevant today as they were when it was written. And it’s entertaining as hell.

Click Here to read David Morrell's comments about the film.

JOHN RAMBO--Trailer

I found the trailer for the new Rambo film: John Rambo. It actually looks pretty good. On the violent side, but I am an action slut. It stars Stallone as Rambo, Julie Benz--she played Darla on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel--and Sam Elliot. It was co-written by Art Monterastelli who was a producer of the magnificent television series Nowhere Man. It couldn't that bad, right? Anyway, here is the trailer.

JOHN RAMBO--News of the latest Rambo film

David Morrell has some news about the film Rambo IV—firstly, it is currently titled John Rambo; secondly, the production company wants nothing to do with David Morrell; and thirdly, there is a three-minute trailer floating around the Internet.

Firstly, the title sucks—but it is better than the lame Rambo IV. And maybe the title itself bodes well for the film—the best film of the first three was First Blood (not Rambo I, II, or III), and as a teenager I loved it. I must have watched First Blood five or six times—the first night my neighbor rented it from the video store. Then maybe (probably?) a few more times over the next few days.

I wish I could say that I didn’t like the second and third, but—ahem—I did. And it would also be downright dumb of me to make the claim that I won’t see the fourth film, because I will. I’m a sucker for an action flick. Good or bad. I should also mention that Morrell wrote the novelization for the final two films, and they were pretty good—they developed Rambo’s character much more than the films, and they were—to put it bluntly—much more entertaining than the movies.

Secondly, David Morrell has spoken before about his exile from the project; a situation he is seemingly not very happy with. Today on his website he said:

As I said in an earlier edition of this page, the producers of the current Rambo film have gone out of their way to keep me at a distance from the project. That doesn't make sense to me--to alienate the creator of the character--but sometimes the movie business is far from logical.

Click Here to read David Morrell’s entire comment on the new Rambo film.
Click Here to go to the IMDB page for John Rambo