RETROSPECT: Stallone, Rambo, On-Screen Intensity and Emotional Damage

Sylvester Stallone is a man of incredible tenacity, perseverance, and character. Not to mention intensity. A man who has experienced the highs and lows of Hollywood, and of real-life. One could easily see this when considering the inspiration, inception, evolution, and enduring legacy of his beloved screen character Rocky Balboa. But this is especially significant when considering his career comeback since the mid-2000s, revealing (if you look closely) that Stallone is more than just muscle and action, not to mention a trademark speech and facial snarl.

With that in mind, it's, perhaps, no surprise that, aside from the "Italian Stallion," the only other big screen character Stallone has been synonymous with (for better or worse) is that of Green Beret John Rambo. And in light of the recently-released trailer for the anticipated Rambo: Last Blood (in theaters this fall), let's take a look back on this complex, intriguing, and intense character.

Sylvester Stallone in First Blood (1982)

"In town, you're the law. Out here, it's me. Don't push it! Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe."

First created by author David Morrell in the 1972 published novel "First Blood," John Rambo returns from the Vietnam war to visit an old friend, whom he learns had died a year before. He then drifts to a local small town, where he's immediately spit on by the local sheriff and authorities, and accused of vagrancy. This soon triggers a rage that leads Rambo on a fight against his own personal Vietnam. The sheriff and others soon realize (or maybe they just don't want to), that Rambo is not somebody to be trifled with, and, according to his Colonel Trautman, should not be underestimated. "They drew first blood, not me," Rambo claims. (Hence, the title.)

Released during a time when filmmakers had helmed stories about the traumatic effects of the Vietnam War throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, in addition to complicated views towards veterans at the time (some may even find the portrayals of policemen in First Blood to be controversial), the film adaptation reportedly went through "development hell" before getting to the big screen in 1982. Several actors were considered for the lead role, from Robert Redford to James Caan to Al Pacino, before Stallone came on board and eventually realized what was missing. Furthermore, he realized what was needed to make the character relatable, and not just a mere killing machine (as he had been portrayed in subsequent films in the 1980s). As Stallone put it, "There was an idea here, but the one thing the character has to have is heart. If he has heart, then you'll listen. If he's [just] a savage, who cares?"

According to IMDb, John Rambo is a victim of circumstance (as well as physical and emotional damage), who has difficulty fitting into a society that shuns him. Co-producer Andrew G. Vajna (who, along with producing partner Mario Kassar, made the other Rambo films, as well as other hit action movies like Total Recall and Terminator 2) described Rambo as a character "lost without direction". Agreeable one of his most signature and iconic performances, Stallone lets his eye contact and body language tell us about the character, war tactics and heartbreak included. As Gary Sinise's Lt. Dan represented the "crippledness" of America from Vietnam in Forrest Gump, Stallone's Rambo represents what America had gone through and what it had lost.

Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: First Blood, Part II (1985)

"Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off!"

The first sequel, fully (and curiously) titled Rambo: First Blood, Part II (1985) and its follow-up, simply titled Rambo III (1988), took the character to a larger-than-life, unrealistic tone, very much in line with the action machismo of the 1980s. Stallone even became a poster boy for said movement in the process, something he reportedly looks back on with regret.

Part II (written by Stallone and James Cameron) centers on Rambo being called in for a recon mission to rescue POWs from a Vietnamese concentration camp, and soon finds himself backstabbed and left behind enemy lines. In Part III, Rambo goes on a mission to Afghanistan to rescue Colonel Trautman, who's been taken prisoner.

With these two installments, this is the first image of Rambo that most people think of: shirtless, macho, bandana, knife, bow and arrow, arrowheads, machine guns, and in the jungle. Not to mention a one-man-war emphasis, and massive explosions to oblivion. In addition, Rambo's mythology gets expanded, considering he doesn't say much but gets the job done. A tagline for the third film reads, "He never draws first blood, but he always fights back." On the flip side, he considers himself "expendable," but has no worries, being a victim of war as previously mentioned. ("To survive a war, you got to become war.")

More importantly, these two movies take the franchise from thrilling and psychological (which First Blood had) to more flamboyant, outlandish, cartoony, almost-superhero-like, and very action-oriented. You can't deny Stallone's sheer dedication, to be sure. (Just look at the guy's abs, for crying out loud!) This notion (with Stallone's permission) was later parodied in such films as Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Hot Shots! Part Deux, as well as an episode of Nickelodeon's "Doug".

Stallone in Rambo (2008)

"Live for nothing, or die for something. Your call."

Following the successful Rocky Balboa (2006), Stallone revisited Rambo for a fourth outing, this time setting the character in the harsh environment of Burma, and living a quiet and secluded life in Thailand. When a group of missionaries ask for his help getting into dangerous territory to help refugees, Rambo believes what they're doing won't make a difference and that circumstances in general (due to war and the like) cannot be changed. Even more, he has lost faith in humanity and himself, until one of the missionaries begins to open something in him that has been missing. "Maybe you've lost your faith in people," she tells him, "but you should still put your faith in something." And when these missionaries are taken captive, Rambo then joins a group of mercenaries on a rescue mission.

The result is the most heart-pounding, graphic and realistic of the Rambo films, as well as one of the most violent films ever made (along with Stallone's subsequent action hit The Expendables, released in 2010). A specific quarter of the film, in particular, gets really hardcore, as Rambo pulls out all the stops and just lets the adversaries have it, insane carnage and all. To the film's credit, though, in all fairness, it does reveal the environment and circumstances for what they really are, considering the country's real-life war zone and situation.

Morrell, in his overall review of this fourth adaptation, probably puts it best:

The level of violence [in this film] might not be for everyone, but it has a serious intent. 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.

***
Just as he did with Rocky in Creed II last year, Stallone has announced his retirement from playing Rambo in the upcoming fifth installment, which finds the character living quietly on an Arizona ranch and eventually facing his past in one last deadly mission of vengeance. Ditto a supposed fourth and final installment in The Expendables franchise. Either way, you can't deny that Stallone (through his characters or his real-life persona) is not somebody to easily keep down.