Product Details

• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: French, English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: French, Dutch
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.com
And the hits just keep on coming. Sylvester Stallone, who can't seem to draw flies unless he's playing Rocky Balboa or John Rambo, went back to the Rambo well (or septic system, as it were) to show his well-known solidarity with the Afghan freedom fighters who battled the Soviet army in the 1980s. This time it's personal: his handler, Richard Crenna, is captured by the Evil Empire and so it's up to Rambo to leave his work in a monastery in Southeast Asia (oh, puh-leeze) in order to rescue him from the Ruskies. Ever wonder why the Russians had such a miserable time in Afghanistan? It was because Rambo took them on single-handed and kicked their hammer-and-sickle heinies all the way back to Moscow. Cartoonish action, taken ever so seriously by Stallone, who was working desperately to scrape away the unsightly wax buildup from his reputation. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Great Movie, Horrible Edition
Rambo III was a great deal better than Rambo II, but of course, not as good as First Blood. It's a great action picture and you'll never see Stallone as big as he was in this movie. He had to be taking Human Growth Hormone then. In some scenes it almost looks like there's a slight deformity in his face, which as I understand it, is one possible side effect of taking HGH. I remember when I was a kid, I saw this movie in the theater many times. The ultimate edition, unfortunately, sucked. For some reason I have yet to figure out, they added subtitles in many scenes where there were none in the theatrical version. The subtitles did nothing for the story and actually ruined most of the scenes because they were really dumb. They made this version almost unwatchable for me. So you might want to consider buying the special edition instead. The movie itself still holds up well over time and aside from some cheesey dialogue, is still fun to watch. Intensity, explosions, muscles, and my favorite....Rambo's exploding arrow tips....it's all here.

They'll Be Pulling This Title Out of Their Dustbins
They should have stopped the Rambo series after the first movie. The movies get worse with each subsequent release. The most ridiculous scene was when Rambo and Trautman decided to take on the entire Soviet Army by themselves. What hogwash! Apparently, only Americans can shoot straight, while the Soviets could never get in a good shot.

greatest action star of all time at his zenith
Rambo 3 is usually regarded as the weakest in the series. However, I love this film, simply because Stallone plays a borderline superhero better than anyone else. How many other men can combine such a powerful physical presense with so much force of character? While the real-life Stallone is certainly not as virtuous as Rambo, he is known to have incredible willpower and determination. These qualities dominate his portrayal of John Rambo.You look into this man's eyes and you simply cannot imagine him being small or petty. He is reminiscent of Harry Callahan in that regard. Whatever his limitations may be, his integrity and courage are beyond question. In addition, Stallone is so devoted to the discipline of bodybuilding that he has actually managed to create a distinctive look for this film. (As he has done on many other occassions for various movies.) Stallone is so powerfully built in Rambo 3 that he actually seems to belong in the rugged Middle Eastern desert environment.His range may be limited, as we saw in his 'comedy' films, but when he sticks to his forte, playing great heroes, Stallone is the greatest ever.
However, Rambo 3 has other good qualities besides Stallone. There are several great action sequences. The opening stick fight is brutal and effective. The helicopter attack on the Aphgan village is horrific and violent. Crenna's character seems to summon a warmth from Rambo that we do not often see. They work well together. The climactic battle is great. The villain is effective. This is a great action film. While the story may not be as interesting as the first or second entries in the series, it is outstanding in its own right. It is simply a bit more comic strip in nature. It is rather like an updated version of Captain America. This is not intended to be a realistic war movie.
The special features are also quite good. However, the movie is worth the money even if there were no extras. I wish Stallone would make more movies like this one.