Rambo

It plays better than it reviews — the watch lands harder than the write-ups suggest.

• “A straight-ahead exercise in brutality.”

  Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat · 80

• “Moved to take charge by something like chivalry, Rambo hits his stride in the film's second half, meting out justice in an unjust world and ultimately the movie works best when warbling its out-of-tune greatest hits.”

  Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times · 70

• “A sort of parody "Apocalypse Now," complete with listless coochie dancers entertaining the Burmese troops, the movie finds its own heart of darkness once Rambo drops the doctors in Burma.”

  J. Hoberman, Village Voice · 70

• “Rambo teaches that fighting sucks, good intentions can be futile, and coalitions of the willing are a charade: A man's got to do what a man's got to do.”

  Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly · 67

• “In the Rambo canon, where does this one fit? The tone is closer to "First Blood" but the body count is more "Rambo III." No matter how one dices and slices this new Rambo, the first one in 20 years, it will likely please fans of the long-in-the-tooth series.”

  James Berardinelli, ReelViews · 63