The requirements for a good sequel are fairly clear. The audience wants more of the same, but they also want something different. A change of tone, a progression of the characters, a raise in stake, or whatever transformation a filmmaker … Continue reading REVIEW: The Expendables 2 (2012)
Let us start with what usually happens. A film is made and becomes a small-to-moderate hit. There is not a huge appetite for a sequel – not in theatres at any rate – but there is enough brand value and … Continue reading REVIEW: Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)
Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) breaks out of prisons for a living, using his unique skills set to find the weaknesses in America’s maximum security facilities. When he is hired by the CIA to undertake the same task on an international … Continue reading REVIEW: Escape Plan (2013)
The Expendables is a classic example of a film giving an audience exactly what it wants – whether that is a good thing or not. In its defence, for the large part that does seem a good thing: Sylvester Stallone’s deliberately generic film … Continue reading REVIEW: The Expendables (2010)
Vietnam veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) lives on his family ranch with Mexican housekeeper Maria (Adriana Bazzara) and her granddaughter Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal). When Gabrielle – a high school graduate on her way to college – receives details on her … Continue reading Review: Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
Following his boxing victory over middleweight champion Danny Wheeler, Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) continues his path through the ranks of world boxing. When he reaches the height of the sport – world heavyweight champion – an unexpected challenger … Continue reading REVIEW: Creed II (2018)
Three years into his prison sentence, Vietnam veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is pulled out of incarceration to participate into a secret reconnaissance mission into Vietnam to look for prisoners-of-war still in custody. The mission is supposed to be a … Continue reading REVIEW: Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Vietnam veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is passing through the Washington state town of Hope when he is picked up and harassed by local sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). Refusing to back down at Teasle’s threats, he finds himself arrested … Continue reading REVIEW: First Blood (1982)
Troubled Vietnam War veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) lives a reclusive life in rural Thailand when he is approached by a group of Christian missionaries. They want passage up-river to Myanmar, where they intend to provide medical assistance and prayer … Continue reading REVIEW: Rambo (2008)
Halfway through the 2015 drama Creed there is a scene of a boxing match. The two boxers tap gloves, the bell rings, and they begin to warily circle one another. They start to get in some hits, back and forth. … Continue reading “One step at a time. One punch at a time. One round at a time.” | Creed (2015)
