Sylvester Stallone closed down his six-film franchise as a Philly boxer named “Rocky” in 2006. For his fourth incarnation as the Vietnam vet “Rambo,” the muscled icon extends his cycle heroic escape and rescue. John Rambo’s 1971 escape from a Vietnamese POW camp occurs prior to “First Blood” (1982), where he escapes from a jail in Hope, Oregon. In “Rambo: First Blood Part II” (1985) he escapes from another camp in Vietnam and rescues a group of American POWs. In “Rambo III” (1988) he rescues “the first American captured in Afghanistan” from Soviet forces. And now in “Rambo” he puts aside his freelance cobra-capturing to rescue do-gooders from the Christ Church of Colorado who were captured by the meth-dealing Burmese army. He also rescues the mercenaries paid to rescue the Christians. Rambo and God go way back. “God didn’t make Rambo, I made him,” stated his superior officer in 1982. “Who do you think this man is, God?” asked a Soviet commander in 1988. In 2008 a Brit mercenary corrects a missionary: “God didn’t save your life, we did.” A very large knife and very long stares take the measure of this bulked-up loner. Extreme close-ups of his droopy eyes testify to decades of untreated PTSD. He utters few words and wears few shirts. Old Testament locks and loincloths suit him. Stallone directs and co-writes (with Art Monterastelli) this action catharsis. There are chases, and then it just ends. But the exploding heads and slo-mo eviscerations are eye-catching. With Julie Benz, Paul Schulze, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Rey Gallegos, Tim Kang, Jake LaBotz, Maung Maung Khin and Ken Howard. 93m. Anamorphic 2.40 widescreen. (Bill Stamets)
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