Summer Blockbusters of 1985: Rambo: First Blood Part 2

Well hello there boys and girls... hope my creepy clown writing doesn't frighten you all away and welcome back to Day 2 of Summer Blockbusters of 1985. This time around we are in sequel territory. I know many of you are pissed while others are thrilled. Folks, don't judge people by the caliber of movie they watch... unless it is a snuff film, then go report them to the cops ASAP. So what's better than an action hero making explosions, whaling the monkey crap out of his opponents and saving the day? Well not much unless you live in a timeline were Russians are godless heathens and the Vietnamese are still deemed EeeeEeEEeeeevilll!!!! This is Rambo: First Blood Part 2.

REMAIN SEATED TIL WE ARE TAXIED IN!!!

3 years hard labor John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone of Death Race 2000, Rocky, Paradise Alley, Nighthawks, Cobra, Lock Up, Tango & Cash and The Expendables) former Green Beret highly decorated Vietnam vet has been locked up for his snapping and taking down a small community of local law enforcement that beat him, slapped him around and gave him flashbacks to his POW days in a South Vietnamese prison camp. While literally breaking rocks when his commanding officer and dear friend Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna of Death Ship, First Blood, Table for Five, It Takes Two, The Flamingo Kid, Summer Rental and Hot Shots! Part Deux) has been pulling every string he can and touching base with every contact he has ever made to get Rambo out.

A mission has come up and Rambo is one of the most qualified to carry it out. Rambo mulls it over and decides he rather be out than locked in a box. Trautman tells Rambo a presidential pardon is being made for him on the condition he flies back to Vietnam with Trautman to search for POWs. Working in junction with the C.I.A. is the commander of the outpost Marshall Murdock (Charles Napier of Thunder and Lightning, B.J. And the Bear, Dallas, Outlaws, Hit List, Maniac Cop 2, Silence of the Lambs, The Critic and Superman: The Animated Series) who assigns Rambo to infiltrate the prison camp that he once broke out of , take pictures of the prison and an extraction team led by Trautman will hit the camp and claim any existing POWs.

Nice butt on that Rambo.  He do stair runs?

Outfitted with a MP5 K sub-machine gun, a decent compound slow re-curve bow, arrows of various heads including explosives, a Nikon for the snaps, throwing knives and a Bowie knife our hero preps for a nighttime HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) drop, Rambo gets hung up on the plane, saws away his equipment to make his jump only to be about 5 klicks (5 kilometers or 3.1 miles) from his rendezvous site with his only contact about the camps. Meeting Co (Julia Nickson of Crime Story, Noble House, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Around the World in 80 Days, Babylon 5, Double Dragon and Half-Life) she leads him down river to investigate what she believes is nothing but hopeful rumors only to find that it is the harsh truth. Will Rambo be able to help these men? Will his own government leave him hanging? What of the Soviet Hind gunship helicopter in the trailer?

And now facts you can use to entertain, inform or annoy fellow movie goers. Ready?

The film was dedicated to stuntman Cliff Wenger Jr. Who died due to one of the film explosions. James Cameron wrote a first draft of the script while tinkering with Aliens screenplay during production delays on The Terminator.

The only film in the Rambo series nominated for an Oscar. Directo George P. Cosmatos was hired on to direct when Stallone's son Sage saw Cosmatos'f film Of Unknown Origin. He later went on to direct Cobra as well.  Trautman's Green Beret flash has altered from First Blood as he was with Army's 5^th Special Forces Group and for this film he is 1^st Special Operations Command. Maybe he was reassigned after First Blood or maybe someone in props goofed.

MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!  I don't need another ticket!!

Bruno Mattei Week: Cop Game

Welcome back readers of mine and I hope to make it up for Bruno Mattei Week. As previously mentioned, I delayed write ups for personal reasons including replacing a cell phone and in general had family over to hang out with and RPG with. We are back on track now and hey how about a cop movie with such depth of a DePalma thriller? We journey to Saigon during the last year of the Vietnam War when two MP (Military Police) are operating in plain clothes find a dead prostitute in her own bed and no one is speaking up on who could have commited such a heinous act?? Oh wait... no that is the plot to Off Limits with Willem Dafoe and Gregory Hines. Yeah, that is a good film. We will be seeing the knock-off that is confusing, loads of explosions and dialogue so bad you will crack a tooth clenching your jaw. This is Cop Game.

Must not look at the camera. Crap, I did.

Our film opens with stock footage of Vietnam but clearly they are filming in the Philippines as Vietnam is a trifle touchy about war films in their backyard. Go figure. Italian master of designer impostor of cinema Bruno Mattei and written by Claudio Fragasso (Women's Prison Massacre, Rats: Night of Terror, Cop Game, Zombi 3, Strike Commando 2 and Shocking Dark) brings us more Soviet activity in Vietnam. This time around it is the KGB have been rumored to be in the area... but enough of that thrilling concept, let's go visit buddy MPs Morgan (Brent Huff of The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak, Oblivion 2: Backlash, Hijack, Pensacola: Wing of Gold, Final Examination, Kill Speed and D-TEC) and Hawk (Max Laurel of Zuma, Hell Hunters, The Last American Soldier and Robowar) as they uncover a group of elite soldiers have gone completely crackers and are killing civilians. Our cops piece together the killers may be a recon squad known as Cobra Force... led by a guy with a speech impediment and his cohort, the Man in the Silver Mask.

Umbrella Corporation's early door-to-door sales.

It has proven difficult to get at the truth with the slinging of red herrings and red tape thanks to Skipper a.k.a. Captain Kirk (Nope, not Shatner but exploitation actor Romano Puppo of Death Rides a Horse, The Great Alligator, Robowar, 2019: After the Fall of New York and Zombie 4: After Death) Colonel Kasler (Wener Pochath of Bloodlust, A Man Called Rage, Target, Days of Hell, Striker and Laser Mission) and the enigmatic Annie (Candice Daly of The New Mike Hammer, Girs Just Want to Have Fun, Hell Hunters, Cop Game, Zombie 4: After Death and Where Truth Lies) tosssing plot twists, rumors on the street and general misdirection. Can our able cops find out who is responsible for this mayhem? Will the guilty be brought to justice? Will the damn soda machine stop carrying RC and put out some Mexicoke instead?

Well let's see what to say about this film. Brent Huff seems to be channeling Reb Brown as he shouts his every other line. Rocking his mirrored sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt so loud Magnum and Sam Axe would have passed on it. I was expecting to have people hurled about at the camera or maybe a good floor waxer chase scene. With a decent 80's title song kicking into overdrive the film gets you pumped to watch more as it is played throughout the movie in two different versions. We have footage that Mattei lifted from both Strike Commando and Robowar. That's right, he lifted huts exploding and mass wreckage from two of his previous movies. Only Mattei can steal from his own material. Our writer does a quick appearance for a role as a corporal and well it is as memorable as his stint in Hell of the Living Dead and Zombi 3. Also Actor Ottaviano Dell ' Acqua of Rats: Night of Terror, Escape From the Bronx, Zombi 3, Strike Commando 2 and Double Team manages to put in a performance as well.

What starts out as a decent car chase de-evolves into a forced perspective miniatures and further more uses footage of The Ark of the Sun God as the cars and number of passengers constantly change. Coupled with the hours of which both were shot it looks about late morning to early afternoon, so not a smooth transition.

The dialogue pulls some groaners as we are reminded that Captain Kirk's name hails from this Roddenberry project... Trek something or other. We see a fair amount of late 80's clothes and cars as this is supposed to be the end of the Vietnam War. Mindless violence, a plot so generic and more shots fired forms than Chuck Norris ever filled out. I was not really impressed.

And there on the handle, was a hook!!!   Not feeling the love, kids.