Rambo (2008)

Rambo is a 2008 American war action film co-written and directed by Sylvester Stallone. A sequel to Rambo III (1988), it is the fourth installment in the Rambo film series based on the character created by author David Morrell. Stallone stars as John Rambo, who leads a group of mercenaries into Burma to rescue Christian missionaries, who've been kidnapped by a local infantry unit. The film co-stars Julie Benz, Paul Schulze, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Rey Gallegos, Tim Kang, Jake La Botz, Maung Maung Khin, and Ken Howard. Rambo is dedicated to the memory of Richard Crenna, who had played Colonel Sam Trautman in the previous films and died in 2003.

The rights to the Rambo franchise were sold to Miramax Films in 1997 after Carolco Pictures went bankrupt. Miramax intended to produce a fourth film but Stallone was unmotivated to reprise the role. The rights were then sold to Nu Image and Millennium Films in 2005, who green-lit the film before the release of Rocky Balboa (2006). Filming began in Thailand, Mexico, and the United States in January 2007, and ended that May.

Rambo was theatrically released in the United States by Lionsgate and the Weinstein Company on January 25, 2008, and in Germany by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 14. It received mixed reviews from critics, with praise aimed at Stallone’s direction and performance, action sequences, and musical score, but criticism for its plot, excessively graphic violence, and political commentary. The film was a modest commercial success, grossing $113.2 million worldwide against a production budget between $47.5–50 million. The film was followed by Rambo: Last Blood, released in 2019.