Vox Nova at the Movies: Rambo

How does a man who is trained exclusively for war, who only knows war, ever find peace? Can he find it? Can he be an instrument for peace, if not for himself, for others? Can violence by the means of achieving peace? 

These seem to be the main questions of Rambo. (Warning: the trailer is graphic).

Now, some readers might be surprised that I went to see Rambo. It’s a violent movie. But I wanted to see it to see Stallone’s presentation of Burma (I will always call the land by its rightful name). I am pleased that Sly wanted to highlight the Burmese travesty. And while the scenes of random, sadistic violence are not for the timid, they do show the great cruelty that the Burmese people have to face.

Going into the film, I thought I knew what to expect. Non-violent Christian peace activists go into Burma, get caught, need rescuing, and Rambo comes in and rids Burma of its cruel dictatorship. I was pleased that the over-the-top expectation did not happen, and the story is much smaller, much more believable.

Yet, it is still a Rambo film. But it seems to be one which is unsure of itself. And this is why I have a difficulty knowing what exactly one is supposed to come out of it in the end. Are the film’s messages contradicting each other?

Rambo is trying to find peace, to find out who he is and who he should be. He finds a reason to respect Sarah Miller, one of the Christian missionaries, who shows a strong moral character, kindness, and courage. He can understand her because he sees they are after the same thing with different methods. And through his interaction with Sarah, he finds a sense of peace, which is shown at the end as he makes his way back home.

But, once again, this is a Rambo film. When the time comes, Rambo does as we expect; he engages battle to free the Christians from their tormentors. Does the movie hint that the Christian message will fail and Christians will always need to be saved by the Rambos of the world to live their Christian lives? Or is the movie saying something else?

The answer to this is one I do not know. Maybe it is left ambiguous for the audience to figure out for oneself. For if violence needs to be answered by violence, and that is the ultimate message of the film, who can really suggest violence is bad? Doesn’t it defeat the horrors we were meant to experience early on in the film? Yet, perhaps the point is, while violence might at times be necessary, even when it is, it is still horrific and those who execute it will be scarred for it. After all, Rambo’s life has been anything but peaceful, even after he has given up the external fight.

In the end, I think Stallone doesn’t know the answer. He understands that, when pushed, “killing is easy.” But at times, it seems like Sly is mournful of this fact of human nature.

2/4 stars.