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Rambo: First Blood Part II poster

Rambo: First Blood Part II

year 1985decade 80sdirector George P. Cosmatosgenre Adventure

93 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Richard Crenna Trautman
Charles Napier Murdock
Steven Berkoff Podovsky
Martin Kove Ericson
Andy Wood Banks
Vojo Goric Yushin
Dana Lee Kinh
Baoan Coleman Gunboat captain
Don Collins P.O.W. #1
Christopher Grant P.O.W. #2
John Sterlini P.O.W. #3
Alain Hocquenghem P.O.W. #4
William Rothlein P.O.W. #5
Tony Munafo Prison guard
Tom Gehrke Russian pilot

Rambo: First Blood Part II | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Kyle Brandt
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Just One Oscar

Special effects

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:37Read transcript
  • Just One Oscar moves from a joking Frank Stallone suggestion to special effects, referencing the nomination.
  • The earlier nomination discussion specifies sound effects editing; the final Oscar answer is phrased only as special effects.

Most Rewatchable Scene

The revenge montage, especially the mud-wall reveal

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:51Read transcript
  • The rock-breaking prison opening establishes the mission quickly, delivers an immediate explosion and ends with the question about getting to win this time; Rambo’s immaculate hair is enjoyed.
  • The airplane jump mishap is enjoyed for forcing Rambo to cut away his equipment and for the reaction shots, while the failure to deploy an elite soldier properly is mocked.
  • The meeting with Murdock and Erickson is added to the rewatchable-scene candidates.
  • The boat conversation with Co is enjoyed as awkward romantic comedy: becoming war, being expendable, the lucky knife and his interest in her necklace.
  • The boat ambush and escape are enjoyed, especially Co greeting Rambo and telling him he is not expendable; the hosts connect the wording jokingly to The Expendables.
  • The aborted helicopter rescue and ensuing Trautman–Murdock confrontation are praised. A proposal to strand an injured Trautman with Rambo is rejected because his return confrontation is needed.
  • The electrical torture and radio threat to Murdock are praised, including the perfectly timed lightning. The captors are faulted for leaving Rambo unrestrained and insufficiently guarded.
  • The kiss before Co’s death provokes jokes about Rambo’s hygiene after captivity; Schwarzenegger’s resistance to romance scenes in Predator and Commando is contrasted with Stallone’s embrace of them.
  • The revenge montage is praised first for the mud-wall reveal, then its peak is revised to the exploding-arrow kill. The soldier repeatedly missing is compared to Charles Smith failing to score against Chicago and to the UHF parody.
  • The slow-motion escape, emergence from beneath the helicopter, helicopter attack and gratuitous Stallone screams are celebrated. The hosts imitate the distinctive Stallone and Schwarzenegger vocalizations.
  • Rambo destroying Murdock’s office and firing into the air is singled out as the best five seconds; he ultimately places the knife beside Murdock instead of killing him.
  • The closing patriotic exchange with Trautman and Frank Stallone’s Peace in Our Life are mocked, with the song characterized as a weak Springsteen imitation.
  • A rewatch with a son produced similar objections to the melancholy closing songs of both First Blood films; Rambo walking off to nowhere is mocked.
  • The murder montage, particularly the mud-wall reveal, is the final Most Rewatchable Scene choice; it is compared to a slasher film and an intensified First Blood sequence.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Martin Kove; the rescued POW asking the year

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:34Read transcript
  • Period-marker candidates include Martin Kove, Berkoff, the Frank Stallone ending and asking whether they can win this time. Kove is preferred from that list; the rescued prisoner asking the year is also offered. The transcript renders the year inconsistently.
  • A proposed comic beat would let the rescued prisoner ask what he missed, including Jaws and Red Sox and Celtics results.

What’s Aged the Best?

Trautman and his one-liners; recognizable Russian villains; Rambo’s résumé scene; the psychiatric-hospital script idea; Rambo parodies

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:38Read transcript
  • Aged Best selections include Trautman’s hell/home line and the instantly recognizable Russian villains, whose arrival escalates the stakes.
  • Trautman is an Aged Best selection, likened to a wrestling manager who promotes his fighter through polished one-liners and calls him Johnny.
  • A provocative joking reading casts Trautman as in love with Rambo; the hosts recount hostile reactions to their earlier Karate Kid II relationship jokes.
  • Cameron’s psychiatric-hospital opening is discussed as a precursor to Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 setting. the Hot Shots sequel and especially UHF are praised for parodying the film.
  • The résumé-reading scene is the leading Aged Best pick: Murdock lists Rambo’s background, qualifications, kills and medals. A mock résumé for Kyle Brandt and a joke about the surprisingly low kill count extend the discussion.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Rambo’s eye opening in the mud

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:52Read transcript
  • Knife sharpening and the bandana-tying shot are offered as cinematic-shot candidates.
  • The bandana shot is called most gif-friendly, while the eye opening in the mud is preferred as the greatest shot.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Rambo’s implausible survival; insufficient payoff against Murdock and Erickson

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:59Read transcript
  • Weak Link includes Rambo surviving situations where the enemies could simply kill him, his lack of bullet wounds and the awkward scheme to force a misleading radio message.
  • The ending is another Weak Link: Murdock receives too little punishment, Erickson needs a real fight with Rambo, and the helicopter fight with the large Russian should be stronger. Lethal Weapon and Road House are offered as fight models, followed by Karate Kid crossover jokes.

What’s Aged the Worst?

The removed death-scene screams; the licensed video game; overlap with Missing in Action; Vietnamese stereotypes and POW exploitation; ineffective mortars

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:10Read transcript
  • Aged Worst includes the reportedly removed triple scream after Co’s death, cut because test audiences laughed; the hosts wish it had survived.
  • The licensed Rambo video game is criticized, while a game transcribed as Akari Warriors is recalled as a better Rambo-like game; rushed tie-in scheduling is suggested as an explanation.
  • Missing in Action is said to have used essentially the same rescue plot earlier, while Cameron’s earlier script work prevents a firm plagiarism claim.
  • Other criticisms include Vietnamese stereotypes, POW exploitation and ineffective mortar attacks on moving people.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Missing in Action 2 is more rewatchable; Predator borrows heavily from Rambo II

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:26Read transcript
  • One hottest take prefers rewatching Missing in Action 2, especially its climactic fight to the death, while admitting the whole movie is not especially good.
  • The other hottest take argues Predator borrows extensively: Mexico standing in for a foreign jungle, an older officer and suspicious bureaucrat, insertion trouble, hostages and an indigenous ally, lost modern weapons, bow and arrow, mud camouflage and a withheld finishing blow.

Apex Mountain

Sylvester Stallone in 1985; Ronald Reagan; Uncle Sam/America; Julia Nickson; the Cold War

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:18Read transcript
  • Stallone receives affirmative Apex for 1985, jointly represented by this film and Rocky IV.
  • Vietnam movies do not receive Apex here: late-1970s quality and Platoon’s Oscar-winning period are preferred, with Full Metal Jacket and Casualties of War also discussed.
  • Reagan, Uncle Sam/America, Julia Nickson and the Cold War’s 1985 pop-culture moment receive affirmative answers; the lack of nuclear-weapons discussion slightly weakens the Cold War argument.
  • Martin Kove is placed at Karate Kid instead, and movie knives are placed a year later with Cobra and Crocodile Dundee, alongside knife advertising.

Cruise or Hanks?

Cruise

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:53Read transcript
  • Cruise is the Cruise or Hanks choice, imagined seeing the plane stunt while making Legend and aspiring to similar work.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Rambo returns to America for a contained rescue, with connections to First Blood

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:50Read transcript
  • Preferred sequel concepts return Rambo to America for a contained rescue in the style of Die Hard, Sudden Death, Toy Soldiers or Under Siege; a relative of Teasle or an apprentice linked to the original could reconnect the story.
  • A comic sequel alternative gives Rambo his own podcast, Rampod.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth calling the helicopter fake-out

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:52Read transcript
  • The Better With choice is Gus Johnson calling the helicopter fake-out and rocket attack, followed by an imagined Collinsworth reaction; both are hypothetical additions.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Red headband and Co’s necklace; machine gun and ammunition belt

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:14Read transcript
  • The red headband and Co’s necklace are one memorabilia choice.
  • The other choice is the machine gun with the ammunition belt.
  • Reported 2021 auction prices are $51,000 for the knife, $28,000 for the bow and $16,000 for the gun; the gun is described as the best buy.
  • The knife is praised as iconic, almost a second character, and recalled as a children’s toy.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Kill Rambo immediately; make your workplace a cool hangout

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:24Read transcript
  • The life lesson is that villains should kill Rambo immediately instead of imprisoning or torturing him, compared with Scott Evil’s practical objection.
  • A second life lesson says an office can be made cool: Murdock’s base looks inviting for a fantasy draft, with cold sodas and imagined games, food and entertainment.