Rambo: First Blood Part II - 80s at it's BEST and WORST

In 1985, Sylvester Stallone was untouchable. With Rocky IV and Rambo: First Blood Part II dominating the box office, he wasn't just a star; he was the star. And while First Blood gave us a surprisingly thoughtful, character-driven story about trauma and alienation, its sequel abandoned subtlety in favour of rocket launchers, exploding arrows, and Cold War patriotism. Subtlety? Forget it. This is Stallone at his most muscle-bound and bombastic. At Born to Watch, we strapped on our red bandanas and returned to the jungle to see how Rambo: First Blood Part II holds up nearly 40 years later.

Bigger, Louder, Dumber… Better?

If First Blood was about a broken man pushed too far, then its sequel is about the U.S. winning Vietnam on celluloid. Rambo is sprung from prison and sent back into the jungle, not to fight, to take photos of potential POWs. But telling John Rambo not to engage is like telling a rattlesnake not to bite. Within minutes, he's unleashed on the Vietnamese army, rogue Russians, and corrupt American bureaucrats who never wanted him to succeed in the first place.

It's pure Reagan-era fantasy: America's lost war rewritten as a one-person victory. Historically ridiculous? Absolutely. Fun to watch? You bet.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ridiculous

One thing that stands out immediately is just how much First Blood Part II leans into spectacle. The prison camp rescue, the boat ambush, the bamboo cage of leeches, and that hulking Russian gunship are all designed to make audiences cheer. And in 1985, they did. Whitey compared it to the Avengers: Endgame of its day, crowd-pleasing cinema, where Rambo's explosive arrow likely had theatres erupting.

But for every high point, there's something laughably bad. Julia Nickson as Co is stunning on screen, but her accent is pure 80s movie stereotype. Her line "What mean expendable?" gets a laugh every time. The villains Charles Napier's slimy bureaucrat Murdoch, Steven Berkoff's sneering Russian general, and Martin Kove's underused mercenary are all stock caricatures, but they do their jobs well enough.

Then there's Colonel Trautman. Richard Crenna stole First Blood with quotable lines and gravitas, but here he's sidelined. Instead of Rambo's wise mentor, he spends most of the film sweating, being emasculated by bureaucrats, and adding little to the mission. The Born to Watch crew agreed, Trautman deserved far better.

Action That Defies Logic

Like any good 80s action movie, logic takes a back seat to spectacle. Rambo seems oddly immune to electrocution. A patrol boat gets obliterated, yet somehow a bad guy still pops out from the roof to strangle him. And yes, there's even a scene where Rambo emerges from captivity wearing what looks suspiciously like a "ceremonial Vietnamese G-string." It's absurd, but that's part of the fun.

And that's the real difference between this and something like Cobra. Both are dumb, but Rambo: First Blood Part II is dumb in a way that keeps you entertained.

Box Office Gold, Razzie Royalty

Commercially, the film was a juggernaut. With a $44 million budget, it generated over $300 million worldwide, making it one of the decade's biggest hits. It was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound Editing.

But critically? Not so much. It was hammered by reviewers and swept the Razzies, "winning" Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and Worst Original Song. And yes, that song, Peace in Our Life, written by Frank Stallone, is truly atrocious. As the team put it, it makes Bon Jovi sound like poetry.

Legacy of a One-Man Army

Despite the critical drubbing, there's no denying the cultural impact. First Blood Part II helped define the one-man-army archetype of 80s action cinema. From Chuck Norris in Missing in Action to Schwarzenegger in Commando, you can feel Rambo's influence everywhere. It also cemented Stallone as the face of American action, capable of rewriting history with little more than a knife, a bow, and a thousand-yard stare.

Nearly 40 years later, it's easy to find fault with the film's logic, acting, and politics. But it's just as easy to sit back and enjoy the ride. Sometimes, the line between "bad" and "fun" is razor-thin, and Rambo's knife cuts right down the middle.

Final Verdict

Rambo: First Blood Part II isn't particularly smart, subtle, or well-written. But it's endlessly watchable, shamelessly entertaining, and a perfect snapshot of 80s excess. From exploding arrows to Frank Stallone's Razzie-winning ballad, it's a film that demands to be laughed at and loved in equal measure.

At Born to Watch, we call that a win.