The fourth entry in the “Rambo” franchise is simply titled “Rambo”. It comes two decades after “Rambo III” and I think it is on par with the original “First Blood”. Sylvester Stallone (“Rambo: First Blood Part II”, “Judge Dredd”) not only returns to play Rambo but also takes on the role of director.

In “Rambo”, John Rambo (Stallone) is living quietly in Thailand when he’s approached by Christian aid workers to take them into war-torn Burma. He begrudgingly accepts but when he hears that they’ve been captured during a raid on a village by the Burmese regime, he joins a group of mercenaries in order to free them.

Sylvester Stallone is certainly a lot older in this one but that doesn’t stop him from dispatching of foes with an array of weapons. Stallone has come to perfect his hardened ex-soldier look in this movie. The other mercenaries in the movie are not too thrilling but I suppose that’s acceptable because the focus should be on Rambo. The villains are not anything special and it’s a bit of a shame that they seem to just be there for Rambo to shoot at. The aid workers are not especially interesting but you certainly want to see Rambo rescue them.

The action sequences are way more violent than in the other “Rambo” movies and also, the overall tone is much darker than the previous films. I felt as though the second and third movies were a little too polished and didn’t manage to capture Rambo as a tortured soul but thankfully, like “First Blood”, this fourth outing works. This movie is exciting and you find yourself invested in the action scenes. In an interview, Stallone justified the movie’s violence because it comes after big war movies such as “Black Hawk Down” and “Saving Private Ryan”; I think he’s got it right.