Rambo - Blu-ray Forum

Sarge · 03-25-2009, 12:54 PM

Just watched “Rambo”.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The movie was decent, not bad but certainly not great. While everyone will obviously have a different opinion, as a very recently convert to Blu Ray am trying to be diligent with only replacing existing or investing in new flicks that are worthy. To this end, I am using the reviews on this site; particularly to stay away from movies that aren’t up to par.

With that in mind, does Rambo as a film really warrant a score of 5? With the allowance for half stars, this equates to a perfect 10. I can understand the technical aspects being rated to perfection where necessary, but as a film itself is Rambo really comparable with the best of the best? Everyone of course will have their own opinion, but at that score I was expecting something a little more exceptional.

I was also a bit disappointed with the video. After seeing the details evident in a few other disks, I was thinking that an action movie set in the lush jungles of the south pacific would showpiece well and be incredibly vibrant. I found it overall to be rather muted. Maybe this was the intent with how the film was shot, but for a relatively new release my expectations were higher.

#Darren · 03-25-2009, 01:01 PM

I think the PQ on this rates at least a 4

VinnAY · 03-25-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarge

Just watched “Rambo”.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The movie was decent, not bad but certainly not great. While everyone will obviously have a different opinion, as a very recently convert to Blu Ray am trying to be diligent with only replacing existing or investing in new flicks that are worthy. To this end, I am using the reviews on this site; particularly to stay away from movies that aren’t up to par.

With that in mind, does Rambo as a film really warrant a score of 5? With the allowance for half stars, this equates to a perfect 10. I can understand the technical aspects being rated to perfection where necessary, but as a film itself is Rambo really comparable with the best of the best? Everyone of course will have their own opinion, but at that score I was expecting something a little more exceptional.

I was also a bit disappointed with the video. After seeing the details evident in a few other disks, I was thinking that an action movie set in the lush jungles of the south pacific would showpiece well and be incredibly vibrant. I found it overall to be rather muted. Maybe this was the intent with how the film was shot, but for a relatively new release my expectations were higher.

I take the reviews on this site with a grain of salt. By that I mean, I don't know what equipment folks are using to view the BD's. I have a respectable setup but there is better equipment out there that perhaps these folks have that makes their viewing better than what I can replicate. I guess my point is that I use the reviews as a just an indicator of either good or bad...if that makes sense.

Porkchop Express · 03-25-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDarren

I think the PQ on this rates at least a 4

Agreed. I was impressed with the PQ, and the movie as a whole.

Sarge · 03-25-2009, 01:25 PM

I agree that the technical elements can be measured with better equipment against more stringent criteria; my impression of the PQ was simply that I was expecting more. The reviewer gave that aspect a 4.5, so it wasn't deemed to be perfect there either.

But the first rating in a review is for the movie itself... I think maybe in that category a perfect grade should be saved for a film with a little more... perfection!

DetroitSportsFan · 03-25-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarge

But the first rating in a review is for the movie itself... I think maybe in that category a perfect grade should be saved for a film with a little more... perfection!

That's a matter of opinion. You will never know how much you like a movie until you watch it yourself.

Just skip the opinions of the film and read the reviews of the technical features.

P@t_Mtl · 03-25-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

That's a matter of opinion. You will never know how much you like a movie until you watch it yourself.

Just skip the opinions of the film and read the reviews of the technical features.

That is what I do also, I form my opinion of the movie myself, just use the technical stuff to see if it's worth getting on BD or not

Sarge · 03-25-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

That is what I do also, I form my opinion of the movie myself, just use the technical stuff to see if it's worth getting on BD or not

I guess that was my problem... a blind buy, resulting from the hype of one particular review. A mistake that won't be repeated.

Though I do believe that while it's in the nature of a review to be subject to opinion, when it's published for the masses there is a certain amount of credibility at stake. To wit, I haven't seen "Rambo" touted within the various threads on the board as a must-have or being superior in nature (as a perfect rating should dictate)... Will pay more attention to the widespread opinions on the board in the future!

KBMS · 03-25-2009, 02:37 PM

I just recently watched Rambo too, and when reading reviews from this site I tend to focus more on the technical also, not granted something like Rambo I wasn't too inclined too watch, but I have reading more of the user reviews to help build my decision, and I find those helpful.

I wasn't going to ever bother with 300 because of the heavy grain issue, but got that recently also as a few user reviews said the grain wasn't THAT big of a deal, and it wasn't, I thought 300 looked fantastic and very similar to what I saw in the theatre.

Blu-Ron · 03-25-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

That is what I do also, I form my opinion of the movie myself, just use the technical stuff to see if it's worth getting on BD or not

Good tip! I don't read reviews on here anymore after they said that they didn't "get" Dumb & Dumber and thought that Craig is the best Bond ever. I got my feelings hurt.

LifeOfAPirate13 · 03-25-2009, 02:50 PM

I loved the movie, thought it was the most exciting Rambo yet. The movie was just all out war pretty much and I haven't heard it on my sound system yet but I am going to watch it sometime soon now that I can enjoy the audio side of Blu-ray. I agree the PQ does have grain and it shouldn't be perfect in terms of rating but the movie itself was awesome! IMO

Blu-Ron · 03-25-2009, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeOfAPirate13

I loved the movie, thought it was the most exciting Rambo yet. The movie was just all out war pretty much and I haven't heard it on my sound system yet but I am going to watch it sometime soon now that I can enjoy the audio side of Blu-ray. I agree the PQ does have grain and it shouldn't be perfect in terms of rating but the movie itself was awesome! IMO

Agreed. I was not even gonna see this in theatres cause I'm such a huge fan of the others. This movie blew me away (no pun intended).

Teabaggins · 03-25-2009, 02:56 PM

Sarge, I agree about the visuals. I guess after seeing Tropic Thunder I compare every newer movie with any sort of jungle scene to that, which I probably shouldn't

ssmith3046 · 03-25-2009, 03:12 PM

What you see is what you get. Rambo is Rambo and I don't expect Lawrence of Arabia. What surprised me was critic A.O. Scott from the New York Times giving the movie a really good review. I thought the PQ was very good on Blu.

Dirk504 · 03-25-2009, 03:23 PM

IMO I thought Rambo was really entertaining. The action is top notch. The audio blew me away and I thought the PQ deserved a 4.5. As someone stated earlier, it depends on your set up.

P@t_Mtl · 03-25-2009, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarge

I guess that was my problem... a blind buy, resulting from the hype of one particular review. A mistake that won't be repeated.

Though I do believe that while it's in the nature of a review to be subject to opinion, when it's published for the masses there is a certain amount of credibility at stake. To wit, I haven't seen "Rambo" touted within the various threads on the board as a must-have or being superior in nature (as a perfect rating should dictate)... Will pay more attention to the widespread opinions on the board in the future!

Take it from me, never blind buy, rent first. Blind buy might work for those who have a very broad range of movie taste. I never blind buy. Just because everyone seem to like a movie does not mean it will appeal to you.

P@t_Mtl · 03-25-2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu-Ron

Good tip! I don't read reviews on here anymore after they said that they didn't "get" Dumb & Dumber and thought that Craig is the best Bond ever. I got my feelings hurt.

Exactly movie review is very subjective. I love Dumb & Dumber but I could clearly see how someone else just would not like it, hey! it's dumb and its really dumber but I love it

squall_line · 03-25-2009, 05:28 PM

One needs to keep in mind that the Rambo review about the plot content quite clearly discussed it in the movie's adherence to the story line of the original three movies, and in the closure it brought to the character and the story line.

It is that very reason that I decided that I won't watch Rambo until I've seen First Blood, Part II, and Rambo III first. And Amazon's recent sale on the Rambo I-III blu-ray pack was close enough to the DVD price that it was worth getting. I'll reserve any judgement about the plot of Rambo (2008) until after I've seen it in the context it was meant to be seen in.

saddonniedarko · 03-25-2009, 05:58 PM

No closure has been achieved yet seeing as how another Rambo is in the works. It's not a very "story" driven movie! This is the problem with the review. The only rambo with an actual story worth menitoning is First Blood I.M.O. The next two didn't really contribute to building up Rambo's character either besides making him an unstoppable killing force. The latest Rambo is really mainly just lots of explosions, death, and profanity(not necessarily a bad thing). I own all four rambo movies and really don't see this as a coninuation of the series besides maybe having rambo's character in it. Though it could be argued he's not much of a character to start with. All us as the audience know about this character is he's a vietnam vet, feels betrayed by his country like many other vets, doesn't like authority, can survive in the wild, and kill like crazy. Nothing else. Still an extremely enjoyable action flick and a great presentation of hd audio and video.

ozzman · 03-25-2009, 06:07 PM

I have no problem with PQ and i Love the way they use the color Blue in the movie.I use the Movie as a reference disk,
The audio to me is high rating,I love those Rain Scenes

But to each there own

03-25-2009, 12:54 PM	#1
Sarge Active Member Member since:Mar 2009 Location:Montreal Blu-ray collection:182 DVD collection:387	Rambo Just watched “Rambo”. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The movie was decent, not bad but certainly not great. While everyone will obviously have a different opinion, as a very recently convert to Blu Ray am trying to be diligent with only replacing existing or investing in new flicks that are worthy. To this end, I am using the reviews on this site; particularly to stay away from movies that aren’t up to par. With that in mind, does Rambo as a film really warrant a score of 5? With the allowance for half stars, this equates to a perfect 10. I can understand the technical aspects being rated to perfection where necessary, but as a film itself is Rambo really comparable with the best of the best? Everyone of course will have their own opinion, but at that score I was expecting something a little more exceptional. I was also a bit disappointed with the video. After seeing the details evident in a few other disks, I was thinking that an action movie set in the lush jungles of the south pacific would showpiece well and be incredibly vibrant. I found it overall to be rather muted. Maybe this was the intent with how the film was shot, but for a relatively new release my expectations were higher.

03-25-2009, 02:37 PM	#9
KBMS Active Member Member since:Mar 2008 Location:Calgary, Alberta Blu-ray collection:71 DVD collection:1 Blu-ray reviews:3	User Reviews I just recently watched Rambo too, and when reading reviews from this site I tend to focus more on the technical also, not granted something like Rambo I wasn't too inclined too watch, but I have reading more of the user reviews to help build my decision, and I find those helpful. I wasn't going to ever bother with 300 because of the heavy grain issue, but got that recently also as a few user reviews said the grain wasn't THAT big of a deal, and it wasn't, I thought 300 looked fantastic and very similar to what I saw in the theatre.

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03-25-2009, 01:01 PM	#2
#Darren Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Feb 2008 Blu-ray collection:1471 Blu-ray reviews: 62	I think the PQ on this rates at least a 4

03-25-2009, 01:25 PM	#5
Sarge Active Member Member since:Mar 2009 Location:Montreal Blu-ray collection:182 DVD collection:387	I agree that the technical elements can be measured with better equipment against more stringent criteria; my impression of the PQ was simply that I was expecting more. The reviewer gave that aspect a 4.5, so it wasn't deemed to be perfect there either. But the first rating in a review is for the movie itself... I think maybe in that category a perfect grade should be saved for a film with a little more... perfection!

03-25-2009, 02:50 PM	#11
LifeOfAPirate13 Expert Member Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Chicago, IL Home Theater Gallery:7 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:18	I loved the movie, thought it was the most exciting Rambo yet. The movie was just all out war pretty much and I haven't heard it on my sound system yet but I am going to watch it sometime soon now that I can enjoy the audio side of Blu-ray. I agree the PQ does have grain and it shouldn't be perfect in terms of rating but the movie itself was awesome! IMO

03-25-2009, 02:56 PM	#13
Teabaggins Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Aug 2008	Sarge, I agree about the visuals. I guess after seeing Tropic Thunder I compare every newer movie with any sort of jungle scene to that, which I probably shouldn't

03-25-2009, 03:12 PM	#14
ssmith3046 Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray reviews: 9	What you see is what you get. Rambo is Rambo and I don't expect Lawrence of Arabia. What surprised me was critic A.O. Scott from the New York Times giving the movie a really good review. I thought the PQ was very good on Blu.

03-25-2009, 03:23 PM	#15
Dirk504 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jul 2008 Home Theater Gallery:25 4K collection:152 Blu-ray collection:367 Blu-ray reviews:4	IMO I thought Rambo was really entertaining. The action is top notch. The audio blew me away and I thought the PQ deserved a 4.5. As someone stated earlier, it depends on your set up.

03-25-2009, 05:28 PM	#18
squall_line Member Member since:Aug 2008 Blu-ray collection:165	One needs to keep in mind that the Rambo review about the plot content quite clearly discussed it in the movie's adherence to the story line of the original three movies, and in the closure it brought to the character and the story line. It is that very reason that I decided that I won't watch Rambo until I've seen First Blood, Part II, and Rambo III first. And Amazon's recent sale on the Rambo I-III blu-ray pack was close enough to the DVD price that it was worth getting. I'll reserve any judgement about the plot of Rambo (2008) until after I've seen it in the context it was meant to be seen in.

03-25-2009, 05:58 PM	#19
saddonniedarko Junior Member Member since:Oct 2007 Blu-ray collection:54	No closure has been achieved yet seeing as how another Rambo is in the works. It's not a very "story" driven movie! This is the problem with the review. The only rambo with an actual story worth menitoning is First Blood I.M.O. The next two didn't really contribute to building up Rambo's character either besides making him an unstoppable killing force. The latest Rambo is really mainly just lots of explosions, death, and profanity(not necessarily a bad thing). I own all four rambo movies and really don't see this as a coninuation of the series besides maybe having rambo's character in it. Though it could be argued he's not much of a character to start with. All us as the audience know about this character is he's a vietnam vet, feels betrayed by his country like many other vets, doesn't like authority, can survive in the wild, and kill like crazy. Nothing else. Still an extremely enjoyable action flick and a great presentation of hd audio and video.

03-25-2009, 06:07 PM	#20
ozzman Power Member Member since:May 2008 Location:St. Catharines ONT Home Theater Gallery:37	I have no problem with PQ and i Love the way they use the color Blue in the movie.I use the Movie as a reference disk, The audio to me is high rating,I love those Rain Scenes But to each there own

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