BOTTOM LINE: Gritty, fast-paced and thrilling action sequences alone do not a good film make; "Rambo" just can't decide whether to be a cartoon or to make a statement on violence and as such delivers nothing worthwhile.

THE GOOD: The original Rambo films, at least the first one, dealt with the theme of violence and its use/ramifications; there are hints of those themes in this latest incarnation of Rambo on the big screen. But this is almost a side note to seeing what we came to see: Rambo's back and he's doing what he does best, wasting bad guys, and although my memory of the earlier films is somewhat hazy, it does seem that this film has the highest body count by far of all them. That's exactly what you come to see a Rambo film for; there's an indulgence to take out the bad guys with a gun rather than with any common sense. There's the idea that no matter how much you reason, no matter how much you try and bring peace to a situation, some times the only way to stop killers is to kill them. Stallone doesn't really look his age in this film, although it's very well disguised among the frenetic action which is relentless. The bad guys in this film, in this case the Burmese army, are just the types of villains you want Rambo to take care of. The action is very well staged and gritty, barely letting up throughout the entire running time.

THE BAD: The main problem with "Rambo", aside from the obvious question 'why bother after all these years?', is that it doesn't deliver on any level aside from some sensationally staged action scenes that are berift of any dramatic impact but loaded with a lot of over-the-top gore. 'First Blood' was a nice revenge film that played up themes of violence and how veterans are treated, but combined with a solid action film. The two sequels were dire, and this film in some ways is probably an improvement on the previous sequels, but it almost would have been better if it was a cartoon because in several instances in the film, it seems to work that way. The bad guys are two-dimensional, so is Rambo. But it doesn't work on a two-dimensional level because there's a grittiness that Stallone is trying to impart which works against the grain, and as a result, nothing gels together properly. Also, the idea of a one-man army, which was so fun in the previous films, is totally lost because this time Rambo has a pack of hired mercs to help him. And the missionaries Rambo's out to save have to be some of the dumbest people in history; sure, they're trying to help, but when it becomes obvious what they've gotten themselves in to... let's just say they're quite annoying. And although setting up the Burmese army as the most evil people you're ever likely to come across in several sequences of sick torture and violence, it wasn't pleasant to watch, and absolutely not as a piece of entertainment. So unfortunately, "Rambo" doesn't really satsify on any level, despite its solid action.