Common Sense Media Review
By Charles Cassady Jr.
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sly shoots up Vietnam in violent '80s sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Rambo: First Blood Part II
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 7 parent reviews
Based on 32 kid reviews
Kids say that this action-packed sequel boasts thrilling explosions and a lot of violence, making it a hit among teens and mature tweens, though some critiques point out its graphic nature and glorification of war. While some viewers appreciate the intense action and thrilling plot, others find it to be a weaker follow-up to the original film, focusing more on violence than on its predecessor's deeper anti-war themes.
- intense action
- graphic violence
- mixed reviews
- sequel weaker
- family movie
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II finds Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), the muscleman combat-hardened Vietnam-supercommando from First Blood, brought out of prison to earn a possible presidential pardon. He has 36 hours to be air-dropped into communist Vietnam and seek evidence that American POWs are still being held captive. But his superiors -- yuppie white-collar types only interested in a cover-up -- don't expect him to succeed. When Rambo does find an active POW camp, the Americans abandon him to evil Russian and Viet Cong forces, and Rambo has to fight his way free -- shirtless, muscles gleaming like an oiled bodybuilder, amidst giant fireball explosions.
Is It Any Good?
This sequel to First Blood was a bigger, dumber, and more financially successful action blockbuster that opened on a then-record number of movie screens. Rambo: First Blood Part II is cartoonish, and in a B movie way. When the unstoppable Rambo (he just ignores bullets fired his way half the time) kills a whole Soviet patrol one by one, in a different camouflage disguise/gimmick one edit to the next, you remember Bugs Bunny doing stuff like that to Elmer Fudd or Daffy. Plus tie-ins with Vietnam War reality, and the melancholy legend maintained by conspiracy thinkers, that U.S. POWs still languished in enemy hands, seem tactless -- if you take it seriously. If you do scratch below the surface, you may find this overly simplistic message: The U.S. military -- in Rambo's case, one warrior -- could have won Vietnam, or any conflict, if "they" (who? Liberals? Jews? Jane Fonda? Freemasons and Illuminati?) hadn't sabotaged the effort.
"I just saw Rambo; next time I'll know what to do," famously said President Ronald Reagan, conferring a White House blessing on this action smash-hit. John Rambo, a tragic and mostly human-sized character in the first movie, got peddled aggressively as a Tarzan/Davey Crockett/G.I. Joe combo to 1980s kids, soon showing up in a weekly TV cartoon.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why Rambo was so popular in the 1980s, when USSR occupation troops could still be found in Afghanistan, Poland, East Germany, and other Cold War hot spots. Do you think Rambo helped the image of Vietnam veterans (who were often portrayed by Hollywood as dysfunctional down-and-outs)? Why or why not?
Some critics called Stallone's action movies "fascist" in their glorification of pumped-up White patriots with big guns/fists putting the smackdown on foreign foes. What do you think now?
Families can also talk about whether the amount of violence in Rambo is fitting, given its subject matter. Are there times when violence needs to be graphic to get a filmmaker's point across? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters : May 22, 1985
- On DVD or streaming : November 23, 2004
- Cast : Charles Napier , Richard Crenna , Sylvester Stallone
- Director : George Pan Cosmatos
- Studio : Lionsgate
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 98 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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