The body count is rising, Sly's pecs are blowing up, and Rambo himself is becoming more of a brand-name than a character, a mascot for masochism and murderous self-assertion.
What makes this icon so significant is how wholly he was embraced by the Reagan era. After all, it only seems natural to respond to B-movie action stars when your president was one as well.
To anyone who doesn't share the camera's adoration, this sort of behavior becomes so comic that Rambo turns into something of a camp classic.
Antagony & Ecstasy
October 25, 2014
An endless parade of people glowering, being pensive, skulking, but with all the sonic and visual trappings of a trashy action movie insisting that it's big noisome fun.