Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Rambo 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 21, 2019

What film do you think of when you hear the name Rambo? My hunch is many of you will default to either First Blood or Rambo: First Blood Part II rather than this 2008 outing, which was in fact the first use of Rambo’s name by itself (i.e., without any other words or numbers) in the title. Rambo was obviously designed to reboot a venerable franchise, and in some ways at least it succeeded perhaps surprisingly well, offering Sylvester Stallone a chance to offer an older, wiser and perhaps slightly less angsty take on the character. Despite the fact that this story is at least partially shorn of the "personal connection" to wartime that made the earlier Rambo entries so distinctive, there still remains an unexpected amount of emotion on display. Stallone, who also directed, perhaps hoped to balance that emotional aspect with an emphasis on over the top action and especially some at times gruesome and graphic violence, and as a result this particular Rambo is among the bloodiest in the franchise.

Rambo has had several previous releases on Blu-ray, and for plot summaries I refer you to the following reviews, listed here in the order of the original disc release dates:

Rambo Blu-ray review

Rambo: The Complete Collector's Set Blu- ray review

Rambo Blu-ray review

Readers who are "score keepers" will note Martin Liebman gave the film a 5.0 and Dustin Somner a 4.5, while I'm "only" granting it a 4.0, which is just the latest example in my continuing series of "different reviewers, different opinions." In that same vein, you'll also note that Marty scored the video of the original release at 4.5, while Dustin gave a 4.0 to the Extended Cut's video. Since the 1080p Blu-ray included with this release is the Extended Cut version, I'm "porting over" Dustin's score for that release to this review.

Rambo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.

Rambo is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. I've sometimes complained about so-called "grain management" on some Lionsgate 4K releases, but I have to say I was generally impressed with the gritty but organic look of much of this presentation. While there is occasional chunkiness, typically in and out of opticals, there's an appealingly natural look to the grain throughout most of this transfer, even despite some extremely low light scenes. Dolby Vision has added some really interesting new tones and/or highlights to a lot of scenes. The early horrifying "games" where hapless prisoners are forced to run through a mine laden swamp has a really almost beautiful (it's hard to actually describe it that way, given the events being depicted) teal like hue. A lot of the later jungle material kind of non-intuitively has an almost peach colored look a lot of the time, something that perhaps helps to establish a somewhat dusty environment. Speaking of dust, the frequently wind blown particles that waft through the frame are offered with really precise looking fine detail. There are some deeper blues in evidence as well, especially in some of the night scenes, and especially with regard to one rain drenched sequence. That sequence, which features Ken Howard, is a little rough looking here (as it is in its 1080p presentation). The black and white footage that begins shortly after the half hour mark features good contrast. As should probably be expected, the standard def video that opens the film with a series of news reports doesn't exactly benefit from the increased resolution of the 4K UHD presentation.

Rambo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Liongate has nicely upped (figuratively and literally) the ante with an (again literal) over the top audio upgrade to Dolby Atmos. This is a relentlessly effective track, one that regularly engages the "traditional" surround channels while offering good use of the Atmos channels (even in some unexpected ways, as in the opening news announcements montage). The film just explodes with surround activity, and there are too many fantastic examples to really cite, other than the regular attention to detail that is paid when, for example, a machine gun erupts on the left side of the frame and the sound clearly emanates from that direction. There's also a huge glut of ambient environmental effects present in the jungle scenes, where once again there's some realistic overhead activity. Dialogue and the elegiac score are also rendered flawlessly in this really fun and engaging track.

Rambo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc has ported over most of the supplements outlined by Martin Liebman in his Rambo Blu-ray review, as well as the sole supplement on the Extended Cut outlined by Dustin Somner in his Rambo Blu-ray review. I'm listing them below, but you can read more about them in each of their reviews:

• Theatrical (1:31:31) and Extended (1:39:16) Cuts are offered.


• Audio Commentary by Sylvester Stallone is available on the Theatrical Cut only.


• It's a Long Road: Resurrection of an Icon (HD; 19:43)


• A Score to Settle: The Music of Rambo (HD; 6:31)


• The Art of War: Completing Rambo (HD; 10:02)


• The Weaponry of Rambo (HD; 14:23)


• A Hero's Welcome: Release and Reaction (HD; 9:30)


• Legacy of Despair (HD; 10:41)


• Rambo: To Hell and Back - Director's Production Diary (HD; 1:23:32)


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 13:45)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:27)

This is another case where my Oppo is reporting full HD source resolution on the supplements, but where at least some of the video is clearly upscaled (the To Hell and Back presentation is 480i on the 1080p Blu-ray, to cite one example).

Rambo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rambo does an admirable job of continuing and in some ways updating this iconic character. The film is undeniably graphic and often quite disturbing in the visceral imagery it offers, but perhaps surprisingly there's a very strong emotional component here that Stallone is able to deliver quite forcefully through both his performance and his directorial touches. This 4K UHD presentation looks and sounds great, and the supplementary package is also very good. Highly recommended.