'Rambo' The Complete Steelbook Collection 4K Blu-Ray Review: A Must-Own for Fans

 Rambo is an interesting character. Initially conceived as a scathing criticism of America’s treatment of veterans (specifically veterans of the Vietnam War), Rambo became an avatar of muscle-bound jingoism, the prototypical American hero who spawned an entire genre of action films in the 1980s. The downtrodden forgotten soldier with crippling PTSD and no friends or family left to turn to was even adopted by the Reagan administration to sell its blatantly pro-corporate policies to working-class Americans inflicted with soaring economic and public health crises as a direct result of those same policies. (Reagan literally used a quote from Rambo: First Blood Part Two to push Reaganomics as some kind of victory of individualism and the American spirit instead of the cynical tax shelter for the super-rich it actually was.) The point is, Rambo is as iconic as he is deeply misunderstood, and Lionsgate’s lavish Rambo: The Complete SteelBook Collection box finally gives the character his due with an array of thoughtful, incisive special features as mountainous as his sculpted physique.

The box set itself is damn near awe-inspiring. It looks like a piece of ordinance John Rambo would fire at a Soviet helicopter. The outer shell is cast in the same metal as the SteelBooks it contains, and decorated in a gorgeous mural depicting the different incarnations of Rambo in various scenes throughout the franchise. The inner case is nicely padded, with firm foam-lined dividers keeping each SteelBook in place and preventing them from scratching against each other. From a pure collector’s standpoint, it’s an impressive set, and well worth the somewhat steep price tag (MSRP $119.99). The set includes all five Rambo films in 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital, with the 4K versions being the highlights of the package. The transfers all look great, in particular the original trilogy, which visually pops in a way these films probably haven’t since they were first in theaters. Rambo and Rambo: Last Blood were both filmed in the digital era, so these movies look expectedly crisp and clean with the added sharpness of 4K. This is the best the Rambo series has ever looked, and the set would arguably still be worth a purchase for fans if it were just a bare-bones collection. Happily, that is not the case.

There’s an absolute deluge of special features in this set, with roughly several dozen featurettes, trailers, cast and crew interviews, and commentary tracks for four of the five films. The bonus material on the first four films are recycled from previous releases, and as far as I can tell there’s nothing new here. But that is by no means a bad thing, because as I said, there’s enough special features here to transform you into a Rambo Rhodes Scholar. Just about every conceivable aspect of production is covered, with the standout (for me) being series star Sylvester Stallone’s commentary track on First Blood. Again, it’s the same track that’s been featured on previous releases, but if you haven’t heard it before (or haven’t listened to it in a while), it’s a real treat. He gets pretty candid about the ramshackle production - Stallone laconically remarks “Oh, I got pretty hurt here” or “Yeah, I almost died here” in just about every other scene - and he shares a handful of genuinely entertaining behind-the-scenes stories, including how screen legend Kirk Douglas (who was initially cast as Rambo’s mentor, Colonel Trautman) kept coming up with wild script ideas that ultimately got him dismissed from the project. He also dives into his interpretation of the character as being anti-government and even anti-military, and he laments a little over Rambo’s adoption as a conservative, militaristic icon. It’s an engaging track that had me wanting to start it over again as soon as it was finished.

The sheer amount of bonus material in this collection is so extensive I literally cannot cover all of it – there’s easily 10 to 12 hours of special features, if not more. But I will call out some highlights.

Rambo Shapes the 80s is a three-part documentary about how the character and the franchise molded an entire decade of filmmaking. Rambo was a big factor in kicking off the 80s action craze, in which we became obsessed with muscle-bound dudes eradicating scores of men. The doc features extensive interviews with film critics, as well as with some cast and crew. It’s a fun, surprisingly candid examination of the films, looking at all of the positive impacts of Rambo as well as all of the series’ flaws. The participants all clearly have respect for the filmmaking and for the character, but aren’t shy about doing an honest examination of how the Rambo series has aged, and how certain elements are kind of embarrassing artifacts nowadays.

Guts and Glory is one of the more fascinating special features. It’s a 30-minute documentary examining the Rambo franchise and whether it was responsible for inspiring violence, militarism, and Reagan-era expansionist politics, and whether Rambo actually embodies Reagan’s politics as the character was accused of doing at the time. Stallone himself has always resented the identification of Rambo as a Republican icon, and he reinforces that position in this doc, which as best I can research was produced in 2002. It presents a number of different opinions from various critics and media personalities, and while I don’t necessarily agree with all of the analyses here, it’s extremely interesting to watch, particularly as a cultural artifact. The completionist in me was delighted at its inclusion.

There are some oddities in the set. One series of features covering the hi-def restoration of the first three films is inexplicably titled in French. Also, the captions on the first three movies are also bizarrely (and often wildly) inaccurate, which is disappointing for viewers who depend on this feature. But these are relatively minor gripes.

For the original trilogy, all of the special features are contained on the Blu-ray disc, while the Ultra HD 4K disc contains only the feature film and a commentary track – Stallone provides the commentary for First Blood, with director George P. Cosmatos on Rambo: First Blood Part II and director Peter MacDonald on Rambo III. Rambo is the first film in the set wherein all of the special features are contained on the 4K disc along with the film’s commentary track (again provided by Stallone). Weirdly, the Rambo Blu-ray appears to just be a reproduction of the film’s original Blu-ray release back in 2008, complete with a trailer for The Expendables that autoplays when you start up the disc. The Blu-ray also only features the extended cut (which is titled John Rambo, if you happen to pop that disc in and are scratching your head at the title). The Ultra HD 4K disc has both the extended cut and the theatrical cut, with commentary from Stallone available on the theatrical cut.

Bizarrely, Rambo: Last Blood does not feature the much-touted Extended Cut, which was released digitally with some fanfare. Almost universally regarded as the weakest entry of the series, the Extended Cut of Last Blood has been called a major improvement over the brisk theatrical version, which pays almost no attention to its characters and almost entirely too much attention to the graphic retributive violence Rambo inflicts. Instead, a voucher for a digital copy of the Extended Cut is included, although the voucher lists an expiration date of 12/17/20. In Lionsgate’s defense, the date is phrased “Code may not be valid after 12/17/20,” so it’s possible the code will still work after that date. But considering the retail price of this admittedly gorgeous collection and the fact that it’s only been in stores for little over a month, it feels cheap to eschew the inclusion of the Extended Cut on disc in favor of a digital copy that may well be expired by the time someone unwraps it as a gift over the holidays. On the plus side, the voucher includes a (reproduced) handwritten note from Stallone himself, expressing his gratitude over getting to play Rambo for so many years and his sincere hopes that we enjoy the Extended Cut of Last Blood. It’s unclear why Lionsgate was either unable or decided not to include the Extended Cut on disc, and its omission is disappointing for a set titled “The Complete Collection.”

Altogether, Rambo: The Complete SteelBook Collection is an extremely high-quality set overflowing with an excellent selection of special features. If you’re a fan of the series, of Stallone, or just bitchin’ action movies loaded with tragedy and pathos, it’s more than deserving of a place in your collection. It would also make a pretty exciting gift for any Stallone fan on your list. Cue a Frank Stallone song and cut to credits.