10 Years Ago… Rambo

Ten years ago this weekend we got possibly the most manly movie of the 2000’s in Rambo.

I still remember the reveal of this film by AintItCool.  It followed the disappointing Die Hard 4, where Bruce Willis went on the AICN comments section to praise the PG-13 failure.  Most of us were expecting another soft-ass cash in for Rambo 4, or at least fearing it.

Then, Sylvester Stallone sent a clip to AICN that was shockingly violent.  And hype for the film went through the roof.  If I remember correctly, it was three minutes long.

In some ways, The Contender spawned Rocky Balboa.  Which paved the way for Rambo.  Which paved the way for The Expendables.  Which paved the way for Bullet to the Head.  Anyway, Rambo 4 more than doubled its budget at the box office and if I’m not mistaken, this was despite suffering a screener leak too.

The rumors of a fifth film continue even to this day.  At one point I was told exclusively by Millennium that ‘Rambo 5’ would at least be partially set in the desert and utilize sets and props from the movie ‘Year One’.  The film has been pulled back from the shooting trigger since then though, obviously.