STUDIO: Lionsgate
RELEASE DATE: May 27, 2008
STARRING: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, Charles Napier, Julie Benz, and many more
WRITTEN BY: Various
DIRECTED BY: Various
FEATURES: Numerous

For better or worse, John J. Rambo has been a part of the pop culture landscape for over a quarter-century. Sure, he went into hiding for a large majority of it between Rambo III and the newest film, titled simply Rambo, but the film was surprisingly well-received and proved that the legend of Sylvester Stallone's second-most popular character is still alive. The Complete Collector's Set of the four Rambo films on six discs is the kind of well-packaged, bonus-laden set that is usually reserved for the most respected and beloved franchises. After the failure of Rambo III (the most oddly-titled film ever, considering there was no Rambo II - the second film was called Rambo: First Blood Part II), most of us kind of thought we'd seen and heard the last of this franchise, but the man with the killer scowl is back for a whole new generation and fans both young and old will be completely satisfied by the new Lionsgate set. It's one of the most impressive box sets of the year to date.

All four films in the Rambo franchise - First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III, and Rambo (which really should be "First Blood Part IV") are included in The Complete Collector's Set on separate discs with their own special features. The other two discs in the set are the second disc from the Rambo: Special Edition, which only contains a digital copy of the film for those of you that like to watch carnage on your iPhone or PSP, and a bonus disc with hours of special features. The newest film will be covered in its own review on The Deadbolt, so we'll focus on the other four discs in the set for now.

The movie that started it all was 1982's First Blood, still easily the best film in the franchise. The new one has its problems and the two '80s sequels have been a bit marred by being SUCH products of the Reagan era, but First Blood is just a damn-good movie. Watching it now, First Blood barely even feels like a part of the franchise. There's actually very little violence in the film and absolutely none of the exploding arrows or machine-guns to the head that would turn the franchise into a cartoonish bloodbath in later films. First Blood is practically a drama, while the other films are action movies. The first disc in the Complete Collector's Set includes an audio commentary by Stallone, another by writer David Morrell, an interactive military special operations features, and the infamous alternate ending in which Rambo commits suicide. The franchise nearly ended before it began.

The Rambo craze was at its peak with 1985's Rambo: First Blood Part II. The Ultimate Edition included in this set features a commentary with the always-interesting director George P. Cosmatos and the series of military special ops features started with the first disc. The final film, 1988's Rambo III (which is actually a pretty awful action movie and bombed with both critics and fans) continues the pattern of military interaction and also adds a director commentary with Peter MacDonald and deleted scenes. All three "Ultimate Editions" included provide their respective films with excellent widescreen transfers and nearly-perfect audio. When you pick up a set like this one, it's nearly a given that the technical specifications will be above-par and the Rambo Collector's Set doesn't disappoint.

Honestly, not being a huge fan of any of the films in the set but the first one, I was most satisfied with exploring the final disc in the collection, which is made up of a series of relatively-lengthy featurettes on a variety of subjects. Featurettes like "The Real Nam," "Guts and Glory," and "The Forging of Heroes" provide some context for the phenomenon of Rambo and enhance the experience of the entire franchise. "Guts" is particularly fascinating as a reminder as to just how much the Republican party in the '80s took on the character of Rambo as one of their own. Other featurettes included are "Rambo-nomics," "Selling a Hero," "Suiting Up," "An American Hero's Journey: The Rambo Trilogy," "Drawing First Blood," "We Get To Win This Time," "Afghanistan" Land in Crisis," and theatrical trailers for all four films. As you can tell just by reading the titles, this is not your standard "gag reel & EPK" selection of special features. They're designed to provide something different and new for the hardcore fans who will pick up Rambo: The Complete Collector's Set. It's hard to imagine any of them will be disappointed.