Rambo - A Warrior's Journey

This review will be somewhat random and unorganized so...deal with it. First off, as always top notch DVD menu design from LastSurvivor. I know some people don't care too much about that stuff but I appreciate the little things (and its the little details that make this fanedit so awesome IMO!)

So right away the viewer gets an "LS Network" logo/intro/music (station identification?) going on and it is awesome. Fits the 80s vibe and good voiceover work by LastSurvivor.

Episodes 1

The opening montage was very well done and gets you up to speed. I hesitate to say whether or not I'd completely know what's going on if I was a viewer who'd never seen the Rambo movies (because of the action starting mid-chase) but you could make the argument that not all movies or tv shows unfold completely linearly and sometimes the audience doesn't have all the information right away. Anyway, over the course of the Episodes 1 and 2 the viewer gets the complete picture of what led up to Rambo's battle with the sheriff's department.

*Opening Credits Sequence! WOW! Just wow! Expertly done. I had a huge smile on my face as the music and sequence of images was playing. I definitely felt like I was watching a TV Show.

The transition to the TV Spots was cool maybe a wee bit hokey with the freeze frame zooming out into nothing but hey, it is kinda 80s-ish. And the bit of music that LS used with the transitions to the TV Spots worked well.

So, as faneditors I think we are all aware and hypervigilant of errors (maybe to a fault) but I'd be remiss if not to mention one technical flaw (keep in mind this did not ruin the viewing experience or take me out of the moment or anything) was there did seem to be a flash frame right around the 16 minute mark of the first episode right after David Caruso says "I knew there was something about that guy." Anyway, not a big deal and the remaining 99.9% of this edit was flawless from a technical perspective!

I like how the end credits were done as way as stills from different scenes throughout the episode. This along with the opening credits sequence were really well done and add to the feeling of watching a TV show.

Episode 2
So some nice ADR work by LS's girlfriend. It was fresh in my mind from LS's initial post in his True Fanedit thread that he had thanked his better half for some ADR work. I also knew that Chuck Norris wasn't really Delmar Barry and that these scenes were from the MIA movies, but honestly had I not been familiar with the MIA movies and not know that Delmar Barry (although we never see him in First Blood, only his family) is supposed to be African-American, I wouldn't have batted an eye at that ADR. It worked perfectly IMO. I also did a quick check and turned on the commentary to hear what LS had to say about it.

Either way, nice job and that ADR along with the intercut footage and b&w flashback scenes in this episode and the previous episode, you get a nice fun addition to the story with the special appearance by Chuck Norris.

Episode 3
So I totally forgot that Martin Kove was in First Blood Part II. You could have had an epic crossover/side plot with the Karate Kid! AND Julia Nickson as Co, not sure how many remember the movie Sidekicks, but Chuck Norris was in that too, the possibilities to go absolutely insane were limitless (luckily LS is not as crazy as me ).

Episode 4
Lance Henriksen - Millenium lol! Awesome little fake teaser announcement (one of many by LS) during the LS Network introductions. Although, I sadly have to admit the earlier one concerning Stargate went over my head, I had to check the commentary to fill me in.

Episode 5
This episode had an excellent intro/pre-credits sequence.

Episode 6
I'll have to find out from other viewers but was I the only one who thought that little kid was annoying?! It's been awhile since I've seen Rambo III.

Episodes 7 and 8
Although the previous six episodes were great, good editing, good technical quality, excellent storytelling, I think these last two episodes were my favorite. I can't really put my finger on why but regardless this was entertaining.

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What more can I say? Excellent job all around, this was pure fun. Again, for me, it was the little things that pushed this edit over the top for me. I'm sure it took tons of time, planning and experimenting to cut down each movie into sets of 2 episodes that were ~40 minutes each. But the "LS Network", the opening credits sequence, the TV spots, all this stuff really added a ton to the experience, for me anyway.

Props to everyone who contributed all the TV Spots. They were all great (special mention goes to Adabisi for his Last of the Mo'ricans and Under Construction TV Spots!)

Lastly, I haven't watched the episodes with commentary just yet but plan on taking my time doing that (i expect a lot of moments where I go, "oh crap that was a cut right there!")

Excellent job LastSurvivor! This was more than worth the wait.

I'd just like to say from the start that although I bought the Rambo boxset sometime ago I've yet to watch them and my memory of the Rambo movies is sketchy at best.

What Lone Survivor has achieved with this episodic series of Rambo is nothing short of genious. Condensing these films to bite size all out 80s action tv episodes seems the best way to rewatch these orginal classics. I watched these with a few friends some of which have been spoilt with modern CG action films and loose interest too quickly when watching original classics like Rambo that started it all but everyone found these very watchable with the right amount of action and cheesy one liners.

The editing is seemless and the attention to detail for each scene used to drive the plot forward seemed floid without leaving you thinking theres been any cuts and the LS Network intro and TV spots really gave it that "recorded on VHS" nostagic goodnes.
The only small thing that was noticed is the heavy use of the flashbacks in the early episodes with Chuck Noris. I think these might of benefited with a little bit more of a hazy blur style dream like filter to those scenes but still done the job well making you believe Noris was Rambos war buddy.

I cant rate each episode individually as each ones as good as the last but if I had to choose the high points for me was the Rambo 2 episodes. The stereo sound in every one is great although I could'nt help but listen in Pro Logic II mode which had really good back speaker action. I'd recommend watching these with contrast and brightness bumped up a bit to give it that washed out 80's TV vibe. Also well worth a listen to is the commentary tracks from Lone Survivor explaining what went into editing each one. He has also made two video diaries which is commented on in the commentary tracks but were not added to the discs extras also I think the episodes were titled which would of made a nice touch in the menu instead of episode 1, episode 2 ect.

Heres the links for Lone Survivors Rambo Video Diaries:

Video Diary #1: http://vimeo.com/59697809#at=0
Video Diary #2: http://vimeo.com/66009910

Complete nostalgic 80s cheesy joy from start to finish that leaves you wanting more, Great job Lone Survivour, Looking forward to seeing what other films you can Rad up 80's style and add to the LS Network.

A pure 80's romp of action goodness... in TV format.

This edit definitely captures the essence of the 80's television genre.
I really loved watching all of these in this format, it worked quite well and felt like an old 80's TV show, that I would of watched back when I was growing up..... in the 80's... lol.

Episode 1 & 2, where by far my favorites of this edit though, I loved the addition of Chuck and the MIA scenes. It really added to the episodes. I had wished some of this, (and not necessarily MIA again), in some form would of come back up in later episodes but unfortunately it did not.

You can hear a few places in the audio where the music was inserted but quite frankly its not distracting at all and probably only because I know these movies so well.

Definitely recommended if your a Rambo fan, and/or a fan of the 80's TV action shows.

Also loved the LS logo – and the use of the old 80's HBO theme. Hahaha.. nice touch.

A unique and totally enjoyable idea. You have captured the 80's vibe perfectly! Another flawless victory.

if you like the Rambo series of movies then you will love this. action and 80s vibe all the way thru. i loved the bumpers and commercials for other fan edits. this was a good way to watch these movies with my middle son who isnt really the Ramboesque type of movies but he thoroughly enjoyed these as well. great job, well done