Holy God... it's the trailer for John Rambo!

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First off, let me say that it looks violent. Really violent. There was a preview reel that was released early summer, and if they don't tone down any of that footage, what we could have is a film that is bloodier than any of the films in the Rambo series. Apparently the investors for the project were so in love with the gory violence that they have even funded Stallone & Co. with some additional funds to go back to Thailand and film even MORE blood and guts violence.

Typically, I have no problem with viscera in and of itself. But I do have a problem with making an addition to a series that doesn't fit either because it is less or way more violent than the previous films in the series. Die Hard 4 had the former problem, and even though I liked it well enough, hear's hoping upcoming 'Unrated Cut' will bring the film back on the level with the rest of the series.

As for Rambo 4, I can't imagine why it has to be this bloody. I guess fake blood, severed heads, and limbs are cheaper than blowing stuff up good, but then that even brings up the question as to why the movie was even made? Was anyone really asking for this movie? I know I said the same thing of Rocky 6, a film I ended up liking, but the teaser and trailers for that film had given me some assurance that the addition to the franchise had a point and would be carried out with a sense of class and style - something I didn't get from the video above.

The last thing I want to point out is the influence that movies like Saw and Hostel might have had on the action genre. Back when both of movies were in their heyday, action films were suffering. One could argue that the filmmakers are also trying to copy the Sin City formula, but everyone must know that the success of City had more to do with its visual style. Anyway, if action filmmakers think it's a great idea to go the whole torture-porn route as far as gore in concerned, they need only look at the box-office returns for last week's Death Sentence. Granted, the James Wan-directed film wasn't that bad, especially for a movie from the guy who created Saw, but it still didn't get a lot of people in theaters.

While the opposite may be true in every other arena in life, the fact remains that in action films, guts are cheap, much cheaper than the thrill of blowing stuff up good.