After dusting off the boxing gloves for last year's rousing Rocky Balboa swan song, Sylvester Stallone brings back another iconic character from his superstar past. Rather than toning down the proceedings, as Bruce Willis did last year with Live Free or Die Hard, Stallone opts to amp up the carnage in one of the most violent movies I've seen in a long time.

In the aptly titled Rambo, Stallone returns as the ex-Green Beret. Many years have past since his last mission, and Rambo now lives a life of solitude in Thailand. When a team of missionaries (out to make the world a better place) go missing in a Burma war zone, Rambo's peaceful existence comes to a crashing halt. Quicker than you can say "Frank Stallone" the mighty John breaks out the big guns and engages the enemy.

It's been over twenty years since Rambo graced the silver screen, and during his lengthy hiatus the political climate has certainly changed. But that hasn't stopped Stallone from finding a new mission for this iconic character. You can't keep a one man army down.

There's no denying that Rambo is a massive vanity project. At sixty two years old, Stallone is daring you to look at his ripped physique and tell him he doesn't look good. Actually, he's double daring you. And you know what? He does look good. He also proves that he's capable of delivering a visceral assault of a movie.

Now, there's no denying that what little dialogue there is in this film, is silly beyond all recognition. The scenes between Rambo and idealist Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) in particular are chuckle inducing. We also get those hilariously over the top Ramboisms - vintage stuff like "when you're pushed, killing is as easy as breathing" and "live for nothing, die for something." Furthermore, Stallone doesn't exactly go out of his way to develop characters, most notably the villains. Those looking for insight into the history behind the genocide in this turbulent war zone, best stay at home. However, if you're looking for mindless but adrenalin pumping action, then Rambo is definitely for you.

The violence in this film is positively shocking. There isn't anything funny about it. It's ugly and in your face. Having said that, the carnage here doesn't work in the same way it does in a movie like Saving Private Ryan because, let's face it. This picture has a completely different agenda. It's a friggin' Rambo movie. Stallone presents these war lords as soulless killing machines so that when Rambo eventually shows up to save the day, we the audience want to stand up and cheer when he obliterates the bad guys. And you know what - there's nothing wrong with that. This is an entertaining movie. It may not be everyone's idea of entertainment, but if you're a fan of this character and his past adventures, chances are you're probably going to like this installment as well.

Stallone slips back into the shoes of this character with absolute ease. This isn't quite the same Rambo of yesteryear. He's more cynical, but his mantra is still very much the same - what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. It's really fun to see Stallone as this silent killing machine again, but it's Stallone the director that's really worth noting. Rambo isn't exactly an action picture of ground breaking importance nor is it a film brimming with deep meaning and substance. It is, however, a text book example of efficient action movie making. It's well paced, well shot, high octane entertainment and while the violence is extreme, this Rambo film is very much in keeping with the spirit of the previous outings (or at the very least, parts two and three). Come to think of it, I don't think Stallone directed this picture at all. The unlimited, built up aggression unleashed in this picture leads me to believe that it might have been directed by Rambo himself.

Just as Rocky Balboa was a fitting end to that enduring franchise, Stallone brings Rambo full circle (the final shot in this picture gave me nostalgic goose-bumps) and does justice to a vastly different kind of hero. The kind of hero who will waste no time spilling your guts if you piss him off.