Rambo (1986) User Reviews

How do you turn a super-violent Vietnam war veteran who blows up people into children's entertainment? Why, Rambo and the forces of freedom, of course!

[The_Light_Triton · 7/10 · 31 July 2008]

This show made me laugh beyond belief. as good as it was for a Saturday morning cartoon, it was like watching something like rescue heroes with Rambo's grill slapped on it, and more war-like topics.

Rambo is part of a service called "the forces of freedom" in which he performs missions such as going to rescue someone, and using mental tactics to trip up his adversaries. sometimes he gets captured, but in good Rambo-like style, he breaks out and causes damage. in the end, he completes the mission and celebrates with his comrades.

Now, how does someone take a character like Rambo and put him in a Saturday morning cartoon and pretty much make his character soft when he's supposed to be blowing people apart with choppers, m-40s and explosive-point arrows? Well, it could've been brought up around 1985, the year before this show debuted, someone thought "Well, children like action films too, why not take this guy and turn him into a Saturday morning cartoon?" good idea, but it totally ruins the character. it restricts the show to anyone below age 13, because everyone older than that will feel different about Rambo being a wise-cracking, children's cartoon hero.

Although, it has a big nostalgic feel, and thats why it gets a 7/10 rating

My introduction to John Rambo in Rambo: The Force of Freedom.

[Cinemaniac1984 · 7/10 · 22 February 2022]

The first time I watched John Rambo was in the animated series Rambo: The Force of Freedom which I enjoyed watching on VHS as a child. Only in the 80's would you have a cartoon spin off for kids from a violent action movie for adults. In this case, Rambo: The Force of Freedom was a spin off from the Sylvester Stallone action blockbusters First Blood (1982) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) which I didn't know back then as an innocent 7 year old until I started watching the movies a few years later.

In this animated series, John Rambo was part of a Special Forces unit called "The Force of Freedom." The unit was led by Colonel Trautman and the other team members included Turbo who was a mechanical genius and race car driver, and K. A. T. Who was proficient in disguises as well as gymnastics and martial arts. The unit would go on missions around the globe and battle a paramilitary terrorist organization named S. A. V. A. G. E. (Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion) led by the main villain Colonel Warhawk and Sergeant Havoc as his second in command.

The films depict John Rambo as a troubled Vietnam Veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following events from the Vietnam War while in the US Army. Having difficulty adjusting to the civilian world, Rambo later returns to the life he swore to leave behind and becomes a one man killing machine armed with a wide variety of weapons including rifles, machine guns, explosives, knives and a bow and arrow as well as displaying a high proficiency in hand to hand combat. The cartoon however, has moulded him into a heroic wisecracking superhuman who outwits the bad guys and uses violence as a last resort. The cartoon is also notable for its family friendly "no killing" rule, and made no references to the events in the first two movies. There was also no mention of anything relating to the Vietnam War.

The late Jerry Goldsmith, the composer of the Rambo movies was also composer for the cartoon. Rambo: The Force of Freedom only ran for one season in 1986 before being cancelled. The animated series also spawned a successful toy line.

Rambo: The Force of Freedom was another memorable cartoon from my childhood. My brother and I both enjoyed the animated series as children when we hired them out on VHS. We would later go on to enjoy the original Rambo trilogy with Sylvester Stallone in his prime. As awesome as the Rambo movies are, I still have fond memories of the animated series.

7/10.

80's af

[Fluke_Skywalker · 5/10 · 21 April 2024]

John Rambo's journey from an alienated and disillusioned Vietnam vet with PTSD to a flag-waving G. I. Joe knockoff is a fascinating one, but for the purposes of this review I'll stick to the series at hand.

I grew up as a boy in the 80's devouring cartoons like this one, but by 1986 I'd begun to ease away from toys and 'toons in favor of girls. If I ever watched an episode of "Rambo", I sure don't remember it. So, on a whim, I decided to dumpster dive into the series and see what I missed. As it turns out not much.

This is a straight "G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero" clone. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but because it apes the latter you can't help but compare the two and "Rambo" comes up short.

Rambo here is a monosyllabic alpha Gary Stu leading a bland team of good guys (and girls) against a bad Cobra tribute band. It's action packed, I'll give it that, but it plays more like the writers kept trying to one up each other for who could come up with the most absurd set piece. That sort of thing can be fun when it's done right, but here it's just not.

Give me...THIS RAMBO!

[anangel4lyf · 31 March 2003]

Jonathan J. Rambo has seen the light. After his three movies in which he was nothing more than a murdering machine no better than the villains he killed, he finally realized that TRUE heroes don't kill, and that a man of his talents can defeat thousands of foes without ending a single life. Rambo is aided by his Commanding Officer Samuel Troutman; Kathy Taylor, army brat KAT; Turbo Johnson, weapons specialist; White Dragon, ninja hero and T.D. Jones, football hero. His foes from S.A.V.A.G.E. are much worse than the simpletons he killed in the mindless movies. General Warhawk and Sergeant Havok alone could take out Rambo easily. But they also have Gripper and his dangerous but lovable UZI shield; Black Dragon, White Dragon's evil ninja brother; Nomad the Middle-Eastern terrorist; Mad Dog the urban biker and an army of dangerous Cyborgs. The action is awesome and smart. The stories are brilliant. And the fans are cool, unlike one guy whose review about Rambo 2 insulted the entire United States' intelligence. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, SLAPPY! The second best military cartoon next to G.I.Joe, Rambo is one top of the line series. Give me THIS RAMBO anytime!

what a joke

[masondbk-599-80448 · 1/10 · 26 May 2018]

Rambo first appeared on the big screen in first blood which is one of my all time favorite movies. In this Rambo acts more like John Matrix from Commando. i just watched the first episode and honestly the 60's batman was more mature and dark than this piece of garbage. Rambo does have his signature m60e3 in episode 1 but he doesn't even use it. the animation is hideous even for the 80's teenage mutant ninja turtles was released the next year and this doesn't even compare. the show is based more around first blood part 2 even though they changed Yushin and Podovsky's names and every character (even Rambo) is an idiot. Trautman is more of a 1966 commissioner gordon character, he's only there to call Rambo for aid and the whole ptsd aspect of the hero is completely ignored. Rambo isn't a tragic hero who is suffering from the nightmares the Vietnam War left him but he instead cracks one liners like Arnold Schwarzenegger. if you like Rambo do yourself a favor and skip this dumb show. If the villains were smart rambo would have died in episode one. if you stil aren't convinced then there is one episode where Rambo, a vietnam veteran who is suffering from PTSD and is capable of taking on an entire army, dresses up like santa claus. I'm not even joking this show is the biggest insult to fans of John Rambo ever.

Excellent for its time

[lz-sabre · 8/10 · 16 July 2006]

There was a long animated movie and a number of stand alone episodes. The latter were not really up to par with the movie but came close. The most impressive feature about the Rambo cartoon is the sheer loyalty towards existing and historic military hardware such as the Lockheed AC-130 Spectre gunship and the Battleship Yamamoto which are shown in full force. Its also surprising to see that the aircraft which made extensive appearances such as the OV-10 Bronco and Avro HS-748, although not mentioned by name, are reproduced with great authenticity. In the series, they come up with some innovative military designs.

Story lines were decent and the action, although far from realistic and the explosions far from impactive, were at the least, quite intensive. The animation was standard Ruby Spears quality. The only thing is that while 10000s of bullets were fired, no one actually got killed or even hurt.

I really don't know why morons like Jtalledo call this a GI Joe clone? There is really very little in common with GI Joe and this one was at least a little bit more mature. People like the mentioned who lampoon themselves cluelessly should really not waste our time here by talking garbage.

This show is a good show for kids to watch.

[minerals · 10/10 · 6 May 2005]

The Rambo cartoon made by Ruby-Spears in 1986 is a good show. With the way the Coloniel comes and asks Rambo for help it is based more on the events of the third and final Rambo Movie because in that movie Rambo is asked to help with a problem that an enemy is causing. With the way this show has Rambo going around to different areas of the world it has the ability to show children what different landmarks in other countries look like. Plus it teaches that Good wins over Evil because the evil General Warhawk gets defeated every time he tries to take over something in another country! I am glad to find out from the website Tvshowsondvd.com that this June there will be 2 DVDs of this show coming out that have 11 episodes on each disk! I have to say that it is good that this show is going to be available for the next generation to see.

This show is really cool!

[spacemonk2000 · 19 August 2000]

I love this cartoon a lot! I watch my favorite tv show every weekend in my area. Rambo is the bomb, because he kicks bad guys butt. It is a good tat it's on Bohbot Kids Network. I wish I can beat up the S.A.V.A.G.E.s just like Rambo. Well I guess should be going, bye y'all.

Give me... RAMBO!

[Jtalledo · 11 August 2001]

After several successful movies, it really wasn't a surprise that the seemingly invulnerable action soldier Rambo would have spun off a series. What was really surprising was that it was a CARTOON series. I mean, what good parent would have let junior watch any of the Rambo movies, notorious for their blood, gore and sky high body counts?

Questionable marketing aside, the folks at Ruby Spears productions did a bang up job on the Rambo cartoon. Sure, the series is basically a GI Joe clone, but it's a good one. Rambo is made considerably more sociable in the cartoon, more boy scout than Green Beret. He's not above giving bicyle riding safety tips in between picking off baddies with his precision bow and arrow. They also give Rambo a little team, two pals called the Freedom Force, his version of the GI Joe team.

Voice acting is pretty good. Rambo's voice is a wee bit generic, but James Avery ("The Fresh Prince of Bel Air") as Turbo is excellent. Plots are pretty thick-headed, with Rambo and crew being sent off by the colonel to rescue little villages in foreign countries and the world in general. Of course, Rambo performs some pretty darn superhuman feats like dangling from helicopters and the like. What was really cool was the intro, complete with inspirational, heroic theme music and the colonel saying, "Give me... Rambo!" Also cool were the safety tidbits at the end of each episodes.

What was not cool were the production values. Animation is typical 80's cheese - lacking the fluidity and vivid color of cartoons from later years. The character designs are good though, and Rambo is a decent likeness of Stallone. Trautman is well drawn as well - complete with his trademark green lid.

In all, Rambo was one of the more entertaining cartoons of the 1980's. Forget GI Joe, for thick-headed animated warfare and fun, Rambo is the man.

The animated series.

[Captain_Couth · 12 June 2004]

Rambo (1986) was a bad cartoon. Seeing him leap off a skyscraper on a motorcycle was too much for me. They tried to make Rambo into a children's character who chases the bad guys and fight for truth and justice. Bad stuff. Not worth seeking out. Who thought it was a good idea to turn a flashback haunted sadistic sociopath soldier into a children's hero? The cartoon had very little or nothing to do with the film franchise except the main character and his sanitized persona.

They made toys for the cartoon series and a comic book!

D-