Rambo

Mr. Stallone has made an enjoyable movie with a moral point hidden somewhere in there (but Rambo isn't preachy or pretentious)

First the disclaimer: I never saw Rambo III and thought Rambo: First Blood part 2 was ridiculous - so I was undecided on whether to see Rambo. After seeing the movie this afternoon I can whole heartedly recommend investing 95 minutes of your life (and probably $10) to see it.

The Plot
The plot of a Rambo movie is really irrelevant, but I'm happy to say that there is a plot. The acting was decent (I don't mind looking at Julie Benz - who I recognized from "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" but she has quite an extensive acting resume), and the dialog "minimal."

Similar to 300 most of the reviewers are being distracted by the gore. Yes, there is violence and gore. Surprisingly there is not a lot of "gore for the sake of gore" (but there is some). The "bad guys" are REALLY bad and the "good guys" are honorable (e.g. The Magnificent Seven).

I kept thinking that Stallone had turned Rambo into the classic "John Wayne" character (specifically The Searchers). A strong, silent, "man of violence" who is violent because the world is violent, not because he enjoys violence. He has accepted the fact that "polite society" doesn't understand him, and is just looking for a place to live at peace with himself.

Other Reviews
I agree with A.O. Scott of the NY Times (who didn't hate it, and compared it to the old samurai movies). The Washington Post hated it (but they never like anything).

You ask, "Does it matter if you didn't see the first three movies?"
This version of Rambo is a better sequel to First Blood than the middle two movies ( more like 300 meets the Magnificent Seven). A few references are made to the first three movies (I loved the ending which refers back to First Blood) but nothing that really matters.

Why 20 years between Rambo movies?
To be honest, Rambo became a stereotype for stupid action movies. Hot Shots! Part Deux did an excellent job of pointing out how silly the middle two movies were. Richard Crenna also passed away in 2003 - so that might have complicated things a little (he appears in a "dream sequence" though)

Final Verdict
A solid "action flick" that isn't completely brain dead. Leave the youngsters at home - this is a "hard R" (violence, gore, implied sexual viciousness). Rambo is worth seeing.