ランボーシリーズ最新作に大興奮！

　大ヒットシリーズ『ランボー』の最新作が20年の時を経て、5月24日に公開される。今度の舞台は長きにわたる内戦が今も続くミャンマーだ。

By Barry Kawaguchi, Asahi Weekly

　Every weekend in the States in the 1980s, my buddies and I would head to see the latest "guy movie," starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal or Chuck Norris.

　It didn't matter which star, all the movies were the same: two hours of nonstop shooting, explosions, chase scenes and maximum body counts. The film critics usually hated these movies, but guys like us filled the theaters, cheering when the bad guys got what was coming to them.

　Today, sadly, Stallone seems to be the last of those action heros still shooting.

　In his latest film, "Rambo," which opens in Japan on May 24, Stallone is still physically formidable, even at age 61. When we last saw John Rambo, he was rescuing his former commander and only friend, Colonel Trautman, in Afghanistan.

　Now, it's 20 years later, and Rambo is living a quieter life in Thailand, driving a riverboat and selling cobras and pythons.

　A group of American missionaries approaches him, asking to be taken into dangerous Myanmar, to help the Karen villagers.

　Of course, despite Rambo's warning, they later get captured by the evil Myanmarese military junta, forcing Rambo to come to their rescue.

　As a flag-waving Rambo fan, this fourth movie is the best in the series since "First Blood" in 1982 pitted Stallone against a small-town U.S. sheriff. In "Rambo," Stallone gives fewer speeches, thankfully, and admits to himself, finally, that he was born to kill.

　The supporting cast is excellent, and fans of the "24" TV series will enjoy seeing Paul Schulze, who played CTU Regional Director Ryan Chappelle, as the lead missionary.

　Japanese audiences should also enjoy seeing the Asian shooting locale as the backdrop and the use of the Myanmar junta as the villains, given the publicity over the Japanese journalist killed there in September.

　Stallone looks at home in the Asian jungle locales, much younger than in the final Rocky movie, "Rocky Balboa," in 2006.

　One other cool "Star"of this film: Rambo's deadly survival knife. My friends and I all wanted one after seeing the first three Rambo movies. Wonder if it's too late to get one?

• the...of　〜のような人たち
• body counts　死者数
• "Rambo"　邦題 『ランボー　最後の戦場』
• physically formidable　素晴らしい肉体を持つ
• former commander　元上官
• python(s)　ニシキヘビ
• Karen villagers　カレン族の村人
• Evil...junta　凶悪なミャンマーの軍事政権
• flag-waving...fan　大のランボーファン
• "First Blood"　邦題 『ランボー』
• pit(ted)　（againstを伴って）〜を…と戦わせる
• CTU...Director　テロ対策ユニットの地域本部長
• as the backdrop　〜の背景として
• Given...over　〜についての報道を考えると
• "Rocky Balboa"　邦題 『ロッキー・ザ・ファイナル』