As I eased into my seat to watch Sylvester Stallone crack some skulls in Rambo -- the first Rambo movie in twenty years -- I'll admit to feeling a bit giddy. A blast of 1980s excess is exactly what the slumping action genre needs right now, if you ask me. To paraphrase the old John Candy SCTV character -- I wanted to see everything get blowed up real good. So you can imagine my surprise when the film opened with a montage of real-life footage documenting atrocities in Burma. And this is serious stuff -- we're talking slaughtered women and children here. Quickly, my excitement turned to discomfort and disgust. But just as I was preparing to mount my high horse and cry "Exploitation!," I started to get excited again. Because I knew that Rambo was going to get the bastards responsible.

It's an uneasy reaction, but that's what Rambo does! Whether he's standing up to authority in First Blood, symbolically winning the Vietnam War for America in Part II, or saving Afghanistan from the Soviets (ah, how times have changed!) in Rambo III, Rambo's job is to take the action that no one else will. And it can be pretty exhilarating to watch. In interviews, Stallone (who also wrote and directed Rambo) has said he hopes the new film will force people to take note of the civil war raging in Burma. But let's be honest here -- the guy's using an immeasurably tragic situation to make his action movie more effective. And distasteful as it may be -- it works.

After the critical and commercial success of Rocky Balboa, which I adored, who can blame Sylvester Stallone for wanting to bring another of his iconic characters back to the big screen? Rocky Balboa surprised people with how heartfelt and genuinely moving it was. Rambo (and yes, it's just called Rambo now) will shock people with how serious and shockingly violent it is. Set against the very real, very disturbing situation in Burma, Rambo finds Stallone on a mission to rescue a group of missionaries from sadistic Burmese soldiers.

Do you ever imagine a world where you shot the original ending of the novel First Blood (John Rambo commits suicide), and you hadn't had Rambo with you all these years?

SYLVESTER STALLONE: Yeah, I think about that all the time. I had that debate with Quentin Tarantino, and he was vehement that I made a mistake. On an artistic level, he's probably right. But at the time, I had been spending a lot of time doing research with veterans, and it seemed like this terrible, nihilistic...they just reveled in complete despair. And at that time, we had had almost a quarter of a million Vietnam suicides. So I thought, do I want to end it on that note? Or make him more of a victim who has been created to do a job, does a job, comes home, and no longer fits in? It's like training a pit bull. You train a dog to become a killer and now what do you do? You gotta put him down. But what happens if that pit bull gets loose and you realize he's not as bad as you think, you can somehow redeem him. I thought that was more of an interesting story. As Kirk Douglas says, "Not artistic, but commercial!"

Did you have to go back and look at the previous Rambo movies to get back into character?

SS: The ponderousness that comes with aging, the sense of weight, knowledge, knowing too much, lack of naivete, which has happened in my life, sort of set the stage for me. I wanted Rambo to be heavier, bulkier -- that's why his first line of the movie is pretty negative, he's given up. The other Rambos had a bit too much energy, they were a little too spry. I'm not trying to run myself down, but there was much more vanity involved. It was all about body movement, rather than just the ferocity. This character, to me, is much more interesting. I like First Blood and I like this one. So it's like the first Rocky and the last -- Rocky Balboa. Everything in between is kind of trying to figure out what I should do.

As you may have heard, there's another Rambo sequel coming January 25th, starring and co-written/directed by Sylvester Stallone. IMDb lists a variety of considered titles for the movie, including Rambo IV: End of Peace (eh), Rambo IV: Holy War (it rhymes), and Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra (hilarious). Most recently it was called Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye -- obviously the greatest title in action movie history -- but maybe that sounded a bit too direct-to-DVD. So they changed it again. Following the success of Rocky Balboa (which I absolutely loved), the title switched to John Rambo. I'm all about that simple name title -- it brings a touch of restraint and class to a movie I'm fairly certain will have neither. "This January...spend Martin Luther King Day with an old friend...John Rambo." Perfect. Done. But no. They've scrapped the title yet again!

Now the movie is called Rambo to Hell and Back. I agree with Josh over at Cinema Blend that the title doesn't really work without a colon. Rambo to Hell and Back just isn't a complete thought. Titles like Ernest to Camp or Ernest to Jail don't make sense, you have to put a verb in there somewhere. I guess they're not using the word "Goes" (as in Rambo Goes to Hell and Back) because it would be to close to Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (which, it is worth pointing out, was not the final Friday). But how about something like Rambo Rocks It to Hell and Back? Or Rambo Blows Dudes' Heads Up All the Way to Hell and Back? Too long? Not to worry, it easily abbreviates to RBDHUATWTHAB. Oh well. Never mind that Stallone looks like a 'roided up Liza Minnelli in the movie. No matter what they call it, all the Serpents, Cobras, and Holy Wars in the world couldn't keep me from seeing this film. I'd...to hell and back in order to see the thing.

UPDATE: Sly Stallone says he's staying with John Rambo after folks bashed this new title. Read all about it over on AICN.

It's been a while since we've had an update on Rambo IV, but it's back again now, and with a third new plot. It's really unclear whether all of these plots ever made it into fully-formed screenplays, but director/star Sylvester Stallone told EW that the both the kidnapped girl and the Islamic terrorists are out, and Burma is in. That's right, Burma. Apparently the people at Soldier of Fortune (hey, that's where I go for my movie ideas) told Stallone that the country is the site of the "most critical man-doing-inhumanity-to-man situation right now in the world." And, clearly, that's where we most need Rambo.

The current story begins with old man Rambo "living ... a monastic lifestyle in Bangkok and salvaging old PT boats and tanks for scrap metal." When a group of volunteers bringing supplies to Burma goes missing, the parents of one of the missing come to Rambo for help. Since he can't say no to anyone in need of violence, he heads off with a "team of young guns" (apparently required by producers, in order to get someone in the cast who will draw the teenage demographic to theaters) to whup some ass.

In addition to finding a new plot, the movie's timeline has also changed; instead of the previously-announced next spring, it will start shooting in Thailand in October.

For those of you who thought James Brolin lost some of his edge after becoming Mr. Barbara Streisand, think again -- the actor has, apparently, signed on to star in the upcoming Rambo 4. Hoo-rah!

According to reports, Brolin, taking over for the beloved Col. Samuel Trautman (Richard  Crenna), will play the gutsy Corporal Keating. News of the casting also brought forth an updated plot description which reveals an older and more reclusive (if that's possible) John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), who has done his best to find a life of solitude for himself, his wife and young daughter. However, when his daughter goes missing, Rambo goes back on the hunt. Meanwhile, Corporal Keating is chasing a fugitive falsely accused of war crimes. At some point, Rambo teams up with the fugitive (I'm thinking they can both help solve one another's issues) and the story takes off from there. It's being said that production on Rambo 4 will begin, in India, immediately following Rocky Balboa.

Rumors have been circulating over the past few days that Sylvester Stallone had decided to take complete control over the next Rambo sequel and direct the thing himself. Well, according to one of the film's producers, its now become somewhat official - Rambo will be directing Rambo. Previously, Stallone had been chatting up Ridley Scott and Renny Harlin to direct, but either no one wants the project or no one will be able to do it the way Rambo wants.

Perhaps this whole control complex is all Rocky Balboa's fault. Currently, Stallone is busy shooting Rocky 6, which he executive produced, wrote, directed and starred in. Could it be that things are going so well for him that he insisted he have the same deal with Rambo? While we're on the subject - why is he even making another Rambo in the first place?

Not much is being said regarding plot right now, though according to details on IMDB, the story will have something to do with a kidnapped girl and how the Vietnam vet will be forced out of hiding to go rescue her. Word on the street is that Stallone will also be writing the script for Rambo 4, however nothing is official yet. Production will begin immediately following Rocky Balboa.