History Film / RamboIV

* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: The two English mercenaries introduced in the film, Lewis and Schoolboy, are respectively ex-SAS and ex-SBS. Actually [[AvertedTrope averted]] with Lewis. While he is an excellent soldier, he is incredibly crass and uncouth. He is also divorced and sees this rescue mission as OneLastJob before he can leave the mercenary lifestyle behind for good.
** Lampshaded by Schoolboy:
--> Schoolboy: "He's old school SAS. First class soldiers but total ego maniacs."

--> Tombstone: "I know I'm just a white trash grunt but I can count!"

* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: The two English mercenaries introduced in the film, Lewis and Schoolboy, are respectively ex-SAS and ex-SBS. Actually [[AvertedTrope averted]]with Lewis. While he is an excellent soldier, he is incredibly crass and uncouth. He is also divorced and sees this rescue mission as OneLastJob before he can leave the mercenary lifestyle behind for good.

* SouthernFriedPrivate: One of the mercenaries, Reese, speaks with a southern accent and is introduced singing a blues song. His weapon of choice, [[CoolGuns an M4 with an M203 grenade launcher]], also implies a strong infantry background.

* SouthernFriedPrivate: One of the mercenaries, Tombstone, speaks with a southern accent and is introduced singing a blues song. His weapon of choice, [[CoolGuns an M4 with an M203 grenade launcher]], also implies a strong infantry background.

* SouthernFriedPrivate: One of the mercenaries, Tombstone, speaks with a southern accent and is introduced singing a blues song. His [[WeaponOfChoice weapon of choice]], [[CoolGuns an M4 with an M203 grenade launcher]], also implies a strong infantry background.

* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: The two English mercenaries introduced in the film, Lewis and Schoolboy, are respectively ex-SAS and ex-SBS. Actually averted with Lewis. While he is an excellent soldier, he is incredibly crass and uncouth. He is also divorced and sees this rescue mission as OneLastJob before he can leave the soldiering lifestyle behind for good.

--> Schoolboy: He's old school SAS. First class soldiers but total ego maniacs.

* ElitesAreMoreGlamourous: The two English mercenaries introduced in the film, Lewis and Schoolboy, are respectively ex-SAS and ex-SBS. Actually averted with Lewis. While he is an excellent soldier, he is incredibly crass and uncouth. He is also divorced and sees this rescue mission as OneLastJob before he can leave the soldiering lifestyle behind for good.

** The [[CoolGun Barrett [=M82CQB=] anti-material sniper rifle]], coincidentally running on the same .50BMG rounds as the machine gun, which Schoolboy so expertly uses to blast enemy soldiers in half and to vaporize heads. The effects of the .50BMG round on a human body are [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill not exaggerated]].

* TruthInTelevision: One of Rambo's traps is built around an old bomb that the British dropped in the area in [=WWII=]. Many areas of the world have tons of forgotten unexploded ordinance and a large-scare effort to find them is constantly ongoing because most of these devices only failed mechanically; the explosives are still potent and deadly.

* RatedMForManly: Obviously.

* TheWarSequence: Much like the end of ''Film/RamboIII'', the climax has Rambo facing down a batallion of the Burmese Army.

'''Rambo:''' Who are you helping? Them or You?\\

* FunWithSubtitles: One who is PlayedForDrama - when the missionaries, Rambo in tow, are cornered by pirates, Rambo tries being the translator and mediator, with English subtitles appearing onscreen... until the pirates noticed Sarah and demands her as payment. At which point the subtitles disappears (even though the pirates are still barking order) as a FiveSecondForeshadowing - Rambo ''isn't'' listening to them anymore, he's prepping to kill everyone.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Right before Rambo is gonna save the missionaries, he makes a philosophical thought about ''"war is in your blood. God can't make that go away"''. During the last battle, the leader of the pacifistic missionaries smashes one soldier to death with a rock, acting only on survival instincts.

''Rambo'' (also known in other markets as ''Rambo IV''[[note]]since in Europe, ''Film/FirstBlood'' was already released as ''Rambo'')[[/note]] or ''John Rambo'') is the fourth film in the ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' franchise, released in 2008.

* JerkassHasAPoint: [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rambo]] and [[MeanBrit Lewis]], in very mean-spirited words, express how stupid the missionaries were for going into a war-torn area on a humanitarian mission. Considering all the vile, barbaric crimes Pa Tee Tint’s army commits, '''THEY WERE NOT WRONG'''.

* MeanBrit: Lewis, the former SAS guy turned merc.

* DarkerAndEdgier[=/=]BloodierAndGorier: Yes, even in comparison with the sequels. This is UpToEleven.

** Averted. During the final fight, Sarah (who is beside the FriendlySniper) cries out and covers her ears while the fight ensues. Many viewers assume this is simply her reacting to the violence around her. It is in fact due to the noise of the sniper's rifle. Gunfire, in general, is loud enough to damage any unprotected ears nearby (there's a reason why even outdoor shooting ranges mandate hearing protection), and those who have ever been next to an extremely powerful firearm such as a rifle chambered in .50 BMG know that the report coming out of the muzzle is ''EXTREMELY'' loud (especially since the weapon includes a muzzle-brake which reduces felt recoil, but effectively turns the volume UpToEleven). To put it into perspective, a rifle like that creates a concussion from the muzzle that can be felt on the skin from several yards away. She's not crying out in terror, she's crying out in pain because her eardrums are on the verge of shattering.

* BaldOfAwesome: The leader of the mercenaries. Has a penchant for headbutting.

* Fingore: In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, when Rambo [[spoiler: disembowels Pa Tee Tint, he also slices off the fingers from his left hand.]]

* AssholeVictim: Pretty much any Burmese villain killed by Rambo, be it a soldier or pirate, but Rambo ripping out the throat of a soldier who attempted to rape Sarah as well as the disembowelment of [[BigBad Major Tint]] are the most satisfying deaths in the movie.

* CardCarryingVillain: Early in the film, Major Tint tells parents of boys he kidnapped to conscript into his army to fear him along with hearing and believing him.

* ChildSoldiers: Major Tint forcefully recruits some in a village he terrorizes.
* CurbStompBattle: The final battle. Save for one mercenary hit by a grenade, a handful of rebels, and one missionary who is cowardly shot in the back by Tint, Rambo and company absolutely '''slaughter''' the Burmese Army batallion.

* DepravedDentist: Averted, the missionary dentist is a NiceGuy who does some good and vital work on the villagers, and is suffers a HeroicBSOD after being captured by Tint.

* DirtyCoward: Major Tint. He commits all kinds of war crimes and other horrible things, but once a real battle appears, he immediately runs away while leaving his own troops to the slaughter after shooting an innocent missionary InTheBack.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In Major Tint's first appearance, he forces civilians to run across a minefield before having his men kill them all. He gets even worse from there.

* Fingore: In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, when Rambo [[spoiler: disembowels Tint, he also slices off the fingers from his left hand.]]

* GuttedLikeAFish: [[spoiler: Tint's ultimate fate]].

* InTheBack: [[BigBad Tint]]'s [[DirtyCoward only contribution]] to the final battle is to shoot an unarmed, fleeing missionary in the back.

* JerkassHasAPoint: [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rambo]] and [[MeanBrit Lewis]], in very mean-spirited words, express how stupid the missionaries were for going into a war-torn area on a humanitarian mission. Considering all the vile, barbaric crimes Tint’s army commits, '''THEY WERE NOT WRONG'''.

* KnightOfCerebus: Major Tint is more brutal, sadistic, psychotic, and noticeably more disturbing than the previous [[BigBad Big Bads]] or previous kinds of villains all together. The graphic outcomes of the atrocities he committed are absolutely played for horror and make the past villains' sins pale in comparison. He's the complete 180-degree contrast to Teasle if comparing Tint's large amount of KickTheDog acts to Teasle's large amount of PetTheDog acts. The subsequent antagonist [[HumanTraffickers Hugo Martinez]] after him couldn't even hold the candle of being the darkest and most monstrous villain in the films like Tint.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Major Tint is a sadistic asshole who takes pleasure in killing helpless victims, but despite his title as the leader, he is actually a DirtyCoward who ran the moment a real fight broke out. In his attempt in trying to escape, [[spoiler: Rambo stabs him in the gut, then brutally [[GuttedLikeAFish guts him alive]], [[{{Fingore}} slicing off his fingers in the process]] ]].

* NonActionBigBad: Unlike the other villains, Major Tint is shown running for his life and hides from the major battle going on at the end of the movie. The only time he adopts a combat pose is to shoot a fleeing, unarmed missionary in the back.

* PedoHunt: It seems the BigBad Major Tint [[SarcasmMode wasn't evil enough]], so over halfway through the film, he is revealed to have a preference for young boys.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The Burmese soldier who intends to rape Sarah gets his throat ripped out bare-handed by Rambo. Later in the film, the child-raping Major Tint gets disemboweled while alive by Rambo. It's probably not a coincidence that the two rapists suffer the most gruesome deaths in the movie.

* RecycledPremise: This is pretty much a BloodierAndGorier version of ''Film/RamboIII''. Though instead of Rambo trying to rescue Col. Trautman, he's now trying to rescue Sarah and a group of missionaries, and the Karen rebels are pretty much similar to the Mujahideen from the third movie. The BigBad in both movies are similar too, as both Zaysen and Tint love slaughtering men, women, and children and burning down villages. Atmosphere-wise, it's very similar to ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII''. The setting in the Burmese rainforest is very reminiscent of those in Vietnam.

* SociopathicSoldier: Major Tint is the commander of a Burmese military unit and is a monstrous, murderous {{Sadist}}, leaving rape and slaughter in his wake.
* SoreLoser: Major Tint plays a sick game where he forces prisoners to wade through a mine-filled marsh. When they all make it safely across, he gets very pissed and orders his soldiers to fire on them.

* TakeThat: To ThouShaltNotKill. The pacifistic missionaries are utterly decimated by Maj. Tint's forces, and the two that live only do so because Rambo and the mercenary team are willing to dispense a ''lot'' of death and suffering on their behalf.

* UnknownRival: Somewhat subverted, as Tint knew about the mercenaries and tortured them regardless, but he had no idea who Rambo was and never met him in person until Rambo gutted him. Upon seeing Rambo, the expression on his face was more confusion than terror.

* VillainOpeningScene: The movie opens with [[BigBad Major Tint]] and his army forcing civilians to run through a mine-infested marsh. When the civilians make it through, the soldiers [[SoreLoser gun down the civilians in cold blood]] as Tint looks on. In the Director's Cut, this scene was moved to a much later time.

* WouldHurtAChild: The damned Burmese Army.

*** Then there was that boy who was ripped away from his mother and thrown into a burning hut.
*** Several children are shot at close range, one is stepped on and shot while under the boot of his killer.
*** Then there's the boy that Tint raped...