Eric Lichtenfeld, Into the Jungle, Out of the Wasteland: Action in the Wild

(In Action Speaks Louder)

This chapter discusses the wilderness- and post-apocalyptic-set action films of the 1980s, including the latter Rambo films and the Missing in Action and Mad Max franchises. Lichtenfeld points out the importance of capture/rescue in these films, which becomes a core feature of the Rambo franchise after the first film (which, indeed, involves capture if not rescue).

The reversion to a more primal state on the part of the action hero is also common, and can be found in almost all of my primary texts, save perhaps for the Terminator series (although, Sarah Connor could be seen as embodying this). Even Indiana Jones becomes increasingly savage in key fight scenes.

Lichtenfeld expands the dichotomy foundin the Rambo franchise and other action films of superhero/underdog, which I've noted before, to include primitive/modern - Rambo uses both archaic and contemporary weapons and similarly fuses old-fashioned and modernist ideologies and attitudes towards conflict. The futuristic bow with explosive-tipped arrows is a perfect example of this.