Summary

• Real-life bomb expert praises the realism of a bomb scene in the 2008 Rambo movie, particularly in of how the explosives were set up and used as booby traps.
• The use of bomb-detection dogs in the scene is deemed unrealistic, as they would be focused on detecting humans rather than explosives, and their high speed would hinder their ability to detect.
• The extended blast wave depicted in the explosion is explained as a result of using torpex, an explosive component with aluminum added to extend the blast, making it stronger than TNT. While the blast wave would be fatal to most, it is deemed believable for John Rambo's survival.

A Rambo sequel impresses a real-life special ops bomb technician expert with its surprisingly realistic bomb scene. Sylvester Stallone seemed done with the John Rambo character when, unexpectedly, a new movie in the franchise arrived in 2008. In the film, Stallone’s killing machine has retreated to a life of peaceful jungle isolation when he is called to action to rescue a group of missionaries who’ve been kidnapped by a local military group, leading to massive levels of carnage.

The Rambo franchise may not be renowned for its realism, but one scene in the 2008 film was believable enough in its details to impress a real-life expert. In a video for Insider, Master EOD Technician Jay Ly breaks down a scene where Rambo is being chased through the jungle by soldiers with dogs, and lays a booby trap that results in a massive explosion. Though Ly doesn’t think Rambo would actually survive the huge blast himself, he does give the scene credit for being true to how explosives work and to the psychology of using booby traps. Check out his remarks below (around 5:17 of the clip):

How it was set up and how it was emplaced, totally legit. He had a Claymore. He put it on top of the Grand Slam bomb, huge British bomb. Claymores are used all over. They're already wired. They're pre-made to be set up as booby traps. That's what they're for. So he just had the trip wire, put something that he thought one of these people chasing him, idiots, would grab.

There are 100% bomb-detection dogs, and in this clip, those dogs, I believe, are going for human detection. They're going for sniffing out Rambo, not necessarily sniff out explosive hazards in the woods. And even if they were, those dogs are running full speed. That's like essentially you trying to sniff a hot dog in the corner while sprinting down the hallway, like hyperventilating essentially. It's never going to happen.

Would the blast wave be that extended? I mean, it was drawn out to have that effect. The explosive component in there is torpex. They added aluminum into the composition of that explosive to extend the blast. But with that being said, that's like a nuclear blast wave that is just kind of continuing to go out. It would be really big and done. That blast wave would've killed a lesser man. Not John Rambo. The explosive component in there is torpex. It's about 50% stronger than TNT. And that's only the blast. Frag goes exponentially further than blast does. So yeah, he is definitely within that.

This is probably the most realistic clip as far as how things function and how people think. Man, I might give "Rambo" an eight. He's knocked two because of survival. That's hokey at best, even for John Rambo.

Rambo 2008 Proved Sylvester Stallone’s Character Still Had Life

The Rambo franchise kicked off with 1982’s gritty post-Vietnam drama First Blood, then escalated into pure ‘80s action mayhem with 1985’s Rambo: First Blood – Part II before descending into action schlock with 1988’s Rambo III. After the maligned (though still successful) third series entry, Stallone stepped away from the character to pursue other avenues, with mixed degrees of success. Twenty years later, the star found himself in need of a hit, and resurrected John Rambo for a new generation of moviegoers.

Rambo 2008 is the only franchise entry to be directed by Stallone himself.

The premise of Rambo seeking a life of peace, but needing to once again unleash violence in the name of a righteous cause, proved potent enough for the unexpected Rambo 2008 to make $113 million at the box office against a budget of around $50 million. More than just bringing back Stallone’s second-most-important franchise character, the film’s success convinced the star that there was an audience for ‘80s-style action carnage, leading him to unleash the team-up movie The Expendables in 2010. Rambo himself would return in 2019’s Last Blood, which was not a huge hit, leaving the future of the franchise very much up in the air.

Source: Insider/YouTube