Son of Rambow (2007)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jens S

  
  This charming British comedy tells the story of a religious boy befriending the school bully, who's shooting a film for a competition. After accidentally seeing Rambo-First Blood as the first film of his life, Will is fascinated and enthusiastic to join the project. Set in the… More
  This charming British comedy tells the story of a religious boy befriending the school bully, who's shooting a film for a competition. After accidentally seeing Rambo-First Blood as the first film of his life, Will is fascinated and enthusiastic to join the project. Set in the 1980s this film is full of nostalgia about that era, the love for film and the worth of friendship. The storytelling is imaginative, the plot bitter sweet and the humor wonderfully disrespectful but with its heart at the right spot. The talented kids actors make it all work and the 80s soundtrack is fun too. A very lovable, funny and sweet experience for children and adults alike.

• Thomas J

  
  The movie only misses on a couple target but sure gets points for being fun. It of course gets sappy, but it is tolerable.

• Ken S

  
  A super adorable and beautifully shot film about film making featuring schenanigins and wacky hi-jinks.

• Michael S

  
  Short and sweet, with a lot of heart and a lot of laughs. SON OF RAMBOW is a robust film; can't think of another film that would have the ability to tackle a coming of age story featuring Rambo, friendship, amateur filmmaking, childhood whimsy, a religious sect, and a flamboyant… More
  Short and sweet, with a lot of heart and a lot of laughs. SON OF RAMBOW is a robust film; can't think of another film that would have the ability to tackle a coming of age story featuring Rambo, friendship, amateur filmmaking, childhood whimsy, a religious sect, and a flamboyant French exchange student, cram it all into a nimble 95 minute running time and make it all work... But it does. Needless to say there are a few weaknesses and the tone is all over the place at times, but this is a clever and effortlessly likable film that I can find few faults will.

• Robert C

  
  I was a bit leary of this as I not a fan of the Rambo films or the bulk of Stallone's work for that matter. I'm glad that I didn't let my dislike of Stallone deter me from giving this little gem a chance. While not without it's flaws, I found the film to be… More
  I was a bit leary of this as I not a fan of the Rambo films or the bulk of Stallone's work for that matter. I'm glad that I didn't let my dislike of Stallone deter me from giving this little gem a chance. While not without it's flaws, I found the film to be (for the most part) a totally engaging and completly charming little journey. And the two stars to be extremely talented. I think we can expect great things from them both, particularly Will Poulter who just blew me away. It suffers from having too many interesting characters and sub-plots that are never really allowed to fully develope. It almost feels like it would have been better suited as a mini-series. I think that with a little more character development and the addition of a few more of Will's wonderfully imaginative fantasy sequences this could have been a close to perfect film.

• First L

  
  Quirky in a Napoleon Dynamite meets Be Kind, Rewind sort of way, Son of Rambow follows the adventures of two boys and their attempts to make an action film. Well, not just any action film, but a sequel to "First Blood". The film takes place during the early to mid 1980s… More
  Quirky in a Napoleon Dynamite meets Be Kind, Rewind sort of way, Son of Rambow follows the adventures of two boys and their attempts to make an action film. Well, not just any action film, but a sequel to "First Blood". The film takes place during the early to mid 1980s (and there are many jokes involving 80s fashion and trends) in a little english community. Will is already an odd kid looking in from the outside, his family belongs to the Plymouth Brethren (a religious order that shuns much of the outside world, including television), and he spends much of the day keeping to himself and drawing in his notebook. Things change for him considerably one day when he attracts the attention of Lee Carter, the school bully who also so happens to be making a film for "Screen Test" (an 80s UK tv show that often featured the homemade films of kids). When Lee Carter invites Will home one day (to use him as a stuntman in his movie), Will is exposed to not only tv for the first time, but also Rambo, thanks to Lee Carter's video pirating business. Flush from seeing Rambo kill hundreds of men, Will concocts a film in which he plays the... well, the son of Rambo. For a kid-focused movie, it has a lot of realistic blood mixed in with the cartoon violence, almost as if the violent actions only have consequences when it becomes necessary to further the plot. The bully kid isn't very sympathetic, at least at first. He's actually kind of a miscreant, and it seems totally reasonable that the other kids don't want to have anything to do with him. What the film lacks in the laugh out loud humor department, it more than makes up for with personality. In spite of its flaws, I enjoyed it a great deal.

• Anthony L

  
  A great little film with two very promising young stars. I thought they got the typical 80's comprehensive down quite well, the 6th Form common room scene was piratically funny (rubber sniffing and the great popping candy/Cola experiment). So good that I almost forgive Garth… More
  A great little film with two very promising young stars. I thought they got the typical 80's comprehensive down quite well, the 6th Form common room scene was piratically funny (rubber sniffing and the great popping candy/Cola experiment). So good that I almost forgive Garth Jennings for the atrocity that was The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. Almost. Actually, no, I'll never forgive him for that but this is a great film all the same.

• Bannan i

  
  I really, and truly adored this flick...there was just something about it that really captivated me. Kinda like Bridge to Terabithia quality, I suppose. And I PROMISE I shall review this with the next little while. Honest. [review TBC]

• Morgan S

  
  this really is a fun movie! you can tell that this part might have been arriginated for someone like Freddy Highmore but... Ed Westwick is really really gorgeous! pretty decent movie!

• Film C

  
  Brilliant i didnt think it would be my sort of movie to be honest but i was pleasently surprised! This film is a bit like Bugsey malone meets the boys version of st trinians put them together it produces this movie and its funny and if you liked those movies then you'll love… More
  Brilliant i didnt think it would be my sort of movie to be honest but i was pleasently surprised! This film is a bit like Bugsey malone meets the boys version of st trinians put them together it produces this movie and its funny and if you liked those movies then you'll love this movie! Its mainly a kid cast so like bugsey malone and this kid has no father figure and loves rambo and sort of likes the thought of seeing rambo as his father figure and stars in his friends movie as there making a short movie so they can enter it for a quiz! Friendships grow and even more friendships burst into place and brothers regindle there love for each other as well! The youg actors are great and the movie is hilarious well worth a watch!!

• danny d

  
  there was a major inconsistency right at the center of the plot, and the seriousness infused into the film detracted from what should have just been a very fun movie. despite these points the film was a lot of fun to sit through, especially for those that enjoy british humor. the… More
  there was a major inconsistency right at the center of the plot, and the seriousness infused into the film detracted from what should have just been a very fun movie. despite these points the film was a lot of fun to sit through, especially for those that enjoy british humor. the concept was good and the movie was entertaining, unfortunately its hard to nail down the target audience. the film was made about kids but infused with too much adult language to be kid friendly. overall solid.

• Alexander W

  
  Yeah good movie. The kids are really good actors. I think the story panned out really well too. I was kind of thinking, oh no its going to be really cheesy because its a hollywood movie and the dialogue just flowed right along so i was smiling all the way through. def worth watching

• Emily A

  
  This film is such a delight. The casting is wonderful, as are the young characters and the project they're undertaking. There's a tremendous and inescapable sense of fun that pervades this film, as well as a versimilitude in all the exchanges between buddies Will and Lee. In… More
  This film is such a delight. The casting is wonderful, as are the young characters and the project they're undertaking. There's a tremendous and inescapable sense of fun that pervades this film, as well as a versimilitude in all the exchanges between buddies Will and Lee. In fact, it's this ring of truth that rescues the ending of this film from a possible sentimental crash.

• Leigh R

  
  Really cute film. Surprised me quite a bit by being different than I thought.

• Tim S

  
  A lighthearted and touching, fun movie. It reminded me a lot of Stand By Me. This is the way the oldschool kids movies were made, and man I miss that in a PC world we live in.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Make Believe. Not War.</i>" As the summer sun shines down on England in the early 1980s, two boys who couldn't be more different are brought together by a mutual love of cinema and a desire to emulate their favorite action movie icon. Will Proudfoot… More
  <i>"Make Believe. Not War.</i>" As the summer sun shines down on England in the early 1980s, two boys who couldn't be more different are brought together by a mutual love of cinema and a desire to emulate their favorite action movie icon. Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) is a well-mannered schoolboy being raised in an ultra-religious community that deplores such corruptive distractions as television and seeks to maintain its purity by severely limiting contact with the outside world. In order to exorcise his creative inner demons, Will has taken to sketching imaginative drawings and complex illustrations. Lee Carter (Will Poulter) is the school terror, a rampaging hellion whose overaggressive behavior has made him an endless source of frustration to the faculty, and a source of fear to his fellow classmates. As fate would have it, Will is in the school hallway avoiding exposure to the classroom television when a fed-up teacher ejects Lee from the classroom. Though at first it appears as if Lee is about to torment timid Will just as he does the rest of the student body, the two form a tight bond after Will convinces Lee to view a bootleg copy of Rambo: First Blood. When Lee informs Will that he wants to shoot a homebrewed version of the violent action film for an upcoming amateur filmmaking contest, a sudden streak of rebellion prompts his sheltered classmate to readily agree. As the summer wears on the two boys set out to create the ultimate no-budget action movie, but their grand vision hits an unexpected hitch when a busload of French exchange students arrive at the school and the leader of the pack attempts to hijack the production. <b><u>Review</u></b> Son of Rambow is yet another example of what film-making should be really like. You don't need big budgeted, commercialized movies to be entertained, all you need is a promising script and a director who has an eye for storytelling and you're good to go. Sometimes you need to take a break from the vile spew that Hollywood have been giving us recently and just look somewhere where Hollywood never laid its beady little eyes upon. Trust me you'll find something. I know I did when I watched 'Son of Rambow'. Its a heart-warming story about friendship, faith and the weird business of growing up. The film offers almost everything to everyone. There's a decent amount of laughter, a couple of cutesy heart warming scenes that will make you go "Awwwww.." and just enough nostalgia to people who grew up in the 80's where the video camera business were just starting to boom. Another factor that worked towards the film's advantage is the charming chemistry between the two lead child actors and the characters they portray, Lee Carter and Will Proudfoot. The cutesy acting alone is worth all your hard-earned money. So, if you're tired of all the High School Musical & Beverly Hills Chihuahua madness that's taking Hollywood by storm, go see Son of Rambow instead. You will not be disappointed.

• Bruce B

  
  Very Dissapointing, the movie trailers showed all the funny parts, expected more, but none to come.

• Gordon A

  
  Pleasant but underwhelming 80's nostalgia trip. It starts promisingly but the plot fractures and isn'tr satisfyingly resolved.

• Ross C

  
  Being set in and around Berkhampstead in the 1980s, it's somewhat spookily reminiscent of my childhood - the locations where the kids play, their view of the older sixth form kids and long lost phrases - skill! However, there's a strong American slant to the movie, most… More
  Being set in and around Berkhampstead in the 1980s, it's somewhat spookily reminiscent of my childhood - the locations where the kids play, their view of the older sixth form kids and long lost phrases - skill! However, there's a strong American slant to the movie, most obviously manifested in the strictly religious family that looks totally out of place in a middle-England setting. Overblown fun with a Blood Brothers type plot.

• Steve K

  
  Not the film I hoped it would be. Of the two main roles, one's story arch wasn't believable even though he was likable, and the other was genuinely unlikable though believable. This undermined any drama for me beyond a superficial level.

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