The Passion of the Rambo

For all the hype and lineups that came with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ a few years back, I personally thought it was a nasty little film (even discarding the suckling demon). I think I got the point of what Mel was trying to do, but was the slow motion whipping really necessary?

I was recently reminded of the movie whilst opening an old-school pack of Topps Rambo cards, which are based on First Blood: Part II.

Seriously, what's with all the crucifixion poses? Nearly half of the cards in the pack feature John Rambo in the pose that's spawned many a paintings. And that's not all the torture.

And while the violence may be done, the Jesus parallels in the pack don't end there.

Here we have John Rambo the savior pulling someone out of harm's way.

If you think I'm already stretching the parallels, they end here. The three final cards that are pretty insignificant save for Sylvester Stallone's grimace that makes him look like he's ready to prove that real men can cry. And if you don't like it, he's got the grenade launcher thing on every card to make you believe.

If nothing else, this pack should be a reminder to all those who complain about violence in movies today. John Rambo had bubble gum cards (and a cheesy cartoon to boot).