Lionsgate has a new name for writer / director / producer / star Sylvester Stallone’s latest Rambo installment.. Originally it was to be called Rambo IV: In The Serpent’s Eye, but I guess someone realized it sound a lot too like a Metal Gear Solid game or a bit too direct - to - DVD sounding.. So then it was simplified the title to be in the same category and have the sophistication that Rocky Balboa did; they called it John Rambo..

Now Lionsgate has tossed that name out as well, and they’re going with Rambo to Hell and Back..

Am I the only one who thinks it needs some punctuation in there somewhere? Shouldn’t it be Rambo: To Hell and Back? But we need not worry.. Tomorrow’s Entertainment has heard from a reliable source, that Sly has decided not to change the title after all.. He didn’t get to be one of the most successful movie stars of the 1980’s by ignoring the demands of his fan base.. He’s now decided that John Rambo would suit the theme of the movie as Rocky Balboa did for Rocky.. A more sophisticated name for a personal journey for the character.. Which the fans would prefer.. I know I do..

Twenty years after the last film in the series, John Rambo ( Sylvester Stallone ) has retreated to northern Thailand, where he’s running a longboat on the Salween River.. On the nearby Thai - Burma ( Myanmar ) border, the world’s longest - running civil war, the Burmese - Karen conflict, rages into its 60th year.. But Rambo, who lives a solitary, simple life in the mountains and jungles fishing and catching poisonous snakes to sell, has long given up fighting, even as medics, mercenaries, rebels and peace workers pass by on their way to the war - torn region..

That all changes when a group of human rights missionaries search out the ” American river guide ” John Rambo.. When Sarah ( Julie Benz ) and Michael Bennett ( Paul Schultz ) approach him, they explain that since last year’s trek to the refugee camps, the Burmese military has laid landmines along the road, making it too dangerous for overland travel.. They ask Rambo to guide them up the Salween and drop them off, so they can deliver medical supplies and food to the Karen tribe.. After initially refusing to cross into Burma, Rambo takes them, dropping off Sarah, Michael and the aid workers..

Less than two weeks later, pastor Arthur Marsh ( Ken Howard ) finds Rambo and tells him the aid workers did not return and the embassies have not helped locate them.. He tells Rambo he’s mortgaged his home and raised money from his congregation to hire mercenaries to get the missionaries, who are being held captive by the Burmese army.. Although the United States military trained him to be a lethal super soldier in Vietnam, decades later Rambo’s reluctance for violence and conflict are palpable, his scars faded, yet visible.. However, the lone warrior knows what he must do..

Sylvester Stallone writes, directs, produces and stars as John Rambo in John Rambo, filmed on location in and around Chiang Mai, Thailand.. Co - starring Julie Benz ( Dexter ), Matthew Marsden ( Resident Evil: Extinction, Black Hawk Down ), Graham McTavish ( HBO’s Rome ), Rey Gallegos ( American Wedding ), Jake LaBotz ( Ghost World ), Tim Kang ( Third Watch ) and Paul Schulze ( The Sopranos ), the action - thriller opens in theaters the 25th January 20078.