The previews had finished, and my buddy Doug and I were hunkered down in our seats waiting for Rambo to begin. We had perfect seats: a space between us, no one in front, and the three rows behind us completely empty. Then five guys sat down right behind us. Dismayed, Doug leaned over toward me. "F**k!" he confided. "We got a bunch of yahoos here. I hope I don’t have to tell them to shut the f**k up." (My buddy uses the f-word a lot, in many different ways.)

Ninety minutes later, having been thoroughly entertained, we got up to leave. I spied, in the aisle behind us, an undercover cop in a trench coat, a wire snaking from under his collar up to his left ear. I turned to see whom he was watching so intently. There, sitting right behind us, was Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada. He was one of the yahoos who’d been just an indiscretion away from being told off by Doug.

Rambo was directed by Sylvester Stallone, and written by him and Art Monterastelli. It is the fourth and, I suspect, final installment of the Rambo series, which began with First Blood (1982), based on the 1972 novel of that title by Canadian writer David Morrell. Once again Stallone plays John Rambo, a Special Forces veteran of the Vietnam War, and a killing machine who tries to avoid conflict but is reluctantly forced to keep doing what he is so good at.

Rambo has been living in Thailand, where he makes his living fishing and catching dangerous snakes for a local tourist show. But while his life is outwardly tranquil, Rambo is not at peace, and shuns human contact and fellowship. When approached by a group of Christian missionaries who want to travel upriver, into Burma, to provide medical and spiritual aid to the Karen people, who are being exterminated by the Burmese military, Rambo at first refuses the job. He believes their cause is dangerous and futile. But a young missionary, Sarah (Julie Benz), convinces him that there is hope, and that her group is committed to helping the Karens despite the danger. Moved by her goodness, Rambo agrees to take the missionaries by boat into Burma. When the group arrives, not without incident, at a Karen village, Rambo returns to Thailand.

Shortly after he leaves, the village is attacked by Burmese troops. Several of the missionaries, including Sarah, are captured and taken to a military camp, where some are tortured and killed. Rambo is then approached by Arthur Marsh (Ken Howard), the head of the church sponsoring the mission, who tells him of the group’s fate. Rambo agrees to guide a team of mercenaries Marsh has hired to the Karen village in hopes of rescuing the surviving missionaries. But Rambo senses that some of the fighters lack the stomach to take on the full force of the Burmese military, and, during an encounter with a small Burmese force, he takes charge of the rescue mission.

Sylvester Stallone is physically much bulkier now than he was in the first three Rambo movies, no doubt due to a better vitamin program. Though he remains more clothed than in the past, probably to hide a little sagging skin, he looks remarkably fit for his 61 years. But John Rambo seems more world-weary than in previous outings, and in some ways more real than in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1986) and Rambo III (1988).

Rambo is more violent than the earlier films, and death is more certain for the bad guys than ever before -- if that’s possible. The bad guys are truly evil, have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and exist solely to be killed in the most convincing ways possible. It’s almost funny to watch the many ways they are annihilated.

Graham McTavish as Lewis, the leader of the mercenaries, provides some comic relief. A hard-nosed Brit and former Special Air Services (SAS) officer who’s been to hell and back, he berates his group and Rambo with joy and relish. I would pay to see him manage an Information Technology project.

The mercenaries have various reasons for taking on the job; some are there for the money, some to do something worthwhile. The missionaries, though their goals and intentions are laudable, are pretty useless at defending themselves, and most perish at the hands of the Burmese military. If there’s any message to take away from Rambo, it’s that sometimes violence is the only solution. Rambo is a fitting end to the series as, finally, John Rambo seems to find some peace.

As I left the theater, I made a quick stop at the men’s room, where I spotted another undercover cop. When I turned to leave, there was Prime Minister Harper, washing his hands at the sink I’d just left. Still a little pumped from watching a 61-year-old man, jacked up on more testosterone than an entire college football team, demolish everything in his path, I had a sudden urge to lean toward the security man as I passed him and whisper, "You know . . . I can take you."

No silly words were spoken, and no scuffle with the undercover cop ensued in the men’s room. But I couldn’t help wonder: If I felt a little charged after watching Rambo, what effect had it had on our PM? In the days ahead, would Canada’s foreign policy shift to the right? Would we now adopt a more aggressive stance in Afghanistan? Or would the effects of seeing Rambo be fleeting and temporary?

I’m glad I spotted the Prime Minister at Rambo rather than at a romantic comedy such as 27 Dresses. It’s reassuring to know that, from time to time, the leader of one’s country likes to see someone kick ass.

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