It’s been eleven years since we’ve last seen the character of John Rambo onscreen, not to mention thirty-six years since his initial introduction to film audiences. Sadly, the latest and supposedly final entry, Rambo: Last Blood, proves to be a sadly lackluster wrap up to a franchise that, while never perfect, more or less delivered the goods to its intended audience. That certainly won’t be the takeaway of long-time fans of the series this time around in what basically is a low-brow rip off of the Taken franchise. The only difference here is that star and co-writer Sylvester Stallone has opted to insert the John Rambo character in place of Liam Neeson into a story that wouldn’t even have made the grade for another entry in the Taken series.
Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: Last Blood
Rambo: Last Blood is a strange film on multiple levels, not the least of which is that the John Rambo in this film bears little to no resemblance to the Rambo of other entries in the series. After being portrayed as a loner in four films, suddenly we’re asked to believe he’s become a family man as he goes after the Mexican sex traffickers who’ve kidnapped and drugged his niece. The template, however remains the same. Rambo is beaten within an inch of his life before exacting bloody retribution during the final act. To make matters worse the film barely runs eighty minutes and includes a clip package of scenes from previous entries that goes on for nearly ten additional minutes. This Rambo is easily the least of the bunch.
Rambo: Last Blood is playing everywhere
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