The term “Rambo” has been a part of American lexicon for years now. The term refers to a man who takes on an entire battalion by himself. Think Leeroy Jenkins, just without the soul-crushing failure. The films themselves had a major cultural impact on pop culture as well. The Rambo films are the epitome of the cheesy 80s action films that The Expendables is trying to replicate. Thirty-seven years after the first Rambo film, we’re getting the final film in the franchise, Rambo: Last Blood. Is Last Blood a fitting finale for the iconic character or is it a film that puts the final nail in the coffin for an outdated character?
Even though Rambo: Last Blood is a crowd-pleasing action film, there are a lot of problems in the film. Ultimately, this is a kind of action film where you simply turn your brain off and let the action fly.
Rambo: Last Blood follows John Rambo in a more domesticated lifestyle. However, when a tragedy occurs in his personal life, Rambo takes on one final mission to exact sweet cold revenge on those responsible for his pain.
You know the saying “it’s so bad, it’s good”? That perfectly describes Rambo: Last Blood. It’s the kind of film where you turn off your brain and enjoy the gratuitous violence that lay ahead of you. Unfortunately, the film takes a while before it gets to the gratuitous violence. The film tries to add drama and suspense in this film because this is a Rambo film after all. Yet the one part Home Alone and two parts Taken concoction doesn’t quite play out. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the dialogue is so bad. It’s quite laughably bad actually.
As a result, you never really get into the story. Then again, the story itself isn’t that good either. The plot device to get Gabrielle down to Mexico is a bit on the lazy side. It assumes that you’re going to care about her problem, but the fact of the matter is is that you don’t care. The film brings up her problem suddenly without any build-up whatsoever. So when it materializes, all you can think of is “what an idiot.” In a more capable screenwriter, this would be a more impactful plot device. Unfortunately, it’s not.
Also, there isn’t much character development in the film either. On the other hand, John Rambo never really progresses through eighty percent of his films. That trend continues in Last Blood. Unfortunately, Sylvester Stallone couldn’t bring any emotion to his performance even when he’s supposed to be emotional. It’s a very one-note and wooden performance. If you’ve ever seen First Blood then you know that Stallone is capable of showing a ton of emotion in a film.
We learn in First Blood that John Rambo is a broken and beaten man. His PTSD is a huge part of his life. After so many traumatic experiences, we don’t get a sense that it’s been affecting him. We get certain scenes where his PTSD rears its ugly head. But the film just glosses over these moments as a nod to fans.
Yet the film makes up for all these issues with the “Home Alone” part of the film. The traps are brutally violent and a real crowd-pleaser. This is where you can just turn off your brain and take in all the action… Much like a Transformers film. In other words, watch for the action and not for the story.
Overall, Rambo: Last Blood is probably one of the most entertaining Rambo films in a very long time. Admittedly, that’s not saying much. However, the “Home Alone” part of the film is worth the price of admission due to its fun and cheesy violence. Too bad it takes a bit of time before we get there.
Rating: 2.5/5 atoms
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