The years haven’t been very kind to the Rambo franchise. Once an exhilarating yet deeply poignant and thoughtful analysis of the Vietnam War and its effects on the soldiers who fought in it, it has since devolved into the ultra-violent and action-packed extravaganza we all associate it as nowadays. Even with all the silly sequels with their excessive explosions, blazing gunfire, and macho masculinity, there was still something to them about war’s effect on John Rambo’s humanity, even if that gradually diminished over the years.
With Rambo: Last Blood, everything that made the previous films enjoyable or at the very least somewhat watchable are completely tossed aside in favor of bland characterization, cartoonish violence, and a disheartening social/political context that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Sure, it boasts plenty of those somewhat badass action set pieces we love and Sylvester Stallone still fits nicely into the character. But any life and story left in the franchise has been milked dry and all we’re left is a but a shadow of John Rambo’s former glory.
After a lifetime experience of warfare and violence, war veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) believes he’s finally found peace at last. He lives on an isolated ranch near the border with only his house maid and niece Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal) giving him company. Before Gabrielle heads off to college, she asks her uncle/father-figure if she could travel to Mexico to find her father, who left her when she was little. After denials from Rambo, Gabrielle rebels against him and travels there anyway, only to end up kidnapped and sold into prostitution. Now, Rambo must flex his destructive and ultra-violent muscles if he is to rescue his only family.
Rambo has always been affiliated with high-octane action and an ever growing body count. But much like the previous entry, 2008’s Rambo, Last Blood takes his tendency to violence to a whole new and monumentally more gruesome level. Hell, there’s so much carnage and mayhem in the film’s final act, it makes Tarantino’s most recent works seem like snow ball fights. Seriously, the fights are gruesome. You get to see decapitation, mutilation, blows to the head, bone-crunching, and so much more.
Despite being often cartoonish and goofy in its frequency and excessive gore, the violence can bring badassery and excitement, and in a movie like Last Blood, that counts for something (look for the last kill of the movie).
It doesn’t help, however, with how the violence is utilized in Rambo’s quest for vengeance. The Rambo films have always had a political edge to them. In the case of First Blood, it had a political soul as it delved into the psyche of a man who will never leave the battlefield and whose inner nature leads to destruction and violence, whether to himself or those around him. The action in the previous entries felt justified and warranted with the character of Rambo. But that edge is completely absent in this movie, leaving Rambo as a Liam Neeson knock-off trying to get his niece back.
I will say that the opening 10-20 minutes did show promise. It shows John Rambo at his happiest and most peaceful. Rambo divulges his dark past to his niece as well as his cynical view of humanity and Man’s tendency towards violence and hate and it all plays to the franchise’s strengths. In that same conversation, Rambo states, “I know how black a man’s heart is,” and that is when the movie honors the legacy of Rambo. It also boasts the film’s most endearing quality, which is Stallone performance as the titular action hero. As always, Stallone infuses humanity and vulnerability to Rambo and at the same time, despite being in his early 70s, still manages to be an imposing and menacing figure who you should never trifle with.
But while Stallone remains strong during the rest of the movie, the story and script begin to fall apart. It plays more like side quest that doesn’t add to anything other than to make Rambo’s life more miserable. Rather than an inner look into Rambo’s psyche, the story feels more like an excuse for Rambo to start murdering people rather than an emotionally-backed, narratively-sound storyline. Especially when you consider where the story takes one of the characters in particular, it feels less tragic and more cheap and lazy.
It also doesn’t help that the social/political context of the movie is questionable at best and disgusting at worst. Whether it’s intentional or not, it’s discomforting when you hear that the story revolves around John Rambo, one of America’s chief symbols of pride and military might, going after a bunch of evil Mexicans who relish in their villainous tendencies. The situation is made worse when these evil Mexicans live in rat-infested streets filled with thieves, prostitutes, and drug lords and are, with an exception of two, the only Latino characters who are seen in the movie.
Some will think that these movies are meant to be enjoyed as plainly as possible. But the way I see it, the Rambo franchise is built on top of its political commentary, with John Rambo himself embodying the harmful and damaging effects of warfare. In our current political climate, there just isn’t room for that kind of storytelling anymore.
Rambo: Last Blood fails as an action extravaganza and even more so as a political examination of war and Rambo’s psyche. It never justifies its own existence nor does it distinguish itself from every other action-oriented revenge story. Much like John Rambo, Stallone remains strong and sturdy against all the hurdles coming his way. But even he doesn’t have the willpower to overcome a weak script, discomforting politics, and a shallow story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vWg5yJuWfs&t=1s&w=585