Rambo: Last Blood

It’s not too surprising that Stallone has never been able to understand that he simply cannot replicate one of the greatest successes of his career. The name Rambo has very little significance in relation to one fictional character. Its cultural capital and iconic nature are derived solely from Rambo: First Blood Part II and its association with the waning days of the Cold War. Stallone’s tenacious effort to continue the franchise’s box-office success was still endearingly entertaining in the third instalment thanks to the camp dimension of that film. The fourth one was just tiresome and toxic with it old man’s stubbornness and toxic conservativeness. Because Stallone doesn’t have any sense of humour or self-reflection, the title of the parody flick Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping describes his career. Like Sly, unfortunately, some of his viewers still hope to at least dip a toe into the old waters. To this day, I still remember the wearying disappointment creeping through the screening room at the cinema. It’s true that the particular screening was on the day of the premiere as part of a double feature with the iconic First Blood Part II at the Aero cinema in Prague. The futile digital effects and the drawn-out ideologically focused melodrama about the need to protect the US southern border were downright off-putting  for the viewers looking forward to bombastic action, which finally came after 90 gruelling minutes with truly devastating sadistic explicitness, so the irritated audience welcomed it with a clamorous roar of relief. However, that doesn’t change the fact that all of the other sequels only diminish the legacy and significance of Rambo: First Blood Part II as a pop-culture milestone. On the other hand, that’s a good thing, because we now live in a different era and a different world. It’s just a shame that Stallone still doesn’t understand that. (01/10/2023)

Eighty minutes of tired old-man melancholy without a drop of action and fifteen minutes of a sped-up Home Alone ripoff. This is, in short, Rambo: Last Blood. Did anyone actually want that? After a high-quality, action-packed and especially ballbusting fourth movie, which should have ended the series with all its dignity intact, came this practically unjustifiable lullaby, built on a banal script and forced emotions for one-dimensional supporting character shoehorned into an established series, who the audience is expected to feel for. A forgettable sequel with ugly CGI effects and a picture undeserving of the character John Rambo. (13/01/2021)

I like the way Sylvester Stallone has worked with Rambo and made him into a regular tragic hero over the years, and I saw something almost Shakespearean in his thinking and actions this time. Seriously. When he warns his niece about finding her estranged father, he talks about pure evil and how there's no getting rid of it... Of course, it's obvious to everyone what happens next. But it's knowing it that makes this scene so powerful, because we see Rambo suffer without exactly being cut with a knife, and we realize that he may have come home and is living at home, but he's not really home. From this perspective, the first part of the film (which I so often read is soap operatic, boring, long, drawn out, and all over the place) is extremely important and, more importantly, interesting. Then, when it comes to Rambo's trip to Mexico and the chain is broken, it's inevitably and maximally brutal at best, because no one has ever hurt Rambo before like this time and he's going to pay it back in kind (the showdown with the main villain shows that if there's one thing Rambo doesn't enjoy, it's metaphors). So if you're just expecting the final carnage and don't care about John Rambo the character at all, stay home and don't spoil the movie's rating. (21/09/2019)

The trailers didn't promise a fundamentally accomplished film, but I still believed I would get one in the cinema. Well, I didn't. The Fifth Rambo is not very good , but not because of the craftsmanship, lack of action or cheapness. Rather, it's because it's not really Rambo. It's more like Emo-Rambo. Sylvester Stallone spends an hour and a quarter trying to look like a man struggling with his inner demons and a past of violence, but appreciating that something good has finally come into his life. And it takes him a hell of a long time to turn into the Rambo we know and love (or at least I do). We don't really see any action until the last half hour and it's extremely brutal and for a while I felt like I was watching a crossover of Saw and Friday the 13th rather than Rambo, but I didn't mind. What bothered me was the hour and a quarter before that, in which they completely nonsensically devote space to new characters and try to explore the inner workings of a cinematic warrior. Regardless of the fact that there's not really much there, and we already saw the little there is in the fourth outing. If it weren't called Rambo, I'd probably be more forgiving of this whiny B movie and the wait for the finale. But as a conclusion to a classic action franchise, it's unnecessary at best. And quite sad at times. (19/09/2019)

A solid farewell to Rambo, and even though the critics are grumbling I'm almost excited. Sylvester Stallone still has it, and he's as respected as an angry bull. Story-wise the film brings nothing new and follows the revenge template, but thankfully it takes place in the unpleasant setting of Mexico, which I simply enjoy, and the ubiquitous filth is portrayed quite solidly. The biggest asset though is of course the final half hour, which takes the best of Home Alone and Saw and is literally a parade of gore scenes that will have you drooling and sweating. In the finale, Rambo: Last Blood becomes an exploitation horror film, and there hasn't been a bigger carnage since Evil Dead. I felt physically uncomfortable as I haven't in a long time when he breaks that collarbone. Those who want to find faults will find them, and those who want a great 90 minutes will enjoy the film. 85%! (25/09/2019)