Rambo: Last Blood

There are some action icons that will live on forever, no matter how many years go by. Just look at the legendary actor Charles Bronson, who have made several classic action films such as Death Wish, Assassination, The Mechanic, Breakout and many more. Chuck Norris have also given us a lot of classics such as Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing In Action, Invasion USA, Delta Force, the list could go on forever. But the one action star who we should talk about now, is of course the legend known as Sylvester Stallone. His incredible movie career have been with us ever since Rocky in 1976, when he took the world by storm as the Philladelphia fighter Rocky Balboa. Rocky is one of the best boxing films if all time, and Stallone really gave a performance that worked so well with his character. The sequels were entertaining as well, but it was clear that it was the action films where Stallone fit in best. There are so many titles to talk about, but just think about titles such as Cobra, Tango & Cash, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, The Specialist, Assassins and of course The Expendables franchise. But it was one film that started one of his most iconic characters ever, known as First Blood. Released in 1982 from director Ted Kotcheff, this film tells the story of Vietnam war veteran John Rambo. He gets arrested by small town sheriff Will Teasle ( played by legendary actor Brian Dennehy ), for being a drifter. John is innocent and treated like garbage, something they will soon regret. First Blood is a really good action film, with a realistic view on war veterans and their suffering. Of course we had more sequels with Rambo, and they have all been entertaining, perhaps i enjoy Rambo 4 the most of them. And when i heard Stallone would bring Rambo back again, i was excited. The trailer for Rambo: Las Blood looked interesting, so i had to see this film on the big screen. Is this one of the best Rambo films ever, or should Stallone have stopped with this legendary character many years ago ?

11 years have passed since John Rambo ( Sylvester Stallone ) came home to Bowie, Arizona after his war in Burma. He lives on his deceased father´s ranch, wich he manages with his old friend Maria Beltran ( Adriana Barraza ), and her granddaughter Gabriela ( Yvette Monreal ). Gabriela finds out that her female friend in Mexico, have managed to track down her real father. She wants to go to Mexico and confront him, on why he abandoned her. John disagree, and so does Maria, that she should not see him at all. Gabriela decides to go there anyway, and meet up her friend. She meet her father, who clearly don´t want nothing to do with her. Gabriela is hurt, and go with her friend to a nightclub. Here she is kidnapped by human trafficking criminal brothers Victor Martinez ( Òscar Jaenada ) and Hugo Martinez ( Sergio Peris-Mencheta ). John finds out that Gabriela is in Mexico, and travel there to bring her back home.

I know a lot of critics have been rough on this film, for many different reasons. So i can tell you right now, none of their reviews will affect my own personal opinion about this film. For me personally, Rambo: Last Blood is exactly what i needed to see on a big cinema screen. Stallone blowing up heads, killing people filled with rage and a very easy plot that you don´t need to care about. You see, a Rambo film is not supposed to be taken too serious. You just want to see John Rambo kill as many people as possible, this is the way we want him to be. If you don´t like violence, lots of bullets, flesh wounds, then this is not the film that will change your mind. I personally believe that Rambo should be shown in schools, so older kids can be taught why the 80´s made us more intelligent. Let´s get into the details i especially enjoy about this sequel. The brutality in this film is really rough, especially when Rambo visits a whore house with a hammer. Now that is how you make an entrance. And the ending, holy shit what a violence feast. Rambo butcher so many bodies that i want to hug everyone of joy in the cinema. The characters actually have some surprises, especially the actors Óscar Jaenada and Sergio Peris-Menchheta as the evil human trafficking, drug gangsters Victor Martinez and Hugo Martinez. Since they are portrayed as brothers, their conflicts become personal since John Rambo is hurting their business. I have to mention actress Adriana Barraza ( who i especially remember from Sam Raimis horror film Drag Me To Hell ) as the character Maria Beltran. You can tell that she is a very important part of John Rambo´s life on his farm. Sylvester Stallone does his performance the way only he can do, there is no other way to say it. The biggest problem i have with Rambo: Last Blood is that the dramatic scenes does not give much emotions. So the brutal action scenes is the reason you want to see this film. Director Adrian Grunberg ( who directed the Mel Gibson film Get The Gringo ) have made sure that Rambo fans will feel at home, who clearly focused on telling a brutal story. Not the best sequel of the Rambo franchise, but still an entertaining film for fans of this iconic character. Go see this film folks in cinema, a popcorn delight. Stallone still got it, and i have a feeling he will return in more action films.

Rating: DDD