Rambo: Last Blood Should’ve Kept the End of this Franchise back in 2008 Grade: D+

Source: IMDB

For the last couple days, I’ve watched the entire Rambo film series, to prepare myself for the finale. Of course Rambo is no comparison to the Rocky franchise, but somehow Stallone’s dedication to this character keeps me coming back for more. First Blood is no question the best film of the series, while Rambo 3 is the weakest film of the franchise. I felt the previous film titled Rambo... Was a perfectly fine film and a proper send off for this beloved character. Which has me questioning... Why does Rambo: Last Blood even exist?! I just don’t see the purpose in this creation, considering fans and even some critics kind of dig Rambo, don’t you want your franchise to end on a high note?! Anyways Rambo: Last Blood takes place in Arizona, where former military vet John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) now currently resides. His niece Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal) disobeys Rambo, by traveling to Mexico to visit her father, whom had abandoned her as a child. Gabrielle’s drink was spiked, as now traffickers use her for sex trafficking. Rambo finds out as he hopes to find his niece and seek revenge on those whom used her daughter for this despicable act. I didn’t care for the Cinematography much at all, it felt like I was rewatching 2019’s Miss Bala at times. Especially the club scenes, beat for beat it looks exactly the same from Miss Bala. I think one factor that bothered me the most was the close up shots... I felt most of these shots didn’t need a close up at all, pull the camera back please. The Score was forgettable. The cast in this film was below mediocrity. Sylvester Stallone reprising his role as John Rambo was just ok. At times it didn’t feel I was watching John Rambo on screen, it felt like I was watching Rocky. Maybe because Rambo this time around doesn’t have the signature long hair and bandana, I mean if you can’t get into full character with Rambo then why do it again?! Some moments in Stallone’s performance was laughably bad, the lack of chemistry with him and Yvette was unbarring. But there is moments where you can see effort putting into this performance, where it can be fine to watch Stallone in this performance. One thing is for sure: Without Stallone, the entire cast is doomed. I don’t really have much else to say about the cast, I didn’t like any performance at all other than some of Stallone’s. So there is a couple things I do like about this film. Like Rambo, I appreciate the fact this film took risks as it doesn’t hold itself back. Some moments and images were kind of disturbing, leaving the audience uncomfortable in a couple moments. I guess the final act was kind of entertaining. It’s just Rambo brutally murdering his enemies, with traps he laid out in his farm house... That was fun. Other than that this film still felt unneeded and pointless. Besides the final act the film was boring at times, also felt completely rushed. I mean this is our final goodbye with Rambo, why is everything done so quick and snappy?! It just feels like a bs story getting made up quickly, so they can make a quick buck off the Rambo name, feels kind of cynical to me and is not the Stallone way either. Also there is this random journalist character, that comes up a couple times... Do we really needed this character to come back a second time?! Also what bothers me about this film, is Rambo coming back to America for years now, still not knowing that hospitals exist... I mean your niece isn’t feeling well, why didn’t you stop at a hospital?! You can argue why it had to be this way, but I rather it be done at a hospital, where Rambo made an effort to get her niece the proper care she needed. At least this film wasn’t the worst of the franchise, but still you just feel confused as to why this was made in the first place... It’s 2019, anything goes I guess. Overall, Rambo: Last Blood wasn’t a good movie nor a proper send off for this beloved character. I guess wait till this hits on a streaming service, I wouldn’t rent this if I were you. -Mitch Smietana