Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

Movie Info

This resort’s all inclusive human trafficking excursion is really authentic!

John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is trying to put his past behind him and living in southern Arizona with his niece Gabriela (Yvette Monreal).  When his niece goes to find her missing father Manuel (Marco de la O) in Mexico with the help of her friend Gizelle (Fenessa Pineda), she disappears.  Now, Rambo must rescue her and she is deep in the Mexican human trafficking trade…he must wage a war to retrieve her.

Directed by Adrian Grünberg, Rambo:  Last Blood is an action-adventure thriller.  Following Rambo in 2008, the film is the fifth entry in the Rambo series.  It was released to mostly negative reviews and criticism for using stereotypes and xenophobia (criticisms also used against previous entries).

The first Rambo was an interesting look at a post-Vietnam War world where veterans were not receiving the necessary care or attention they deserved after suffering extreme trauma.  The films after First Blood made Rambo an American superhero (which doesn’t seem to fit with the branding of the first film).  Rambo:  Last Blood (along with Rambo) seems to have the same crisis of identity…who is John Rambo?  Due to aspects of the story, a ******spoiler alert****** exists for the rest of the review.

Nope…this is not the last blood…this is just the middle blood

Rambo:  Last Blood easily could have been Taken with Sylvester Stallone.  It has a bit of the same premise, and Stallone approaches Rambo in a similar way as Neeson in the start…it then goes Rambo.  Unlike Taken where the rescue is clean ends positively, Rambo:  Last Blood’s rescue gets messy and deadly.  It then becomes a story of revenge and retribution…it is unsurprising and sloppy but short.

Stallone looks old…it is ok because he’s supposed to be old and tired, but it also doesn’t work because he doesn’t move like an old man.  He is up to his old deadly Home Alone tricks in the last act and it is what you’d expect and only is sweaty from running around underground.  Unfortunately, the movie is all about Rambo and it feels like the other characters need development.  First Blood worked because Brian Dennehy was a good foil.  This Rambo is more personal (like the first film) so it would have been nice to have a better “villain” to have him take on.

Hey, what’s an action cliche I can do to finish this movie…beating heart? Check!!!

1980s Rambo pushed the violence, and it is even more amplified here.  The blood really flies (along with the heads, limbs, etc.).  It is a real bloodbath and it is kind of amazing that it is even R-Rated.  It honestly is too easy in the end.  It is obvious that there is going to be more of a showdown with the final guy Hugo (played by Sergio Peris-Mencheta) but still Rambo kills everyone rather simply (and the final death is more laughable than it is dramatic…it is more of a parody than Hot Shots).

I didn’t thing Rambo:  Last Blood was anything great, but it also wasn’t as bad as you’d expect (though completely underdeveloped reporter storyline felt as gutted as some of Rambo’s victims).  It is what you want and does feel like a throwback to the old action films that made Stallone a star.  It isn’t much of a character development for Rambo himself, but it does feel big, bold, and ridiculous (as it should).  Maybe Rambo still has a Rambo:  Last Blood Part II in him still (but hopefully not…besides, they already did a montage).

Related Links:

First Blood (1982)

Rambo:  First Blood Part II (1985)

Rambo III (1988)

Rambo (2008)