Rambo: Last Blood seems like a fitting end to a much-loved, explosive series
The simplistic plot provides the filmmakers the opportunity to beef up the film with explosive action set-pieces
The Rambo series holds a special place in the heart of movie-lovers (particularly those who grew up in the 80’s) which is perhaps something modern audiences will never be able to fully grasp. Looking at the Rambo offerings now, you wouldn’t be remiss to think of them as the barely scripted, cartoonishly-violent and dated action movies that they are.
How dated you ask? Well, one of them is set during the Soviet-Afghan war and involves Rambo going to Afghanistan to train the mujahedeen.
Despite three sequels that got gradually worse with each instalment though, the appeal of seeing a jacked Sylvester Stallone with his signature bandana pumping bullet into bad guys was enough to attract audiences. It is perhaps this very appeal that the suits at Hollywood are trying to cash-in on with Rambo: Last Blood, the upcoming and final instalment of the series.
The recently released trailer gives us a taste of what to expect from the movie. The film picks up a few years after the events of the previous film, 2008’s John Rambo and finds Rambo living a quiet life in Arizona. His only past-times being working on a ranch and drinking alcohol to cope with his PTSD. However, after he learns that his friend’s daughter has gone missing in Mexico, he finds himself south of the border stepping back into the mantle of the gun-toting vigilante to take on a ruthless drug cartel that may be involved in her disappearance.
The trailer itself mostly gives us glimpses of the action scenes that will undoubtedly be the highlight of the movie, and adds in a few ominous voice-overs of Stallone himself that give you enough of an indication that this will indeed be the last film of the series.
The plot of Last Blood seems eerily similar to the Mel Gibson action flick Blood Father from 2016 and perhaps even shares resemblance to the Taken template of kidnapping-action movies, but let’s not forget that Rambo movies have almost never been about the plot. And in this case the simplistic plot may actually provide the filmmakers the opportunity to beef up the film with action set-pieces, which have always been the hallmark of the series.
Judging by the trailer the film is bound to have some explosive set-pieces (literally) which should be enough of a selling point for any action movie fan. But besides that, Stallone is also expected to have the bulk of the screen-time which means he will have every opportunity to deliver the swansong performance that every fan expects him to deliver.
Directed by Adrian Grunberg, who previously directed Get the Gringo, the film features a mostly unknown cast of actors but fans of the franchise can take reassurance in the fact that the script has been penned by Stallone himself along with writer Matthew Cirulnick, which means he will at least be ending the series on his own terms.
Rambo: Last Blood is set to release on the September 20, 2019.
All photos: screenshots
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