"Rambo: Last Blood" Movie Review

Sylvester Stallone may be in his 70s, but he's still got it. Rambo: Last Blood put his perseverance to the test and he succeeded. The film was a fine addition to the franchise. First Blood will always be the best of the series, but Last Blood certainly rose above all the other entries, bringing back the emotion that the series lost along the way.

The film follows John Rambo, who has finally settled down on a ranch in Arizona. He and his (step)neice Gabriella have grown close over the years, bonding over Rambo's horses. When she leaves the ranch for Mexico to find her father who ran out on her when she was little, she finds herself drugged and kidnapped by sex traffickers. Now, Rambo will stop at nothing to get her back and take revenge on the men who have hurt her.

As I said before, the film brought back the emotion, but the thing that made it rich was that it wasn't rehashed from before. For example, at the end of First Blood, in a truly heartbreaking scene, Rambo talks about war and how he can't get the images out of his head, how it haunts him day after day. In this film, he talks about how he felt like his life had no meaning until he met Gabriella and had the pleasure of helping raise her. Two opposite ends of the spectrum, but two very meaningful moments in Rambo's life.

The traps Rambo set were downright impressive. This film was the most graphic Rambo film so far, but it fit with how the story flowed. It wasn't like a lot of slasher films where blood spues out of a minor wound. The realism in this film very much displayed how dangerous Rambo truly is. That's not to say that certain moments hit the borderline unrealistic, but that's also what makes Rambo such a super power. The film's story is the realistic part. The action is what we wish we could do to stop the blackhearted men of the world.

There was only one negative for me and that was the ending. There was no concrete yes or no as to whether or not a certain character lives or dies. Stallone has said that if Last Blood is successful that he'd absolutely love to make another. Let's hope there's some closure down the road.

Stick around through the first half of the credits as there's an homage to Rambo, showing highlights from all the films. I wish that "It's a Long Road" had played during the homage as a true callback to the original, but it can't be 100% perfect, right?

In conclusion, I was impressed with Last Blood. With everything that's happened with me personally lately, this film was the perfect escape that I needed. I give the film a 3.5 out of 4.