Rambo: Last Blood

The story is simple as a Justin Bieber fan, but surprisingly it does makes sense. Like the previous episodes, this is a prime Republican flick, where even the Bulgarian production background doesn't matter. And Stallone, even though he's over seventy, is still badass, he doesn't come across as over-the-top in his iconic position, and it never occurred to me while watching that he should call it a day. And many thanks for the lack of political correctness, Sly never gave a toss about that. (20/09/2019)

It’s not too surprising that Stallone has never been able to understand that he simply cannot replicate one of the greatest successes of his career. The name Rambo has very little significance in relation to one fictional character. Its cultural capital and iconic nature are derived solely from Rambo: First Blood Part II and its association with the waning days of the Cold War. Stallone’s tenacious effort to continue the franchise’s box-office success was still endearingly entertaining in the third instalment thanks to the camp dimension of that film. The fourth one was just tiresome and toxic with it old man’s stubbornness and toxic conservativeness. Because Stallone doesn’t have any sense of humour or self-reflection, the title of the parody flick Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping describes his career. Like Sly, unfortunately, some of his viewers still hope to at least dip a toe into the old waters. To this day, I still remember the wearying disappointment creeping through the screening room at the cinema. It’s true that the particular screening was on the day of the premiere as part of a double feature with the iconic First Blood Part II at the Aero cinema in Prague. The futile digital effects and the drawn-out ideologically focused melodrama about the need to protect the US southern border were downright off-putting  for the viewers looking forward to bombastic action, which finally came after 90 gruelling minutes with truly devastating sadistic explicitness, so the irritated audience welcomed it with a clamorous roar of relief. However, that doesn’t change the fact that all of the other sequels only diminish the legacy and significance of Rambo: First Blood Part II as a pop-culture milestone. On the other hand, that’s a good thing, because we now live in a different era and a different world. It’s just a shame that Stallone still doesn’t understand that. (01/10/2023)

Eighty minutes of tired old-man melancholy without a drop of action and fifteen minutes of a sped-up Home Alone ripoff. This is, in short, Rambo: Last Blood. Did anyone actually want that? After a high-quality, action-packed and especially ballbusting fourth movie, which should have ended the series with all its dignity intact, came this practically unjustifiable lullaby, built on a banal script and forced emotions for one-dimensional supporting character shoehorned into an established series, who the audience is expected to feel for. A forgettable sequel with ugly CGI effects and a picture undeserving of the character John Rambo. (13/01/2021)

I gave this a slightly higher rating because it’s just the kind of film you make a daughter watch if she refuses to do what she’s told… This brutal Rambo epilogue has a long, unsurprising exposition, a classic western structure and an aging legend that can still deliver the goods. Direct, hard-hitting. The climax in John’s tunnel of surprises is really bloody and the annihilation of the evil Mexicans is heartwarming... Hehehe. (30/11/2019)

This B-movie works thanks to nostalgia for John Rambo and Sly. And also thanks to the sufficient work with emotions (however basic they may be). Last Blood takes its time and gives plenty of space to all of its few characters in the simple story. Because of that, the climax is surprising and seems unpleasantly rushed, while lacking the energy accumulated in the build-up and coming up short with the catharsis that the film was aiming for and which should have been substantially more powerful. (08/01/2020)