Last Blood is suggestive of the fact that the era of this formidable action hero is over finally after the release of the 5th title. And there really is the limit, one should not put it down as a failure. The 73-year old action hero couldn’t do much more than he did for you guys.
John Rambo finally retires to his remote ranch and keeps himself busy training mustangs. Most of the time he is seen eating pancakes in the breakfast. Considering the action, it doesn’t really manage to impress this time and but the counter-argument could be, what else could you anticipate from Sylvester Stallone considering his age.
Rambo at a Glance from the First Blood to the Last Blood
1982, First Blood featured John Rambo, went through traumatic turmoil in Vietnam. The release was a major hit and people loved the odd-accent of the angry young Sly Stallone. 1985, the 2nd part of the First Blood saw Rambo out of the prison only to return to Vietnam looking to hunt down the American POWs.
This was arguably the most politically motivated theme. Rambo is there to teach the POWs a lesson who, according to the script, slaughtered Vietnamese as well as Soviets to appease the myth propagated by the American Right-Wing.
Just like a sporting event returns after a few years, World Cup, for instance, Rambo once more returned after 3 years gap. Rambo III (1988) depicted Afghanistan in an attempt to rescue his mentor who served the Soviet prison.
Then there was a long gap of exactly two decades. Nobody expected Rambo to make a comeback but he did in 2008. Rambo (2008) aka Rambo 4 return to hit hard on Burmese warlord. The objective in this part was to fee missionaries. For one more decade, Rambo was put to rest but it seems as if Stallone wanted to give it a final go. It just feels like the return of the Undertaker to WWE whenever fans start to think that the Dead Man is now too old to on the challenge.
The script of Rambo: Last Blood is the combined effort of Stallone and Grunberg. The co-writer is also the director of the movie. This is by no means a rescue mission nor is there a political ideology to negate. Rambo seems lost here, he is not even fighting for his country. He doesn’t even seem to demonstrate any hint of patriotism. This release makes us believe that Rambo is spilling blood just because it pleases him or there is some personal motive. Rambo once uttered that once you are pushed into it, killing becomes as easy as breathing. Perhaps the Last Blood proves him right.
America went through a lot of things from the late 70s to 2005. There was enough to depict in an action movie. But these days, things are moving more towards peacemaking and it is good to realize. Perhaps this is the reason why Rambo: Last Blood lost its track. Yes, there are revels and Rambo favors them against the genocidal regime but this time he doesn’t seem as American-centric as he used to be.
Rambo: Last Blood – The Plot
As simple as it could be – the plot features Rambo’s granddaughter, a teenager named Gabrielle. Though Uncle John tries to contain her Gabrielle decides to enter Mexico to find his father who abandoned the family after abusing Gabrielle’s mother. But she finds herself kidnapped, drugged, and then pushed into sexual slavery which is worse than prostitution.
Rambo makes the first attempt but fails and it encourages the pimps to treat Gabrielle in an even harsh manner. The second attempt was successful but Gabrielle is too sick to return back alive. The rest of the plot features killing becoming a hobby and the enemies keep getting killed one by one. In one scene, Rambo pulls out the still-beating heart of the victim to show him while he is still alive.
Is there a political message in Rambo: Last Blood?
The decision of the Mexican Wall from Trump administration might well be the motivation here but it isn’t significantly depicted in this plot. It doesn’t go beyond the armed pimps. The heavy-weights of the drug mafia are not even touched.
What is Rambo: Last Blood All About?
Perhaps the script cared more about crafting ways of torturous killings. In one scene, Rambo digs his thumb, into the shoulder of his victim, with such a force that it peels the clavicle up out and then there is a snap. He detaches the head of a victim and tosses it as he drives the vehicle.
He cuts off feet, impales his victims on spikes, and rams spears through heads, slashes the skulls, and tears up the bodies giving way to the bloodstream, and nails his victims against the arrows along the wall. Well, this is all about Rambo: Last Blood. The demonstration of absolute rough killing in an as torturous manner as the special effects could depict.
One thought on “Rambo: Last Blood – A Far Cry from the Once-Blockbuster”