Rambo: Last Blood

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Roughly ten years after the events of 2008’s Rambo, John Rambo (played yet again by Sylvester Stallone) has lived a quiet and peaceful life. A teenage girl he shares a bond with finds herself in deep trouble, Rambo soon finds himself drawn back into a world of blood and revenge. From a performance standpoint, this actually might be the best that Stallone has been as Rambo since First Blood. Here, Rambo’s an older man who has finally found the quiet he has been seeking for so long, even though we can clearly see he’s still somewhat haunted by events from his past. The action is visceral. It’s not as gratuitous as it is in 2008’s Rambo, but it’s still pretty gnarly, and I kind of love that about this film. The villains aren’t super strong. They feel more like they are cannon fodder than anything else. But, I don’t really have an issue with that in this film. The film is really short, clocking in around 89 minutes. I’m of two minds on this. On one hand, I’m glad this isn’t 2 and a half hours (which it easily could have been). On the other hand, there are points where I feel like the movie wants to get to certain places. I think this movie could have been 10 minutes longer, and I would have been OK with that. That way, there are points that don’t feel rushed, but then the movie isn’t so long it wears out its welcome. Overall, Rambo: Last Blood is actually a really solid action sequel. Whether or not this is truly the Last Blood, I have no idea. But, I had a really good time with this film. 

8 / 10