The only problem with this approach is the character's Rambo ending was perfect, as noted by Stallone himself. While none of these sequels resembled Rambo: First Blood, they still couldn’t have prepared viewers for the failures of Rambo: Last Blood.Īdvertised as Rambo’s final outing, Rambo: Last Blood necessarily had to undo the ending of Rambo to start the sequel’s action. This then led to Rambo III, wherein Rambo fights in the Soviet/Afghan war, and 2008’s belated sequel Rambo, wherein he saved Christian missionaries held captive in Burma. No longer an anti-war protest movie, Rambo: First Blood Part II was a gory, jingoistic fantasy wherein Rambo returned to Vietnam, saved secret POWs whose existence the government had covered up, and single-handedly wiped out the Russian and Vietnamese armies. However, after the sleeper hit success of Rambo: First Blood, the franchise changed tack entirely. Rambo: First Blood showed a lot of compassion toward its troubled antihero, but made it clear that Rambo was struggling to adjust to civilian life because of the atrocities he took part in while serving in the military.

In the modest, tonally dark original movie, Rambo: First Blood, John Rambo was a Vietnam War veteran who ended up in a bloody stand-off with a corrupt small-town sheriff's department upon his return to the US.

The Rambo franchise had a fascinating history that repeatedly redefined the role of its central antihero. While Rambo: Last Blood didn’t completely bomb at the box office, the Rambo sequel was comfortably the worst movie in the series.

Books by david morrell