Rated: R18+
Directed by: Adrian Grunberg
Screenplay by: Matthew Cirulnick & Sylvester Stallone
Story by: Sylvester Stallone
Based on: The Character Created by: David Morrell
Produced by: Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, Yariv Lerner, Les Weldon
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Adrianna Barraza, Yvette Monreal, Genie Kim aka Yenah Han, Joaquin Cosio, and Oscar Jaenada.
Rambo: Last Blood isn’t the past coming back to haunt – although Rambo is now suffering from severe PTSD – this final instalment (the sixth in the series) is more a classic revenge film with lots of blood and guts and yes, there’s a broken bone through the skin moment for all those fans who remember, First Blood. A moment I’ll never forget from way back in 1982.
Here, we have the opening on a big storm, a big man, on a big horse. It doesn’t take long to realise there’s going to be some kitschy moments in this action flick; the dramatic moments highlighted by the over-emotive soundtrack (to make up for the drama completely missing the mark, again and again). It never works.
And when there’s a, ‘Hey mister – thanks,’ in the first ten minutes, there’s always cause for concern.
Yet, Last Blood wasn’t all bad.
Coming home to the ranch we have Maria (Adriana Barraza) – the grandmother of sweet-but-growing-up and Rambo’s niece, Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal) – who gives the tone of the film some warmth with gems like, ‘You’re not in the war anymore. Only in your head.’
And the travelling to Mexico changes the pace of the film where Rambo meets some super bad-ass guys leading to hammer wielding Rambo action that sits up and gets the adrenaline running through the old fella’s veins again.
Sylvester returning as John Rambo looks more monster than man, the visage used as a mask while he’s ‘just trying to keep a lid on it,’ the ‘it’ his soul-destroying rage.
‘You like digging and you’re a little crazy,’ says his niece but really adopted daughter, Gabrielle. She gets it.
Instead of heading into cheesy territory, the film gets bloody with some dark nasty moments involving forced prostitution and drugs and of course, revenge.
It’s all just so serious, Rambo is so serious that there’s moments I just had to laugh to relieve the tension. But it wasn’t even tension, more that Rambo was acting traumatised but not quite hitting the right tone.
So, some of the film worked with some surprising action. And some of the dramatic didn’t, ultimately leaving a feeling of the film being self-indulgent.