Rambo: Last Blood

Action (and violence) filled sequel (and likely last) in the Rambo franchise. Not nearly as good as First Blood or Rambo (2008), but still darkly entertaining flick with another solid performance from Stallone who thankfully hasn't gone into the lazy realm like Steven Seagal. There are some plot contrivances one has to get past but still enjoyed this entry and it is one insane of an ending. **3.75/5**

_**Rambo goes to Mexico**_ Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has been living on the family ranch in southern Arizona for the last ten years. When his niece (Yvette Monreal) goes missing across the border he has to fight a cartel of thugs to get her back. Paz Vega is on hand as a helpful journalist. “Rambo: Last Blood” (2019) is the fifth and probably last of the Rambo franchise since Stallone was 72 during filming. While the plot is simple, with elements bringing to mind “One-Eyed Jacks” (1961) and “Conan the Barbarian” (1982), the film is a worthy addition to the series, albeit not quite as good as the previous one. It provides what fans look for in a Rambo flick: A one-man-army situation with a noble cause and plenty of brutal action. While criticized for being “racist,” it’s no more racist than the other Rambo flicks. “Last Blood” never for a second suggests that ALL Mexicans are evil any more than ALL cops, Vietnamese, Afghans and Siamese were evil in the four previous films. Speaking of which, for me, this installment places third after “First Blood” (1982) and “Rambo IV” (2008). The movie runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. There’s also an Extended Cut that runs 12 minutes longer. GRADE: B

The _Rambo_ franchise underwent a massive change after the first movie, and that new direction has stuck with the series ever since they put _Rambo_ in the title. But even all the way back in First Blood, John Rambo's actions seemed to have always been fuelled by desperation. In _Last Blood_ however, Rambo's actions are calculated, and personal. It's something I'd never really considered before, but I actually don't like this direction for the character. It's not that it doesn't make sense, because it does, just personally I preferred when Rambo was surviving the bad world that was happening to him, not creating it. 2008's _Rambo_ was over the top and its very existence seemed bizarre, but it also felt like John Rambo "came full circle" as it were, which sort of justified that existence. _Last Blood_ doesn't really feel like it re-opened or closed any circle. It kind of feels like an episode of a long-running show I haven't watched the last 10+ seasons of. Stallone seems to think he'll be getting a _Rambo 6_ where he's on a Rez, if that's the plan, why bother calling this one "_Last Blood_", and if it's not the case, why make this movie that starts and ends like it's supposed to slot in between other pieces of a story we haven't gotten yet? End of the day, _Last Blood_ was okay. A low point for the series, arguably even the lowest, but it was a franchise that has always been at least a little enjoyable, so that's not too harsh a burn. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

This (so called) Movie is just a waste of time. Seems more like a "Build the Wall" advertisment. Did Trump finance this?

So I'm going ahead and giving this 10 out of 10 stars, not because I think it deserves it, but because there is a 1 star review entitled "White Supremacy is Cancer" and that seems to be the concept of a LOT of negative reviews. However, I have actually seen it and I can 100% guarantee that it has NOTHING to do with the content of those reviews. None of that is mentioned or implied. HOWEVER, there are negative reviews that ultimately say that this is NOT a Rambo film... and that is fair. If you compare it to Rambo First Blood Part II, III, and Rambo the 1 star reviews make sense. It is not at all like 2-4... so if you are expecting a Rambo like the sequels you're probably not going to like it... but you are probably not going to like it for entirely fair reasons. I won't fault you for that negative review. It's a lot more like the first film. More like Rambo First Blood... only instead of the military it's a drug cartel and instead of chasing Rambo he's... kind of... chasing them.... kind of... for revenge. Like all the other Rambo movies, it's formulaic. Once more we start off with Rambo trying to get out of the business, and this time he has gotten out and been adopted as an "Uncle" by a Latino family. And to follow the formula, like in the Godfather, he gets pulled back in. This time the daughter of said Latino family leaves to track down her family, goes to cartel occupied Mexico, and gets promptly kidnapped, sending Rambo on a blood crazed path to get her back and deliver vengeance on the cartels. Unlike the sequels, however, it's a little more of a slow burner. It takes a little more time to set up the characters, it takes a little more time to set up the plot and the relationships, and (shockingly given that in most of the Rambo films the enemy is almost faceless he's so under-developed) it actually takes a little time to set up the heavy as well. And in the end there is a lot of killing, a lot of elderly action, and ultimately a lot of fun... but what there is not a lot of is political messaging... because, at it's heart, it's just another action movie. Which leads me to the third type of negative review... the reviews critical of it being an action movie... those I don't understand... It's a Rambo movie, you know exactly what it is... and action movie... so what kind of film did they think they were going to see?

There is something a little "True Grit" about this - not because the script is good; nor the scenery, score or acting - but that a star is daring to look old and "lived-in" and for that Stallone deserves praise. The film itself is a very slow burn as it focusses initially on the activities of his feisty but naive neice 'Gabriela" (Yvette Monreal) as she gets embroiled with a Mexican drug/whoring cartel that means he has to go risk life and limb to recover her and fend off their pursuers. It's all a bit too procedural, though the last 20 minutes or so do bring back a bit of the gung-ho flair of their predecessors with loads of pyrotechnics and bodies flying. It is short and sweet but I'm sure I'll never remember it.