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Movie review: Stallone goes over the top with the gore in 'Rambo: Last Blood'

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Fred Hawson

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/09/24/rambo.jpg"/><figcaption>Sylvester Stallone is back as John Rambo in &#x27;Rambo: Last Blood&#x27;</figcaption></figure></div><p>Rambo is an iconic film character portrayed by Sylvester Stallone in the film &quot;First Blood&quot; (Ted Kotcheff, 1982). An American soldier who trained in the US Army Special Forces, he became a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, but was able to escape. Back in the US, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and became a homeless drifter. There he caught the attention and ire of yokel authorities, which caused Rambo to use his combat skills to retaliate.</p><p>For that auspicious film, Rambo became a film franchise spawning a number of sequels (in 1985, 1988 and 2008). This current film &quot;Rambo: Last Blood&quot; (in a rather cheesy reference to the title of the original film) is the fifth of the series. </p><p>John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is now back working in his father&#x27;s horse ranch in Arizona, where he lived with housekeeper Maria Beltran (Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal). Against everyone&#x27;s advice, Gabrielle went off by herself across the border to Mexico to locate and confront her estranged father Miguel. </p><p>Unfortunately, after being rejected by her father, she was abducted for human trafficking by the mericless Martinez brothers (Sergio Peris-Mencheta as Hugo, and Óscar Jaenada as Victor) and their gang. When Rambo got wind of this news from Mexican journalist Carmen (Paz Vega), he stopped at nothing to get Gabrielle back.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YPuhNtG47M0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>This Rambo barely had anything to do with his experiences in Southeast Asia at all, maybe except for his background in guerrilla warfare. At least the first sequels still had scenes in Vietnam (in &quot;Rambo 2&quot;), Thailand (in &quot;Rambo 3&quot;) and Myanmar (in &quot;Rambo 4&quot;). But this current one just shuttled back and forth from Arizona to Mexico in a by-numbers generic rescue-revenge story we had already seen countless times in forgettable B-grade action films, several of which actually starred Stallone. </p><p>At the start, Stallone&#x27;s Rambo had already mellowed down with age and contentment. However, when someone he valued got into danger, he just had to go out there in Mexico&#x27;s wild wild west, and rescue her all by himself. </p><p>Stallone can practically do these projects blindfolded already. He&#x27;s got his droopy sad eyes going during the quiet dramatic scenes of loss, and his angry game face during the violent action scenes. Stallone was the only non-Latino in this film, and with all those Mexicans he massacred single-handedly, this could be seen as a strong political statement for those with a certain mindset.</p><p>After the slow build-up, the much-awaited &quot;Rambo-style&quot; action scenes only began in the last 20 minutes of the film. And wow, did Stallone and director Adrian Grunberg go all the way out for them! His trusty survival knives would not be missing in action as they (along with various other traditional or improvised weapons) were used numerous times to impale, maim, dismember, behead and eviscerate various human targets. Fiery explosive booby traps and a labyrinth of caves under his father&#x27;s ranch were also there to rack the excitement level up several notches. </p><p>While some may decry this part for being too over-the-top with slasher-type gore, they can definitely satiate the bloodlust of Rambo&#x27;s rabid fans.</p><p>This review was originally published in the author&#x27;s blog, &quot;<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2019/09/review-of-rambo-last-blood-rabid-revenge.html">Fred Said</a>.&quot;</p>

<p>This current film "Rambo: Last Blood" (in a rather cheesy reference to the title of the original film) is the fifth of the series. </p>

This current film "Rambo: Last Blood" (in a rather cheesy reference to the title of the original film) is the fifth of the series.