So hamfisted in its set-up and so sloppy in its delivery that I couldn’t find many redeeming qualities.
In 2008, Sylvester Stallone co-wrote and directed Rambo, a film that was thought to be the final entry in the Rambo series of films. The series, which began in 1982 with First Blood, portrayed a Vietnam veteran waging a one-man war against injustice. Over the course of four films, including the 2008 entry, John Rambo fought against corrupt police, released American POWs still trapped in Vietnam, aided the mujaheddin in Afghanistan, and rescued aid workers in Burma. At the end of the last film, it was assumed that John Rambo had returned home and was putting his violent past behind him. It was a fitting end to the character. I guess we didn’t learn all we could about John Rambo because — 11 years later — Rambo: Last Blood was released for some reason.
Rambo (Stallone) is working on what used to be his father’s horse ranch in Arizona. Living with him is his father’s former housekeeper, Maria (Adriana Barraza,) and her granddaughter, Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal). Though still haunted by his experiences in Vietnam, Rambo has settled into a comfortable existence with his newly-adopted family.
As she gets ready to start college, Gabrielle is struggling with the fact that her father abandoned her and her mother without ever explaining why. She receives a call from her friend, Gizelle (Fenessa Pineda,) who lives in Mexico. Gizelle says she’s located Gabrielle’s father. Despite Rambo and Maria’s warnings not to do so, Gabrielle travels to south-of-the-border to confront her father and find out why he left.
Shortly after arriving in Mexico, however, Gabrielle is abducted by Victor and Hugo Martinez (Óscar Jaenada and Sergio Peris-Mencheta,) brothers who deal in human trafficking. Trapped in a brothel, she is drugged and forced to have sex with customers that include the local police, who are on the brothers’ payroll. Gizelle calls Maria to let her know that Gabrielle has disappeared. Rambo, fearing the worst, takes it upon himself to travel to Mexico to find her. What transpires, of course, is a eventual war between John Rambo and the evil Mexicans keeping her prisoner.
The Rambo series has never been about plausibility or reason. But this completely unnecessary entry goes beyond ridiculous even by the series’ rather laughable standards. Rambo, the character, and Sylvester Stallone are both 73 years old. Asking the audience to believe that an aging Rambo would survive direct confrontation with a small army of criminals to whom murder is part of their daily job description is just bonkers. In real life, cartels like these wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in his head and go on with their day as if nothing happened.
Even setting that issue aside, the movie is teeming with racist stereotypes, moronic dialogue, and a third act that takes direct inspiration from Home Alone. I don’t have a problem with brutally violent action movies but this one is so ham-fisted in its set-up and so sloppy in its delivery that I couldn’t find many redeeming qualities. Despite a second billing on the marquee, Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia) is given a thankless (and mostly pointless) role as an investigative journalist who aids Rambo in Mexico.
2008’s Rambo, while much more violent and over-the-top, was smarter and served as a more fitting conclusion to the series. Let’s pretend this one didn’t happen.
1.5 out of 5.0 stars
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