Released to a vicious critical response and disappointing box-office receipts, Rambo: Last Blood (2019), the fifth, and some say last, entry in the Rambo franchise, is a challenging film.
For die-hard fans of the character who have followed the series for almost forty years, Rambo: Last Blood is not an easy pill to swallow, let alone for casual viewers who are just after a solid, old-school action movie. The John Rambo featured here is an ageing, barely functional ex-soldier, trying to keep it together and not let the PTSD get the better of him. He has a surrogate daughter in the grandchild of his family's housekeeper, and he seems to have settled down into a steady, if uneasy life. Then the girl is kidnapped, and Rambo's life takes a tragically dark turn.
Stallone, who co-produced and co-wrote, takes a huge risk with this film. It's a dark, violent, slow drama, with much less action than one would expect from this type of movie. But, ultimately, it's a hugely rewarding risk. Stallone, aided by a solid cast and steady if conventional direction by Adrian Grunberg, chooses to tell a story that no one, not even the fans, expected; a downward spiral into despair, rage, and loss. Yes, there's a satisfying final battle, with plenty of gun play and a high body count, but that's not what makes the ending pack a punch. It's the cost that Rambo has to pay for survival and revenge, which Stallone plays beautifully, using his age-ravaged, scarred, and blood-stained face to say things that can't be said with words, in one of the best performances of his career.
The final shot, and a post-credit scene, hint at what might lie ahead for Rambo. But if this is the last we see of the character, then I can honestly say that the series ends on a hard-hitting, haunting, and dignified note.
Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2019.
