When I heard they were going to make another Rambo movie, I was quite intrigued as I am a big fan of this character and all the movies in the franchise. When it premiered yesterday, I was having a bit of a challenge to see in my favorite theater with Dolby Atmos system due to the traffic condition. But as I did not have info on whether the movie had that specific sound effects, I opted to see it in the theater nearest to our home. My wife was supposed to accompany me, but she did not feel well at the last minute so I went to see it by myself. Anyway, let's go straight to the movie now.
Brief Story Line
Set many years after the event of the last movie, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone - Creed 2, Escape Plan: The Extractors etc) was leading a peaceful life in a ranch with an old woman named Maria (Adriana Barazza) and her teenage granddaughter Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal). Occasionally Rambo also become a volunteer when required.
When something awful was about to happen to Gabrielle in Mexico, Rambo did not hesitate to go there and used all his previous experience and skills to save her. Even if he had to fight against an army of dangerous Mexican cartel gang led by Martinez brothers Hugo (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and Vito (Óscar Jaenada). There was also the mysterious woman (Paz Vega - The Spirit, Spanglish etc) who seemed to take an interest on the Martinez.
So what would happen to Rambo and Gabrielle? Find them all in this action thriller movie.
End of Brief Story Line
The last Rambo movie that I saw with my wife was the 2008 version which was full of action and very gore to our surprise. So I was half expecting this one to be the same as well. But it turned out to be a different style of action. It might not have the full action like in Rambo 2, 3 or 4 but its actions (especially the climax scenes) were still awesomely done and violent too. So bloody that one or two scenes were cut by the Indonesian censorship body.
I have mentioned above that I am a fan of Rambo. The first movie that I saw was Rambo: First Blood Part II which I saw in the theater with my older brother and father. It was the first one man army film which I experienced and loved growing up. I loved that movie so much that I had a poster of Rambo holding his bazooka. There were of course other one man army movies during the late 1980s and early 1990s as it was quite a popular theme, with stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Dudikoff, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and many more, but this one remained one of my most favorite.
While I was seeing this fifth film, I could not help to feel that it was a bit similar to the original movie First Blood as it was not full action from start to finish, but it had some elements of drama. And specifically Rambo only did his thing when he was pushed to the corner and had no other choice but to fight using the only way he knew. Due to this reason, there were not a lot of spectacular actions. The sound effects were not bad in the studio I saw this, though I would have liked it even more if I saw it in Dolby Atmos theater. When I saw the closing credits, I noticed that it indeed has Dolby Atmos sound effects. Too bad the cinema website did not have this information available. Oh the early part of the closing credit had some great footage which fans of Rambo would have loved (like I did), but there was no mid or post end credit scenes.
The story here was a bit heavy and Rambo's struggle as a war veteran to become a normal person was apparent. The character of young & innocent Gabrielle was very nicely portrayed by Yvette Monreal which made us understand the affection Rambo had on her. There were also other characters appearing in the movie with the two actors portraying Martinez brothers in particular were amazing, as we really felt they were so evil and deserve punishment from Rambo. However I thought Paz Vega's character here was not too impressive and had very little impact. I do not need to say anything about Stallone as he seemed to be born for this role (especially as he had been playing it for > 20 years).
The way I see it, I think this movie is really suitable as a final conclusion in the Rambo series. Even the title had the words Last Blood which I thought was proper finale of First Blood. And I personally felt the ending was nice enough without having any new fights for Rambo. But, Hollywood always had a way of reviving old franchise to make more money. Stallone himself already said that he might make a 6th Rambo film if this one is successful enough.
Overall I thought this was a nice enough conclusion of Rambo series. I pretty much enjoyed it and would be more entertained if it had a little bit more of the actions. So if you are fans of Rambo, definitely a must see, but please do not expect this to be a full action movie like in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th Rambo. With the violence and harsh languages in here, it is definitely more suitable for adults. In any case, Rambo might be a character that mostly only grown ups would know, especially since the last movie in the series was more than a decade ago. If you like the kind of action movie with nice story and drama, having a satisfying climax then go for it. Even if you have not seen any of Rambo movies before, this one could be enjoyed as a standalone film.
Happy watching!
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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