Rambo - Last Blood (film) : So much better than I expected it to be

I admit, when i saw this was going to be released I felt pretty much the same way as everyone else. However, then the media made some sort of negative reference to the film and mentioned conservatives and Trump and I was thinking: "Well now I have to go see it!"

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The movie carries on about as you would expect with a Rambo film: The story isn't near as important as the action is - and the action is just fantastic.

Stallone does the same thing that he has always done with Rambo: Sly plays him as a recluse introvert with mad military skills (and a touch of PTSD) that really just wants to be left alone.

The opening sequence shows him helping out with some rescue operation during a flash flood and this is actually the only bad part of the film... I am not really certain why this was included in the movie because it has nothing to do with the rest of the movie and none of the people invovled (other than Rambo) ever appear in the film again. UPDATE - it later occurred to me that this sequence actually isn't in the North American version of the film

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John Rambo's fury has to be brought on by something and this time around it was the abduction of his "daughter" that is actually not related to him, but he sees her as family. This is not a spoiler - if you have half a brain it was pretty easy to deduce that this was exactly what was going to happen. Through some various things that involve Mexico (intentionally being vague) he goes all "Rambo" on them.

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In the prior Rambo film that took place in Burma, Stallone was going for the "highest body count ever in a film" and it was precisely for that reason that I thought that movie was dumb. In Last Blood, it isn't the amount of kills, but the variety in how the victims are dispatched that is so fun. If you can imagine a weapon, it was used and of course the famous bow and arrow scene has to be in there.

_{From the official Lionsgate channel}

After the film's release - right on cue, the SJW's came out of the woodwork to attempt to ruin all the fun in the world. They accused Stallone of creating a stereotype of Mexicans as criminals. Critics were panning the film because of xenophobia and racism. I wasn't even going to go see the movie until this nonsense was in the news.

It's a movie you jagoffs! We are supposed to have the baddies be as despicable as possible - it wasn't a friggin documentary about the entire country of Mexico. They didn't have a problem with Vietnamese, Thai, Russian, or Burmese people being depicted in this way.

Sometimes I feel as though a lot of this social justice commentary actually gets put out there by the studios that made the film, so the controversy will create free advertising for the film.

This is honestly the only reason (well, that and the fact that mid-week films are $2.50) that I went to see this in a theater but man am I glad that i did. If you don't enjoy gratuitous violence and gruesome kill scenes this is definitely not the movie for you.

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There are subtitles for the Spanish parts, but to be honest they kind of need subtitles for a lot of what Stallone says - that dude can't enunciate. I suppose it doesn't really matter because the story is pretty weak but i would say it is some of the best action I have seen in any of the Rambo films. I fully expected this to be a "meh" experience but if the opportunity arose to go see it again... i probably would.

Just for the people around my age, there is a "Rambo Montage" at the end of the film that will make you feel old... added bonus.