‘They drew first blood. He will draw last.’
Rambo: Last Blood is a 2009 American action-thriller film in which John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) must confront his past and unearth his ruthless combat skills to exact revenge in a final mission.
Directed by Adrian Grunberg (Get the Gringo) from a screenplay co-written by Matthew Cirulnick (Absentia series; Paid in Full) and Sylvester Stallone, the movie stars the latter alongside Paz Vega (Demon Inside), Óscar Jaenada and Louis Mandylor.
This is the fifth film in the franchise that began with First Blood (1982), followed by Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988) and Rambo (2008).
Reviews:
“If you’re not the kind of person who wants to weep with joy at the sight of Rambo tooling up, firing a bow, or rigging booby traps, then the film really isn’t for you, but if you’re after a solid display of carnage from a character you love, then there’s plenty on offer.” Duncan Bowles, Den of Geek!
” …riddled with narrative flab, risible speechifying, wild plot conveniences (Paz Vega plays a journalist whose One Job is to keep Rambo on the right track with the investigation), routine action filmmaking (everything is hammered home by Brian Tyler’s wall-to-wall score) and a caricatured, xenophobic attitude to Mexicans…” Ian Freer, Empire
“There are simply too many empty sections that were clearly intended to have had more designed. The writing is awful even for the standards of mindless action flicks. It abruptly ends out of nowhere, but that actually might be the best thing about the movie.” Robert Kodjer, Flickering Myth
” …cringemakingly written and clunkily directed, and even the final action sequence runs out of steam after a minute or so. Of course, other dramas are arguably vulnerable to the charge of demonising Mexico […] but they are thrillers composed with satirical brilliance and icy power. It is the streak of flabby sentimental self-importance that makes Rambo: Last Blood unwatchable.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
” …the screenplay, co-written by Stallone and Matthew Cirulnick, feels utterly tossed-off and generic, more resembling the pilot for a Rambo television series than a proper sendoff. Dirty Harry got a more dignified farewell in The Dead Pool, and that movie featured a chase involving a toy car.” Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
“People give horror a hard time because of all the slicing, dicing, arterial spray and virgins in peril, but in nearly every instance, we are meant to recoil at the violence. In this film, we are meant to celebrate it […] a MAGA fantasy come to vivid, bloody fruition.” Hope Madden, MaddWolf
“When the baddies arrive, a sequence begins that’s straight out of Home Alone, if in that heartwarming Christmas classic, Kevin McCallister had brutally murdered more than 20 people […] makes the movie worthwhile. The rest could do without all the talking, emotions and hackneyed backstory.” Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post
” …mostly comes off as a tone-deaf attempt to not only keep the Rambo franchise going but also make it socially relevant. Those who are just in it for the mindless violence will get their fix from Last Blood, but it’s still disappointing.” Sandy Schaeffer, Screen Rant
“In Rambo: Last Blood — another cruel and ugly showcase of xenophobic carnage squeezed into barely 80 minutes and packaged for export — the tired, now-septuagenarian action figure turns his notorious sense of loathe-thy-neighbor vengeance toward the Mexican cartels…” Peter Debruge, Variety
Release:
Rambo: Last Blood was released worldwide from 19 September 2019 onwards with Lionsgate handling the US release on 20th.
Box office:
As of October 6th, Rambo: Last Blood had taken $39.82 domestically and $64 million globally. With a reported budget of $50 million, this means the movie is probably not going to recoup its overall production and advertising costs. So, no more Rambo movies!
Cast and characters:
- Sylvester Stallone … Rambo
- Paz Vega … Carmen Delgado
- Óscar Jaenada … Victor Martinez
- Louis Mandylor … Sheriff
- Joaquín Cosio
- Sergio Peris-Mencheta … Hugo Martínez
- Adriana Barraza … Maria Beltran
- Yvette Monreal … Gabrielle
- Jessica Madsen
- Marco de la O … Miguel
- Sheila Shah … Alejandra
- Díana Bermudez … Juanita
- Atanas Srebrev … American Merc
- Dimitri ‘Vegas’ Thivaios
- Manuel Uriza … Sergio
- Nick Wittman … Jimmy
- Rick Zingale … Don Miguel
- Owen Davis … Rescue Worker
- Aaron Cohen … State Police Captain
Filming locations:
Bulgaria
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
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