Inauspicious
final chapter of the Rambo franchise feels a lot like an action movie spec
script that someone figured would make a good Rambo movie, or at least would
have a better chance of getting made if re-worked to fit into an existing
franchise. The plot is a routine revenge tale in which retired, 70-ish Vietnam
vet John Rambo single-handedly takes out the entire Mexican drug cartel that
kidnapped and murdered the granddaughter of the lady who runs the Arizona ranch
on which he lives and works. Sylvester Stallone elevates the affair
significantly with a take on his iconic character that shows evolution rather
than stagnancy. I imagine it would be the easier and safer choice to have Rambo
just as scowly and inarticulate as he was in the 80s; (I almost expected him to
be introduced in a headband and oiled-up torso). Instead, this Rambo seems to
have attained some kind of tranquility with an adopted family, hardly a
mindless killing machine but a man who has genuinely learned to trust and care
for people and to open his heart. However, this element doesn’t quite validate
the film, which is amazingly unexceptional except for its shameless
effectiveness in setting up a bloodbath climax that you can enjoy with no guilt
since the cartel soldiers are so evil and deserve the worst mutilations and ludicrously
complicated deaths that Rambo can cook up for them.
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