The Rambo movies have gone through a lot of ups and downs over the years, but the series’ biggest failure might be the thing that saves the franchise after all. The Sylvester Stallone series launched with the understated action thriller, First Blood, in 1982, and it explored themes like PTSD and the abandonment of Vietnam War veterans.
The sequel dropped a lot of the rich social commentary in favor of even more explosive action, and John Rambo became a bona fide hero in Rambo: First Blood Part II. The action reached even more ridiculous heights in Rambo III before the series quietly faded to the background for 20 years.
Stallone returned as Rambo in 2008’s eponymous film, and despite pressing on into middle age, convincingly portrayed the hardened action hero. It would be another decade before John Rambo made yet another appearance in the poorly-received Rambo: Last Blood, but even nostalgia wasn’t enough to save the tired legacy sequel.
Despite its definitive title, there’s always the opportunity for the Rambo franchise to continue. Recognizable series are a hot commodity in Hollywood, and studios are more willing to push a known quantity over something new. As such, a reboot is already on the way, and it may have been spurred on by the franchise’s biggest failure.
Last Blood Is Comfortably The Worst Rambo Movie
An Ill-Fated Sequel From Start To Finish
The movies in the Rambo series aren’t often cited as high-quality examples of cinema, but there has always been a charm to the sincere original and its off-the-wall sequels. However, Rambo: Last Blood broke a decent streak of enjoyable films by delivering a product that wasn’t just poor, but downright insulting at times.
There were no new ideas introduced in the 2019 movie, and it instead relied on the name value of its franchise and the continued popularity of Sylvester Stallone.
If 2008’s Rambo was a cash-grab, Last Blood is somehow even more cynical and calculated than even its predecessor. There were no new ideas introduced in the 2019 movie, and it instead relied on the name value of its franchise and the continued popularity of Sylvester Stallone.
The action may have been top-notch, but the writing and execution was hardly above the level of the oft-derided “Geezer Teaser” genre. Stallone gave an attempt at a performance, but with a script that was wholly disinterested in building the Rambo character, there was only so much the Hollywood veteran could do.
To say that Rambo and his action-hero antics were worn out would be an understatement, and the issues of the fourquel were magnified tenfold in the fifth film. Its attempts to link Rambo back to his Vietnam experiences did a disservice to those who actually fought in the conflict, and it looks weak and artificial when compared to First Blood.
Last Blood’s Failure May Have Been A Factor In Rebooting Rambo
The Movie’s Financial Failure Was Probably The Last Straw
Besides the original movie, which got pretty decent reviews, the Rambo series has never been popular with critics. However, it has proven to be a financial commodity since the beginning, and that’s the biggest reason why Rambo has kept returning again and again. Shockingly, Last Blood was so bad that it was something of a financial failure too.
Compared to 2008’s Rambo which made about $110 million (via Box Office Mojo) or about $160 million after inflation, Last Blood squeaked by with a narrow margin of profit. The 2019 film made about $90 million against a reported budget of $50 million, meaning it only made about $10 million when factoring in marketing and advertising costs.
The Numbers reports that Rambo: Last Blood is the lowest-grossing film in the franchise.
While that is technically a profit, it’s far too narrow a margin for any studio to want to invest a considerable sum of money in making another sequel. All this likely added up to the decision to give Rambo a hard reset, with a reboot film confirmed to be in development. Critical reception matters little, but money always talks in Hollywood.
Since the movie did make some money, the Rambo franchise isn’t being completely discarded, but it’s clear that the things that worked in 2008 weren’t working again. Even Sylvester Stallone’s name wasn’t enough for it to overcome its modest budget and turn a significant profit, and studio executives bailed on Stallone’s hopes for another Rambo sequel.
A Prequel Reboot Is The Right Move For Rambo’s Future
Rambo’s Future Lies In His Past
No matter what direction the Rambo franchise has chosen to go in the future, it’s obvious that Sylvester Stallone’s time in the role has come to an end. Nearly 80, Stallone had a great run as the veteran-turned-action-hero, but even he couldn’t convincingly keep up the machismo act as an octogenarian.
Not to mention, it became increasingly less believable that Rambo himself would keep getting involved in action-packed scenarios, with each sequel groaning under the weight of its own contrived premise. The future of the franchise is a prequel reboot, which is exactly what is needed to keep interest high in the 40-year-old series.
|
Rambo Movie |
Release Year |
Rotten Tomatoes |
|---|---|---|
|
First Blood |
1982 |
86% |
|
Rambo: First Blood Part II |
1985 |
33% |
|
Rambo III |
1988 |
41% |
|
Rambo |
2008 |
38% |
|
Rambo: Last Blood |
2019 |
26% |
Instead of trying to replace Stallone and erase his legacy with a straight remake, a prequel could add to the franchise lore without disturbing what was already established. Rambo’s time during the Vietnam War is essentially what shaped him as a character, and there’s a plethora of ideas to explore in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
Should the prequel reboot prove to be a smashing success, then Hollywood could look into fleshing out Rambo’s years between the war and his appearance in First Blood. What’s more, it’s always possible to invent new adventures that happened between the original films, and Rambo isn’t the kind of character who is lacking for potential plots.
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David Morrell
- Latest TV Show
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Rambo: The Force of Freedom
