The five films in the Rambo film series, from 1982 to 2019, have given action fans a real treat with their gory, intense, and sometimes almost ridiculous nature. Combine those traits with gut-wrenching atrocities derived from sprouts of evil in war-torn times, and you have some of the most action-packed films sprinkled with plenty of understandable and relatable happenings that can bring a tear to your eye or even induce light-to-heavy vomiting. Themes of the film series include mutilation; war crimes; PTSD; survival; rescue; treachery; and other very touchy topics. The Rambo series has garnered many viewers, fans and critics alike, and even though many would agree that it isn't Stallone's best film series, it still holds many positives for an action-film series and has been successful at the box office. With these Sylvester Stallone-starring films grossing over $300 million in the United States and 200 million short of a billion dollars internationally, it wouldn't be surprising if talks of having another Rambo film were occurring.
While Sylvester became a household name with 1976's Rocky, which is probably Stallone's best film series with five Rocky movies and a third Creed film set to be released in 2023, his Rambo films also have a strong following and appeal. Rambo's ferociousness, resilience, and won't-die personality are what really drive the franchise. Rambo's way of being not necessarily eager, but willing and able, to dish out some severe bloodshed is something that makes Rambo's character so unique and somewhat similar to another Stallone character from The Expendables films, which happen to be in the process of producing a fourth installment in their action-star ensemble franchise. In other words, Stallone isn't new to bringing hardcore characters to the big screen in big-time action franchise films, yet some of the best roles from these films consist of his characters being interestingly complex and relatable while still being a top-tier butt-kicker.
5 Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
Rambo: Last Blood is the most recent film in the Rambo series. While this film left many fans unsatisfied, the question of Stallone reprising the role of John J. Rambo in a sixth installment is up in the air. Some fans want to see another Rambo film to give the character proper closure, or solely due to their love for the character, while other fans just wish for Stallone to hang Rambo up and leave the franchise be. Rambo: Last Blood receives a lot of fair criticism for having it be a rather typical Rambo film, as in side characters we grow fond of are killed and Rambo gets his share of injuries, but lives, all while Rambo causes a lot of carnage from points A to B. Where this story differs from the other Rambo films is its premise. Rambo is retired, living on his deceased father's ranch with a lady-friend and her granddaughter. This granddaughter, Gabrielle, gets into some mishaps in Mexico while looking for her long-lost deadbeat of a father and ends up being kidnapped.
Rambo sets out to retrieve Gabrielle in Liam Nieson/Taken fashion, pitted against a bloodthirsty cartel and its two leading brothers. After confronting the cartel, Rambo gets severely beaten before being left for dead, only to be nursed back to health by a mysterious woman with her own personal vendetta against the cartel. Rambo is finally able to find Gabrielle, though she succumbs to her excessively forced drug intake (typical), which leads Rambo to go on an incredibly murderous rage of vengeance, where he enacts some seriously brutal killings against most of the cartel. The third act sees the cartel sneaking into the U.S. after Rambo, in a way, leads them to his ranch, where he has set up shop and transformed his entire property (including his awesome man-made tunnels) into a maze of mutilating booby traps which ensure painful deaths. With the final moments of the film showing Rambo on a horse, riding into the sunset alone, away from his carnage-flooded ranch, a question remains: will Rambo ever find peace or happiness without solidarity?
4 Rambo III (1988)
Rambo III may be the embodiment of everything that is wrong, or better yet, everything that is, in hindsight, laughable about cheesy '80s action films. Rambo, as usual, is portrayed as a one-man army and wrecking crew for the groups he is pitted against, in this case, the Soviets in Afghanistan. Where the film loses grasp on the intriguing character of John J. Rambo is in the way he is depicted versus the two previous films in the franchise. Along with an absurdly thin rescue mission plot where Rambo is attempting to retrieve his commanding officer and recurring character, Colonel Troutman (reprised by Richard Crenna), Rambo can do no wrong in this movie, as he can be somewhat perceived as an impossible individual to put an end to. While that makes sense since he is the main character and action-hero in all accounts, in this film, with its bombastic happenings and ridiculous scenes involving stopping the worsening of wounds with gunpowder, fighting helicopters from horseback and stolen tanks, as well as devastating a sadistic and powerful Soviet army using Molotov cocktails and huge guns.
In this film, Rambo didn't wish to get involved with the aid or war efforts of the Mujahideen freedom fighters, but got involved after being tipped off that Troutman had been ambushed and imprisoned by the Soviets. On one hand, you can say that Rambo, who had made a home in Thailand at the time, had no reason to work for or with the American government, which had not only used Rambo as a pawn, but had abandoned him in the past. But, on the other hand, you see a war hero who is actively denying his help to a rebellious freedom fighter group who is in desperate need of a hero. Overall, the film is fine. It had the highest budget for a feature film at the time of its release and performed well at the box office. However, it lacked the depth and the true nature of what made the first two Rambo films so special.
3 Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (1985)
While Rambo: First Blood Part Two lands midway on our list, taking the third spot out of five, that isn't to imply the film is bad. In fact, this movie is quite spectacular, riddled with interesting politics, hardcore action scenes, and a plot that thickens as the movie goes on. While we lose a beloved side character, see Rambo used and betrayed by government officials (with pushback from Col. Troutman, to no avail), and are dealt some harsh realities of government politics (especially during wartime), this film lays the groundwork for the action hero that we know Rambo as. After the events of the first Rambo film, Rambo is tasked with documenting POWs who are presumed to be imprisoned in Vietnam, but is specifically ordered to not engage with them or the enemy forces. After getting the evidence he needs and rescuing only one POW in the process, Rambo calls for an evacuation but is left high and dry when it is seen he is not alone.
After being left for dead, Rambo is captured and tortured, only to be rescued by his contact, Co. With Co's help, Rambo's wounds are treated, though Co meets her unfortunate demise soon after. With a vendetta towards the government officials in charge of this operation and a newfound mission of rescuing the POWs, Rambo sets off to dish out some serious hurt at the enemy POW camp, before setting his sights on people who turned their backs on him. After rescuing the POWs, obliterating the POW camp, and leading the POW camp commanding officer into a death trap, Rambo returns to America's base of operations in Thailand and serves some sweet revenge on those who deserve it. Rambo ends the movie by destroying the U.S. officials' equipment, which foiled their plans for political tyranny, and electing to stay in Thailand to start a new life.
2 Rambo (2008)
The fourth installment in the Rambo franchise was released in 2008, 20 years after the previous film in the series. While the box office numbers for this film were around the same as for the first movie, a.k.a. not the highest of the franchise, Rambo nailed the character of Rambo, with an older Stallone embodying a near perfect rendition of John J. Rambo. Living in Thailand since the end of the third film, Rambo encounters a group of missionaries and reluctantly transports them to Bruma via his boat. After an encounter with pirates, Rambo successfully drops off the missionaries safely in war-torn Bruma and heads back to his life of fishing and hunting snakes for profit. A week or so later, another missionary comes to Rambo and tells him how his comrades haven't returned and have possibly been captured by the Bruma forces. Rambo agrees to go back to Bruma to drop off mercenaries that the missionary has hired for the search and rescue of his captured friends. This is when things get really exciting, since the mercenaries don't know of Rambo's feats and prowess. When Rambo leaves the boat and aids the mercenaries who are pinned in a sticky situation, they are all taken in awe.
The movie then proceeds to have some very clever tricks during the rescue and escape sequences, touches on more incredibly disturbing real-life atrocities, and culminates with an amazing spectacle of a final fight full of blood, carnage, and absolute obliteration. Rambo's quick-thinking, along with one of the mercenaries' (a sniper codenamed "School Boy") heart of gold, and everyone's ability to work together (including the rebel forces in Bruma), allows for a victory in the end for Rambo and the allied forces of the mercenaries, missionaries, and rebels over the sadistic Bruma army. While many allies are lost in the final battle, including all mercenaries, but School Boy and the leader, Lewis, there is something special about seeing how this final act plays out and how the carnage left by Rambo in this film stands out from the others. It could be because of the severity of the atrocities that were committed by the Bruma soldiers and their leader, Lt. Aye, including mutilation of innocents, rape, slavery, genocide, torture, etc. The final scene of the film sees Rambo returning home to his father's ranch in Arizona, leading to the most recent installment of the franchise, Rambo: Last Blood.
1 First Blood (1982)
Topping our list is the film that started it all, the beginning of the franchise, and the near-unanimous best Rambo film made to date, First Blood. This film separates itself from the other four Rambo films by giving us a story focused on the more intricate workings of the mind of John J. Rambo. In this film, we see the life of Rambo before the events of the four other films; the life of a war veteran suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and other mental health issues. This film still has the classic mutilation, suspense, and action that the Rambo brand is built on, but it also adds a heavy layer of complexity, revolving around the mental trauma that Rambo is suffering from. In fact, this film is such a masterpiece and is held in such high regard by filmmakers, critics, and fans alike that Quintin Tarantino himself mentioned he would be interested in doing a reboot based on this movie. While a reboot would be a step in the right direction for the franchise, Sylvester Stallone has other ideas for the possible future of the Rambo franchise, in the form of an origin story or prequel.
The plot of First Blood centers on the war hero Rambo getting on the bad side of some jerk, corrupt law enforcement officers in Washington state after looking for a comrade of his from his former army platoon. After suffering abuse at the hands of the sheriff's officers, Rambo's PTSD from his time as a POW in Northern Vietnam manifests itself, which causes him to fight back against law enforcement, flee the station, and go on to create a manhunt in a nearby forest. Because Rambo is an ex-Green Beret with special training on enduring harsh environments and taking on large groups of assailants, he puts on a clinic of non-lethal butt-whooping injuring tactics against the officers in pursuit of him. Even after the accidental death of an officer, the National Guard being called in, and Rambo's former commanding officer, Col. Troutman, offering the advice of halting the pursuit for a few days in order to allow Rambo to calm down, the sheriff still wishes to continue their manhunt.
The decision to go on with the search for Rambo, albeit being the worst decision they could make, gives the audience more excitement to chew on. This allows for more hardcore action scenes, as well as allows Rambo to show off his fantastic resourcefulness in escape sequences and utilize his unique skill set in war tactics. Even though Rambo is causing an incredible amount of mayhem and destruction in the town, he has no direct wish to bring death upon anybody, unlike the sheriff's officers, towards him. In the end, Rambo's superior skills and training triumph over the national guard's and sheriff's officers, though he eventually seizes his defensive attack against the combined forces he is pitted against and turns himself in to Col. Troutman. This film sheds light on the harsh reality of the unfortunate traumas, mental problems, and lasting effects that veterans of war have suffered from since the beginning of time. The film is completely transparent about the situations veterans face while attempting to return to civilian life and how most of the time it is much easier said than done, indirectly insisting that people be more mindful of the situations veterans are faced with both during their service time and when they return home.