Rambo films have never been known for their realism and logic but the other absurdities in “Rambo: Last Blood” are just mind boggling. If this movie wasn’t so dumb, I would have probably found all of this offensive. Moreover, like every film south of the border, there was also the requisite scene where the locals despicably refer to the hero as a “gringo.” This could have been believable if he hadn’t been 50 yards away and if he didn’t have Stallone’s looks, as I doubt he would have ever called anyone’s attention as an American here. It was also impossible not to laugh at this group of Spanish actors trying to sound Mexican by cursing with every other word in this strange accent. ![]() People here would have surely been delighted to play a part in a Rambo movie, including one where even the nicer characters follow the cult of the “Holy Death.” It was a strange experience watching a film where I constantly dreaded thinking of the characters traveling to the south side of the border where incidentally, I was watching it myself. Personally, I don’t think they had anything to worry about. ![]() My guess is that the filmmakers (well aware of their script) simply went out of their way to avoid their southern neighbors. The problem is that the Canary Islands don’t resemble Mexico all that much. While the second entry of the series had our country doubling for Vietnam, Spain now doubles for Mexico. “Rambo: Last Blood” also does a terrible job dealing with the world of drug / human trafficking, and with Mexico in general. When comparing the 1980s entries to this latest one, the old Rambo treated his Russian enemies with kindness and compassion. I remember that when “Rambo Part III” came out it made the Guinness Book of World Records as the most violent movie ever made based on its average one death per minute. Some laughed, some remained aghast, I guess I did a bit of both. The audience at the theater where I watched it clearly didn’t know how to react. It is also hard to figure out how anybody would enjoy watching John Rambo transforming into a Temple of Doom priest of sorts and ripping off the beating heart from one of his enemies. There are instances of violence in “Last Blood” that are so extreme, and the editing is so fast, they are even hard to put into words (think of the man whose face is torn apart in a zigzag pattern by some kind of metal contraption). Instead of simply allowing Rambo to save his beloved Gabrielle in the nick of time as anyone would have expected, he allows for her to suffer the worst of fates and then Grunberg's film morphs into “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” with Rambo going all out for vengeance (and that’s putting it mildly). Halfway through it I found myself thinking I was watching a simple “ Taken” rip-off with practically no killings (a “Rambo” franchise record for sure), but then director Adrian Grunberg decides to let things take a very dark turn. “Rambo: Last Blood” is a very odd movie, and tries to set up a tone that just doesn’t belong in an action-adventure franchise. Rambo is reluctantly forced back into action, yet again. Naturally, it takes her no more than just a few hours to get herself kidnapped by a group of drug dealers who do some human trafficking in their spare time. Once a friend locates him on the other side of the border, she decides to give him a visit against everyone’s advice. ![]() There he has helped raise his house-keeper’s granddaughter Gabrielle ( Yvette Monreal), who yearns to re-acquaintance herself with her Mexican no-good father. ![]() “ Rambo: Last Blood” deals with ex-Vietnam Marine John Rambo living his golden years in his father’s old ranch where he seems to spend most of his time tracking lost hikers, preforming flashy riding tricks and living off of God knows what.
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