Reviews

I went to the cinema twice to see this movie because I enjoyed it so much. I am therefor perplexed at the backlash because I feel like I missed something. I see a lot of comparison to 'Taken' and 'Home Alone' in a very unfavorable light. I can understand that to some extent because some plot points of the movie are similar to aforementioned movies. But 'Taken' and 'Home Alone' do not own the rights of those tropes. Instead, I feel we have to go back to 'First Blood' to understand the context of 'Last Blood'. In 'First Blood' we see Rambo who recently returned from Vietnam to seek his comrades, but instead, he discovers he is the only one left. Not to mention he has untreated PTSD and the scorn of society who calls him "vile crap". He is a lost soul and at the brink of losing touch with his humanity. The only person who pulls him back is Trautman. Oh, it is also a revenge movie. Now Rambo II, III and IV ignored that and instead were - mostly - silly action set-pieces to show off how macho Stallone is. But with 'Last Blood' we return to the existentialistic theme where Rambo is trying to settle and reconnecting with people around him. Our cinema played the international version with the extended intro where Rambo failed to save 2 out of 3 hikers from the storm. He went home and ruminated about it, indirectly implying he feels that all he knows is killing people and that bothers him.

That goes back to Rambo feeling he could not save his comrades during the Vietnam war. It is not his fault but he bears the burden of guilt. Instead of Rambo being portrayed as the perfect killing machine like the author of the book wants him to be, we instead see a Rambo being portrayed as a human again: grief-stricken, alienated, coping with untreated PTSD and full of rage. He has not adjusted well to a civilized life, he instead spends time on his ranch and tunnels. Which by the way indirectly implies that Rambo spent time in the Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War. In other words: Rambo might have been a tunnel rat, performing sabotage missions. That perfectly fits well with the character's lore of being a specialist in guerilla tactics. Oh, the humanity part? He finally connected with his humanity through his adopted niece, but then it got taken away from him. Also, people calling Gabriela dumb and being a prop to Rambo's bloodshed is missing the point. Gabriela, like Rambo, took on an - albeit dangerous - existential journey to understand her past better, like Rambo did in "First Blood Part II". If Gabriela is dumb, then what is Rambo then in "First Blood Part II"? Or am I reading too much into the movie and have no understanding of how people with damaged pasts work? Anyway, I am glad the movie went back to the roots of the character and like Paul Harrell said not being another "blood and guts routine" like Rambo IV is. Rambo here actually had an arc and Stallone was actually acting too instead of just snarling and mumbling one-liners into the camera. I am honestly a bit torn between having 'First Blood' or 'Last Blood' as my favorite Rambo movie, but I guess I am just a fanboy.