Hey there guys! Are we ready to look into one of the most iconic action franchises there are around! Yep that’s right just as I promised in my review for Rambo Last Blood, I will indeed be ranking all 5 of the Rambo movies from what I consider the worst to the best and also in that review I mentioned how I am actually a newcomer to this franchise and thus I will be looking at these from a fresh perspective which is always a lot of fun. Prior to viewing them I had heard a lot of interesting things about them and I was curious to check them out as I am a fan of action movies from the 80s, and 90s. So now that I was able to check them all out it is time to see which ones work the most for me personally, and which ones that could’ve been better. Now let’s get suited for action, and rank all of the adventures of the one and only John Rambo himself!
5. Rambo Last Blood
Since I already did a review on this one I’ll make this quick. In all this was a pretty disappointing series finale that I felt didn’t add enough to the franchise to justify itself. Granted if you take it as a “Stallone does Taken” revenge thriller then it’s fine enough as that, and it does provide the bloody carnage that those in mood for that will enjoy, and it does admittedly start decently with some strong character moments, and solid acting. But it mostly just goes through the motion once Rambo’s daughter get kidnapped, and it really doesn’t work as a Rambo sequel as it doesn’t offer much new for the character and in some ways regresses his arc, and the themes from the 2008 one (which we’ll get to later). As a whole for me it just felt like such a sour note to the franchise on.
4. Rambo III
Interesting fact about this one as at the time of it’s release Rambo III was actually the most expensive movie ever at around $63 million (it would end up doing pretty decently financially if not nearly as big as First Blood Part II), and watching the film it definitely shows due to the sheer spectacle of it all. This one is probably the biggest in terms of scale, and action as you have all of these huge mass battle sequences going on with plenty of explosions, horseback riding, helicopters, and a bunch of big shoot outs going on and the movie is pretty impressive in that regard as a lot of it is entertaining and has a lot of well put together action sequences (the finale in particular is a lot of fun). Plus it was kind of neat seeing Trautman in action fighting alongside Rambo as it added a new dynamic between the two that was enjoyable to watch. So it is indeed an enjoyable watch even if it does have it’s issues mainly (and just like Last Blood) it arguably works more on it’s own than as a Rambo sequel as they really turned the character into this macho super hero who is just invincible (a far cry from who is was in the original) and this one doesn’t do too much in terms of moving the character forward. Plus the story is really thin and it often times meanders, while the villains are pretty one note (then again most of the Rambo baddies aren’t exactly compelling ones). Still I think it’s a more enjoyable movie than Last Blood and is worth watching for the sheer size of the action on display.
3. Rambo First Blood Part II
Ah a classic case of a well liked small scale sleep hit spawning a sequel that was huge, and popular right out of the gate ($300 million worldwide compared to $125 million for First Blood). It’s not hard to see why (Stallone at the peak of his career doing a big budget action movie was pretty solid sell at the time, plus the popularity of that original film), though there is a bit of irony in how this sequel differs from the original in a number of ways (much more action packed, and fantastical in how it’s about Rambo essentially winning the Vietnam War for America). Yet despite this I still think the movie mostly works as it is very well made with a ton of great action sequences that just let Rambo let loose on the bad guys, the villain is appropriately menacing, and hateable, the conversations between Trautman, and Ericson are keep the attention even when Rambo is gone and bring up some interesting commentary concerning the morality of the mission, and it just works a solid, well paced, and fun popcorn movie. It does suffer from similar problems to Rambo III (namely how Rambo is portrayed as an invincible machine), and ones of it’s own (undercooked romance here) yet I was overall more invested with this one.
2. Rambo
Simply titled Rambo, this long belated (released almost two decades after 3) fourth installment ended up being shockingly very good despite what the long wait would imply. Doing away with all of the glossy war glorification this dark, and somber follow up gets down and dirty and is incredibly violent, and brutal. I really like the relationship that kind of forms between Rambo and this doctor as they both have different beliefs yet still get to learn a thing or two from one another and the movie does a good job of showing Rambo’s violence in a cynical light as it’s seen not as a happy relief but as a tragedy as Rambo just cannot the escape death happening all around him. But thoughtful messaging aside it still works as an intense, and well paced action movie that also serves as nice bookend to the series as a whole. It may not break any new ground for the genre but it still is a lean n mean action picture that proved to be a worthy swan song for the titular character (that is until Last Blood…).
And finally coming in first place is my favorite of the series which is easily…
First Blood
I’ve mentioned before in this countdown how the tone of franchise completely shifted with Part II and it’s kind of hard to believe that as much as everyone remembers Rambo for being this action packed war series, the one that started it all was quite the opposite in fact. This much more of a drama/thriller that only has a few moments of action throughout and even then it’s still grounded in realism and is extremely small in scale. It also holds up extremely well as a terrific character study about a man whose seen things no man should have seen serving his country yet not getting treated well at all, and as a look at how the Vietnam War affected those who fought in it and how people would treat them. Stallone is terrific giving in an understated yet powerful performance that resonates (especially in the climax where he just lets all of those feelings out in front of Trautman), while everyone else does a nice job as well portraying their characters. Plus there are a number of well done sequences like whenever the authorities are trying to chase down Rambo, when Rambo has to navigate through an underground tunnel, and the climactic showdown between Rambo, and the Sheriff though it all fits in well within the context of the story and never detracts from the drama, and raw emotion at play. In all it’s just a darn great movie that seems to not be as remembered as much due to the popularity of the sequels. If you haven’t seen it in a long time or have not at all I would highly recommend it as I feel it is the best of the entire franchise.
So those were my thoughts on the Rambo movies and overall I found it to be a good action franchise that I enjoyed watching. While the shift from the first to the second is a little jarring I still think the first 4 (and even Last Blood to a certain extent) all have things that work really well about them and each do have some great action, and some interesting things to say in terms of Rambo’s characters or the morality of war in general. In the end it was neat seeing them all for the first time and seeing how the series went over time and I can see why it has made such a huge impact on action cinema. Now what are your thoughts on the series in general? Do you agree with my ranking or do we have some differing opinions? As always I welcome a good conversation and also look forward to more of these types of rankings of popular movie franchises (look out for the Terminator one I plan of doing alongside my Dark Fate review)!
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 