Rambo III

Today’s quick review: Rambo III. Now leading a quiet life in Thailand, Vietnam veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) comes out of retirement when Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna), his old commanding officer, is captured while on a mission in Afghanistan. Rambo embarks on an unsanctioned operation to rescue the Colonel from the hands of the Russians, but he will need the help of the beleaguered Afghani rebels to succeed.

Rambo III is a gritty action movie that drops John Rambo into the mountains of Afghanistan to do what he does best: kill enemy soldiers. Rambo III delivers the same style of guerrilla action as the first two films. However, it all but abandons their dramatic themes. Where First Blood and its sequel were about the scars of the Vietnam War, Rambo III has no such drama at its heart. The result is a decent but much more generic action flick.

Rambo III gets off to a slow start. Apart from one stick fight in Thailand, the movie has almost no action for its first 40 minutes. Without much in the way of action or effective drama, Rambo III takes a long time to hook the viewer. The back half of the movie is more exciting. Once the action does start, it continues with few interruptions until the end. The stunts are nothing too special, but there’s plenty in the way of heavy ordnance.

Give Rambo III a shot when you’re in the mood for straightforward action. Rambo III lacks the drama of First Blood and the fast-paced action of First Blood Part II. What’s left over is a passable but decidedly average action film. Action fans will get some mileage out of it, but fans of the character will be disappointed. For an 80s action movie with a lighter tone, check out Commando.

5.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for decent action, but lacking the skill of its predecessors.

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