An ex-Green Beret haunted by memories of Vietnam, the legendary fighting machine known as Rambo has battled small-town prejudice, freed POWs, rescued his commanding officer from the Soviets, and liberated missionaries in Myanmar. In his final mission, Rambo’s vengeance is unleashed after an old friend’s granddaughter is kidnapped in Mexico.
The first “Rambo” movie, simply titled “First Blood,” is the best of the series. Director Ted Kotcheff, who would go on to direct “Uncommon Valor,” “Switching Channels,” and “Weekend at Bernie’s,” sadly never went on to bigger projects that the success of “First Blood” should have offered him, but he will always have the distinction of helming the first and best Rambo film!
“First Blood” is the high point of the Rambo series, and honestly, it’s not even close. Stallone’s John Rambo, a haunted Vietnam vet drifting through small towns, gets harassed by a petty sheriff and his deputies, triggering a violent, desperate standoff in the Washington woods. The film is raw and grounded, more about trauma than explosions, and you end up rooting for Rambo because he’s so clearly broken by his service and mistreated by the country he fought for. The original book was even darker, but the movie wisely made Rambo more sympathetic—he doesn’t kill anyone, even when pushed to the edge. It’s tense, sad, and unforgettable, and Jerry Goldsmith’s score seals the deal.
By the time “Rambo: First Blood Part II” rolls around, subtlety is out the window. Rambo gets sprung from prison to photograph (but not rescue!) American POWs in Vietnam, but of course, he ends up rescuing them anyway, mowing down bad guys by the dozen. The action is big and ridiculous, Stallone is in superhero mode, and the whole thing feels like 1980s America working out its Vietnam guilt through explosions. It’s fun if you’re in the mood for pure spectacle, but it’s a far cry from the first movie’s emotional heft.
“Rambo III” goes even further into action-movie fantasy. This time, Rambo heads to Afghanistan to save his old commander, Trautman, from the Russians and gets caught up in the Soviet-Afghan War. The plot is thin, the stunts are wild, and it’s hard to take any of it seriously—but it’s entertaining in a big, dumb, late-’80s way. By this point, the franchise is less about character and more about how many things Rambo can blow up.
Twenty years later, Stallone brings Rambo back in “Rambo.” Older, even more grizzled, he’s ferrying missionaries in Thailand but gets dragged into rescuing them from Burmese militants. This one’s brutal and unflinching, with some of the most graphic violence in the series, but it also circles back to the realism and pain that made the first film work. Rambo is tired, angry, and just wants to be left alone—but he can’t ignore people in trouble. It’s the best of the sequels by a mile.
“Rambo: Last Blood” finds him living quietly on a ranch, finally with something like a family. When a Mexican cartel kidnaps his surrogate niece, Rambo goes full revenge mode. The violence is over-the-top, even for this series, and there’s not much left of the original’s soul, but Stallone still sells the character’s weariness and rage. The film got a lot of criticism for its brutality, but as a send-off for Rambo, it’s fitting enough—even if it’s clear the series probably should’ve ended with the previous film.
If you’re new to Rambo, start with “First Blood.” The rest are hit-or-miss, but there’s a certain charm to watching Stallone keep finding new wars to fight, even as the world—and the franchise—keeps changing around him.
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