SYLVESTER STALLONE RETURNS FOR 'RAMBO: LAST BLOOD'

Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: Last Blood YEAR: 2019

So far we've learned that RAMBO: LAST BLOOD has a lot in common with HOME ALONE since John J. defends his ranch using various booby traps. Which is nothing new — FIRST BLOOD had the Vietnam Vet/Green Beret luring antagonists into "familiar territory" with a hostile edge and stealthily prowess. The only difference now is he pays property tax...

And some critics are blaming a certain public figure for the choice of villain... But most people probably don't care for a Mexican Drug Cartel that enslaves young girls: One in particular who's pretty much everything, and boy is she pretty. Making this 90-minute action melodrama more similar to DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN in which, for completely different reasons, the aged main hero's daughter-like ingenue overdoses on drugs, and from that point it's all about revenge, revenge, and more revenge...

Sylvester Stallone returns as John J. Rambo SCORE: **

But it takes too long for that movie to actually start, and when it does, we're rushed through what feels like a montage of ultra-violent deaths that means more to the character than the audience...

And Stallone's bitter yet wise and timeworn, horse-loving Rambo doesn't feel like the same legendary character except being good at killing his foes — plus the fact he frown/scowls before, during and after all the exploitative and sometimes literally explosive bloodletting...

Ironically, with a title like LAST BLOOD, this feels more like the start-up/pilot of an AMC-Channel Rambo reboot. And while it's the dullest of the movies, it would probably be the worst episode of that imaginary series as well. Meanwhile, neither are or would be necessary. If this were ROCKY 7, he'd be shadowboxing. But at least there would be some decent competition.