After years of fan speculation, Sylvester Stallone has (again) returned to one of his many beloved franchises.
Rambo: Last Blood, the fifth instalment in the long-running Rambo series, sees the titular character enjoying a peaceful life in Bowie, Arizona.
He and his friend, Maria (Adriana Barraza), live on a farm with Maria's granddaughter, Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal).
After travelling to Mexico to track down her father, Gabrielle is abducted by sex traffickers.
Of course, Rambo goes on one final mission.
Like Harrison Ford (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Blade Runner 2049), Stallone enjoys taking a trip down memory lane.
His affection for the Rambo character is undeniable.
The star's commanding performance, however, cannot make up for Last Blood's litany of flaws.
Despite coming in at 88 minutes, the movie is dragged down by a boring, bland first half.
Given laughable dialogue, Monreal and Barazza struggle to keep up with Stallone.
Paz Vega (Spanglish) is charming as a freelance journalist. However, her character is treated simply as a plot device.
Rambo's Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is touched upon, but serves no purpose.
The second half eventually picks up the pace and delivers the goods. Rated R18+, the movie dishes up enough violence and gore to please the fans.
Last Blood will appeal primarily to the Red State/MAGA 2019 crowd.
The movie relishes in having its army-vet protagonist slaughter a truckload of slimy Mexicans.
Beyond Stallone's enthusiasm, Last Blood provides very little of substance or entertainment value.
The studio has seemingly slapped the 'Rambo' name onto a lifeless, 'straight-to-DVD' action flick.
