Rambo: Last Blood

Politics influence movies and movies influence politics. It has always been a fact. Even the first Rambo was a politically driven film which examined America’s attitude towards Vietnam veterans returning home, abandoned by their government and vilified by certain quarters for being ‘child killers’. Rambo: First Blood came at a time America began to really look at its involvement in Vietnam, films like The Deer Hunter, Platoon and Rambo looked at the American psyche following its loss of innocence as images of war were beamed into every living room with a TV.

Rambo: First Blood was an inward-looking film. It looked at America’s problems from the inside as John Rambo was harassed by law enforcement who have no concern of his war credentials. Traumatised and alone, Rambo found himself hunted in densely wooded area. Rambo: Last Blood doesn’t really bother with any of this. Instead it seems to be film that wants to look elsewhere rather than the ills within America.

It may be a flippant reaction to the film, but I could not help but think “this is why Trump wants the wall”. The moment Gabriela enters into Mexico we presented with a rundown, scary, crime infested village where dangerous men leer and drink on the street. All Mexicans, except two, are either gangsters, criminals or sex trafficked victims. Normally, I don’t get too fussed by this, but if you factor in the current American political discourse (dominated by Trump’s bigotry) you can’t help but feel this representation is a little problematic as many of Trump’s supporters will see this a confirmation of why a wall is needed.

I don’t think for a second that the film is actively campaigning for a giant wall to be built and neither do I feel it’s problematic enough to be called ‘racist’ (American cinema has always depicted “others” as faceless enemies from the Russian to Arabs and even the British) however it’s just the highly toxic times that American politics finds itself in that makes this movie’s content feel tone deaf.

The film doesn’t shy away from the gore and doesn’t pick bums on seats over giving a Rambo loving audience exactly what they want (though I do think they actually miss what makes the first one so great). It’s a brutally violent film that dishes out ultraviolence to the worst of the worst (a problem in itself as the film is more concerned about vengeance than empathy with the victims). Still, Stallone is only fine form – the man sure is intimidating when angry.

2.5/5