On September 19th, Sylvester Stallone returns to the big-screen as tortured Vietnam War Veteran John Rambo in the final installment, Rambo: Last Blood. To mark the occasion, we’ll be taking a look back at the franchise as a whole, looking at the fascinating 37 year history of one of Stallone’s most iconic characters. Heading into action this week: Rambo III.
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The first was for himself. The second for his country. This time it’s to save his friend.
So read the tagline for the third instalment in the Rambo franchise. What might have been more fitting would be to change that last line to read ‘This time it’s to promote the president’s foreign policy.’ The fairly politically neutral character of Rambo got thrust into the centre of the hot button topic of Reagan’s interest in the conflict in the Middle East between Soviet Forces and the people of Afghanistan.
The final product delivered the most tonally confused entry of the franchise, but yet again there is something undeniably fascinating about it as a time capsule for both Hollywood and Stallone’s star image heading towards the tail end of the 1980’s.
When Trautman (Richard Crenna) is captured by Soviet forces whilst on a mission to aid the Mujahideen rebels in the on-going Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This capture forces Rambo out of his newly found Buddhist lifestyle, taking him back on the path of war and destruction in order to save his friend, all the while allying himself with the rebels facing down the brutal Soviet forces.
Rambo III, at the time of its release in 1988, was the most expensive film ever made. Much of this can be attributed to shooting on location in Thailand, Israel and Arizona, as well as the large amount of explosions and on-screen kills that take place over its run-time (before the fourth instalment came out in 2008, it also held the Guinness World Record for being the most violent film ever made, with 221 acts of violence). The expensive price tag can also be put down to the film’s reportedly troubled production, one which went through three separate cinematographers and two different directors in its journey to the screen. Oh, and the fact that Stallone allegedly asked for a Gulfstream jet as part of his pay cheque. As you do.
Largely regarded as the weakest Rambo film, Rambo III suffered a case of bad timing upon its release, as Gorbachev had sought to improve the Soviet’s image to the West, with the final Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan taking place on May 15th 1988, 10 days before the release of the film. So, if the film and its stereotypical depictions of Soviet antagonism feel out-dated now, it is likely it felt that way to audiences at the time, albeit by circumstances out of the film-makers control.
The best thing I can say for Rambo III is that it does offer an example of the kind of approach to Hollywood film-making of the ’80s that has a clear political agenda focused around a topical issue. This in some way explains its aggressive stereotyping, even if that came to be seen as a little out-dated upon its own release. But, there’s more hindering Rambo III than just out-moded depictions of Soviet aggression and Middle Eastern cliches, and that can be put down to the trouble behind the scenes.
Tonally, this is the most inconsistent of any Rambo film, something which you could attribute to the changing of hands behind the scenes. It rallies behind the Afghan rebels with a depiction of the conflict that is exceedingly earnest, one that often portrays moments of over-the-top violence with devastating consequences, made even more devastating with the knowledge that such violence was, to some extent, happening over in the Middle East.
This approach sits rather clumsily with a reliance on over-blown explosions, punch-ups with cartoonish henchmen and quippy one-liners from both Trautman and Rambo. Bar a couple of action beats and moments of survival instincts kicking in (a cave operation involving some gunpowder is a well-played moment), this is a Rambo that feels a little out of key with the Rambo we have come to know from the previous two films. Paired with the turns in tone from earnest, to violent, to cheesy make for an experience that lacks consistency and clarity.
Rambo III is also much more tailored to the movie star image of Stallone then even Part II was. With his mullet as thick and luscious as it has ever been, his physique in its lean muscular prime, and Stallone’s love of horse-riding coming into significant play, this is certainly a Rambo that is more tailored around Stallone (he was one of the biggest stars of the time) than it is to an actor looking to dive into the layers of Rambo’s nature.
Rambo IIIis less fun than Part II, and certainly nowhere near as well-made as First Blood, but it does still stands as something bizarrely worthwhile, simply just because of how absurd it is as an example of Hollywood tackling a political landscape through the lens of a gung-ho 80’s action movie, and kinda falling on its face as it goes about it. It’s messy, but there’s something oddly endearing about it’s loud and bombastic approach to a real-world political conflict.
Next week we head into the jungles of Burma and back into Rambo’s scarred psyche with the brutally violent >Rambo. Sharpen your knives, this one is going to be interesting.
