Plot
John Rambo has been living back in the US for the past decade on his fathers ranch. Alongside him live close friend Maria, and her grand daughter Gabriele.
When Gabriele goes searching for her long absent father, a man John knows to be no good, he discovers that she has gone missing in Mexico – and vows to find her; even if it means going up against two sex traffic brothers who have an army behind them.
Direction
Adrian Grunberg directs, and due to the nature of the narrative, I do feel like he was the correct person for the job. Over 50% of the film occurs in Mexico, and his Mexican heritage assists.
Much like the preceding film, it has a bloody brutal finale act, which also shows as many ways someone can get taken out as humanly possible… but unlike the previous film – it never feels redundant or repetitive… or laughable.
Cast
Sylvester Stallone, of course returns for his fifth (and finale?) outing as John Rambo.
Adriana Barraza (of Cake fame) and Yvette Monreal play Maria and Gabriela.
Sergio Peris-Menceta and Oscar Jaenada play the Martinez brothers, who are in charge of a sex traffic organisation.
Paz Vega plays Carmen Delgado, a Mexican journalist, whose sister was murdered by the Martinez brothers, and assists John.
Breakdown
Starting with a dramatic opening that has no place in a Rambo movie, we soon learn that John has been back ‘home’ in his native US for over a decade. He often helps rangers on rescue missions, and in his own time, attends his late fathers horse ranch, where he has a friendship with his live in housekeeper and her granddaughter.
He still has blame in himself for his time in the war, and this is really the only instance that we see that this character we are watching is the character of a four movie history.
He is also dependant on painkillers to get him by, something that is only shown on screen a small handful of times. It is never addressed directly, or is resolved, and I’m taking a wild guess it was just another thing to include to show how the wartime has ravished Rambo’s body.
While I didn’t truly buy the ‘friendship’ between John and Maria/Gabriele – as it completely changes John’s “lone wolf” persona – it is well written enough that you are quite invested in the relationship. Had this just been a “John Smith” vehicle for Stallone, it would have worked much better. That being said, we get enough of a backstory about Gabriele’s mother and father, and how John has been there for her that it works. So when she goes missing in Mexico, and sold to sex slave traders, you get to know why he goes “John Wick” on them.
The crux of the narrative really starts at the 40m mark, when John arrives in Mexico to find Gabriele. There is some okay tension within here too, especially when John comes upon the Martinez brothers and their gang. It is here he is “partnered” with Paz Vega’s Carmen, who wants to assist him due to her own sister being murdered by the brothers. I don’t think the writers did enough with her character. She is only in a small handful of scenes, and her arc could have been improved if she was able to be there during their downfall. Just a little more attention to these could have improved the film.
On the Martinez brothers, they are genuinely great villians, especially givne we got so little of a primary villain in the previous film. When John goes up against them, especially following Gabriele’s death (which was a surprising turn of events) – his revenge arc is brutal. They get the full force of his wrath, especially considering how John confides to Gabriele that he’s never had love or a family before… just as she dies… oh poor John!
The violence is pretty brutal, and this includes moments such as John’s torture of one of the traffickers early on, to what he does to one of the Martinez brothers – to his final “home alone” style booby trap of his homestead.
The third act bloodbath is slightly overkill, but unlike the previous film which was just as bloody – this one never feels comical.
Overall
While this never truly feels like a “Rambo” movie, but what it does deliver is an engaging “man v the bad guy” film – especially after you truly feel the loss he endures, from genuinely empathetic characters.
This is a good film at the core, but it is still not a Rambo film in my opinion. It feels more like a passion project from the Mexican born director, and the lead character should be John Smith, instead of John Rambo.
A recommend either way.
3.5/5
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