8. Rambo III
Rambo III is the film I credit with creating the assumption that all of the Rambo films are just dumb action films that don't have any artistic merit, narrative integrity or strong characterisation. It has made so many forget about the original film, First Blood, which was a devastating statement about the damaging effects of war on the soldiers involved, and instead, the first film is reductively lumped in with the three sequels, which don't really have any ambitions beyond festooning the screen with gore and bullets. If the second film in the series was pushing credulity, part three clearly doesn't give a damn, with John Rambo having to rescue his mentor, Colonel Trautman, after he is kidnapped. It's a silly premise and reeks of desperation, such that it has been enthusiastically parodied in films such as Hot Shots Part Deux. Some of the action was entertaining, but overall this is one of the more prefunctory and bland sequels in Stallone's oeuvre. The fourth film, however, was a lot better.