10 Sequels That Were Nothing Like The First Movie

2. Rambo: First Blood Part II

Batman And Robin
TriStar

The Original:

First Blood is absolutely nothing like the rest of the Rambo franchise. Sylvester Stallone gives one of the best performances of his career as the troubled Vietnam veteran forced to rely on his primal instincts as crooked law enforcement officials hunt him down in the woods of Washington.

The Sequel:

Whereas First Blood actually boasted some depth, proper characterization and even a little political subtext, Part II (co-written by Stallone and James Cameron) is the typical 1980's shoot-em-up. Gone are the subtleties found in the original, replaced by a shirtless Stallone gunning down faceless bad guys with a gun almost as big as his biceps.

Instead of the questions raised in the first installment of what happens when veterans return from war, First Blood Part II is more than content to rest on its laurels and present the all-American John Rambo as an unstoppable and deadly force of nature, turning the character as a poster boy for the cut-and-paste nature of the decade's action cinema in the process.

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