16 Critically Dismissed Recent Movies (That Weren't As Bad As You Think)

12. Rambo: Last Blood

Venom Artwork
Lionsgate

Rotten Tomatoes: 27% (Average Score: 4.01/10)

Critical Consensus: Like the sequels that preceded it, Rambo: Last Blood is content to indulge in bloody violence at the expense of its main character's once-poignant story.

Rambo: Last Blood has its problems, most prominently in the story department, and fails to give John Rambo's story a satisfying ending, so it's one of the lesser films in the Rambo franchise but it still does plenty of things right that many critics seemed to overlook.

It's more emotionally affecting and soulful than many action films thanks to its well-judged Western vibe, Sylvester Stallone is excellent in the main role and the ultra-violent action sequences offer plenty of gritty, brutal intensity. In particular, the finale is pretty mad and WTF, but mostly in a good way. Mostly.

The most common criticism seemed to be regarding the film's extreme violence and while this complaint is valid in many ways, Last Blood has just enough emotional heft to counter-balance its gruesome excesses.

Just like the other Rambo sequels, this is a three-star action movie which critics panned far more than it deserved.

In this post: 
venom
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.