10 Video Game Tie-Ins That Missed The Point Of The Movie
4. Rambo
John Rambo, Stallone's other signature character, just wants to be left alone. In the novel and first film, First Blood, he's a Vietnam vet adrift in a country that disgraced his service. His only contact with others is the constant harassment of a local town sheriff (Brian Dennehy) and his cronies who just want him out of town. But a series of violent interactions trigger his PTSD and he immediately retreats into his military training to kill... one person. By accident. That's it. In fact, the original ending of the film and book feature Rambo forcing his former commanding officer to kill him.
But it was a surprise hit, and because James Cameron can't seem to stop re-fighting the Vietnam war in his imagination, he scripted Rambo II, where he becomes the Rambo that rescues POWs and helps Al-Qaeda fight the Russians, oiled-up and touting an oversized machine gun.
Both the NES game and the more recently released Rambo: The Video Game clearly take inspiration from the second entry in the franchise, but that doesn't explain why our titular hero spends most of the game throwing grenades and giant spiders. The 1987 release duplicates the gameplay of Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, but with spiders. He only encounters human enemies toward the end of the game.
Rambo: The Video Game (2014), further bastardizes the series, taking scenes from all three films. However, in levels based on First Blood you kill every single cop you see.