It’s been over a decade since Sylvester Stallone revived the character of John Rambo to protect a whole bunch of Christian missionaries from the Burmese Army in 2008’s Rambo, possibly the franchise’s bloodiest (and most metal) film. Since then, it’s been fits and starts for the ‘Nam vet’s next movie, especially since Sly seemed hell-bent on making the vaguely-grounded hero of First Blood face off against a werewolf of some kind, but all that waiting is finally coming to an end: we’ve got a first look at that film’s sequel (and what should be the last film in the franchise), Last Blood, which was released on Thursday by Lionsgate.
Prepare yourself for a cowboy hat, everybody:
So yeah, we’ve got our weathered, leathery Sly, presumably still at his father’s ranch where we left him at the end of Rambo ten years ago, hanging out and enjoying what must be a well-deserved retirement. But, as the official synopsis points out (thanks Screencrush!), shit might not be so great down in Texas:
In the fifth episode of franchise, when the daughter of one of his friends is kidnapped, Rambo, who has been working on a ranch, crosses the U.S.-Mexican border and quickly finds himself up against the full might of one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.
So, it’s The Old Man and the Cartel, or The Mule if Clint was gunning down drug-runners instead of moving weight for them. We’re going to remain optimistic about this one — especially given how working within the Rambo franchise seems to revive Stallone’s skills as a genre filmmaker — and this idea is frankly a hell of a lot better than Rambo vs. Werewolf. We’re cautiously excited, even though Stallone’s output hasn’t been that great since… well, a decade ago.
Last Blood, which also stars Mickey Rourke, will hit theaters sometime in 2019.
Featured image from “Rambo: First Blood Part II” via Moviestillsdb.