Rambo: 103 minutes of agony

Director: Adrian Grunberg

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Yvette Monreal, Adriana Barraza and Paz Vega

Rating: 1.5

The cult action icon John Rambo comes back to the silver screen after 11 years to fight bad people yet again. Played by Sylvester Stallone, Rambo is a Vietnam war veteran suffering from PTSD. He is mighty, smart, and excellent at constructing booby traps. He can survive almost anything; five movies attest to that.

Co-written by Stallone and Matthew Cirulnick, the fifth instalment, 'Rambo: Last Blood', has the hero seeking revenge for a personal loss.

The retired soldier, now in his 70s, lives on a secluded property with his housekeeper Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her niece Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal). He spends his time training horses and exploring survival tunnels.

Trouble kicks in when Gabrielle goes to Mexico, against Rambo and Maria's advice, to meet her runaway father. She is captured by sex traffickers. What happens next is the story.

The narrative is marked by superficiality, extreme violence, Mexico according to Trump, and a cringy climax.

As for the performances, Stallone is expressionless. Yes, Rambo has a stern face because he is a proud soldier and has seen a lot. But it is dull to watch an impassive man grumbling for an hour and a half.

The other actors did justice to their roles. Gabrielle could have had more screen time as it is for her cause that Rambo is fighting.

Rambo movies are known for their action sequences. In 'Last Blood', they are uninspired. You exclaim at the violence but are tired by the excess.

To sum it all up, It would be good if they didn’t make another of these Rambo franchise movies. Sorry, Rambo fans.

PS: If you do catch the movie, don't miss the montage of Rambo's top movie moments. I felt more connected to it than to the rest of the film.