In 1982, First Blood was released, and it happened to kick off an action movie series without really being an action movie in the traditional sense. Okay, there was some action involved, but it was probably more of a drama/thriller kind of thing, being a post-war movie about a Vietnam War Veteran named John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) clashing with police in a small town he passes through. He ends up being the subject of a manhunt, and it kind of throws him into another conflict that’s not a full-blown war, by any means, but does involve him using his knowledge from his time in the Vietnam War to survive and outsmart those who are after him.
It mirrors the Vietnam War, sort of having the police standing in for the U.S. Army, and having Rambo himself be like the one-man-army equivalent of the Viet Cong, owing to the almost guerrilla warfare-like tactics he uses in the woods. So, there’s a bit to chew on, with First Blood. It’s somewhat obvious, sure, but there’s more here by way of things to think about than your average action movie. The sequels, though, get more action-heavy while simplifying things quite a lot. They’re perhaps a little disappointing if you’re after something like First Blood, but as excessive action movies so distinctly of the 1980s, they do have their moments. It’s easy to revisit these first three Rambo movies now, since they’re all currently free to watch on the streaming service Pluto TV.
What Happens in the ‘Rambo’ Series?
So, first of all, First Blood is pretty straightforward, as outlined above, and it also felt relatively self-contained, as a story. Maybe you could say the same about Rocky, which is the only long-running franchise of Stallone’s that’s more iconic, but Rocky Balboa’s boxing career was taking off at that film’s conclusion, and the idea of rematches and/or further opponents made more sense. The somewhat awkwardly-titled Rambo: First Blood Part II begins three years on from First Blood, with Rambo imprisoned, before he’s then offered a pardon if he takes part in a mission that involves confirming the existence of missing prisoners of war in Vietnam. Said mission isn’t supposed to involve their rescue, either, but Rambo wants to do just that, and so he clashes with authorities once more by defying orders.
In Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo becomes more of an actual one-man army, and since he’s in more active combat here, there is a much higher body count. And then Rambo III (bye-bye, “First Blood”) is even more mindless, with Rambo’s mission involving the rescue of his former mentor, Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna), in the midst of the Soviet–Afghan War, which leads to him also helping Afghan rebels battling Soviet forces. It feels like an excuse to cram as much by way of gunfights, explosions, and general scenes of destruction as possible into a single movie, and though there are many problems with Rambo III, a lack of action certainly isn’t one of them.
How Things Changed From Movie to Movie
If you like seeing and breaking down the progression of a series across years, but in the span of hours or days, then the First Blood/Rambo series might scratch that itch. It’s not as satisfying and wonderfully confounding as binging the Saw series and following the writers trying (and usually, but not always, failing) to one-up everything that happened before, but you do get a clear chain here that goes from grounded character study to bombastic ‘80s cheese in just three movies. There’s a lot that can be said about why this happened, and debate around whether it should’ve happened, but it did happen, and that’s that.
First Blood is definitely worth watching regardless of how much you usually like action/war movies, because it’s a genuinely good film, and then the next two might be worth it if you also happen to like action schlock.
And then it’s convenient that they’re all in the same place, streaming-wise. There are a couple more Rambo movies that came out beyond the 1980s, but that 1980s “original trilogy,” so to speak, is the one on Pluto. First Blood is definitely worth watching regardless of how much you usually like action/war movies, because it’s a genuinely good film, and then the next two might be worth it if you also happen to like action schlock, or are just fond of Sylvester Stallone in general… but if you’re in the latter camp, you’ve probably seen those movies (themselves campy) before. Maybe a rewatch, then? Why not. It’s an interesting trio of movies to binge-watch, just because of how the trilogy shifts in tone and, to some extent, genre.
How the Series Continued in the 21st Century
20 years on from Rambo III, there was a fourth movie, just called Rambo (2008). That one is probably the best Rambo movie that isn’t First Blood, and it finds a way to be excessive, like the first two sequels, and grounded/gritty, like the first, all at once. It’s a very intense and distressing movie, which puts it in line thematically with First Blood, and then it’s also bombastic with its action and violence, but in a gruesome way, so it’s not really “mindless” action, like you find in the second half of Rambo: First Blood Part II and throughout the entirety of Rambo III. There was a fifth movie in 2019, called Rambo: Last Blood, and that was sort of in line with Rambo (2008), albeit not quite as good or as popular.
It contained the words “Last Blood” in the title, sure, but there’s another Rambo movie planned, only this one is apparently going to be a prequel. Maybe that demonstrates the series has a legacy, for better or worse, though if you’re curious about how Rambo in the 21st century looks, you do have to search outside Pluto TV (both movies are currently available to stream on Amazon Prime). But that’s Rambo, from the first (blood) to the last (blood). There is trauma. There is an internal war. There is mumbling. There are explosions. That’s what you’re signing up for by watching these films, soldier.
The first three Rambo movies are available to be streamed for free on Pluto.
