Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The second edition of the First Blood series featured little more than mindless action, never- ending explosions, and a bevy of guns with unlimited ammunition, eschewing the gritty, psychological approach of the original. I was hoping that this third installment would harken back to what made that first one so memorable, but was only marginally better than Part II.For a basic plot summary, this time John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) finds himself in the middle of the Afghanistan/Soviet conflict after Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) is captured.Unfortunately, "Rambo III" takes the "Rambo as superhero" approach once again, focusing on the brawn and automatic gunfire instead of any deep or interesting political or psychological subject matter. There's a little bit more character development than the second effort, and the plot is a titch better as well (seeing as how it was based on a real-life conflict), but overall it once again disappoints.There's a reason why it took 20 years for Sly Stallone to return to this franchise after this film, and it's because this second lackadaisical effort in a row killed off interest in the franchise until the "reboot" years of recent filmmaking. It won't bore you as much as Part II, but it won't have you cheering like you did at Part One, either.

Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to another sequel, 1988's Rambo 3.What does Stallone do after two movies under perform at the Box Office?? He usual go to response, was to go into his comfort zone and do another Rocky movie. This time however he opted for another sequel to his second most popular franchise, that starting Vietnam Vet and War Hero John Rambo. With the 'First Blood' part dropped from the title all together and the movie just being called Rambo 3, even though there were was never a Rambo or Rambo 2. Plot In A Paragraph: Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) goes on a mission to aid the Afghanistan freedom fighters against the invading Russain army. He seeks out Rambo (Stallone) for help, he refuses saying his "war is over". When Trautman is captured by the Russains, the one man army goes to save his former Colonel. The one man army routine is now old, as is the mullet!! The dialogue is poor, the villains incredibly dull and it's boring to watch Rambo single handedly take out an entire army yet again.Stallones ego was apparently again out of control, and he had the original director Russell Mulchahey fired, along with members of the cast that he didn't approve of. The most ridiculously over the top movie in the franchise, had the Misfortune of awful timing (Russia left Afghanistan a few weeks before the movie's release) and despite some impressive action set pieces, it just isn't a very good movie.

Rambo III may not be the most popular in the Rambo series due to many people criticising the ordinary and derivative plot. Then again, apart from First Blood (1982) nobody is taking any of the Rambo movies seriously. First Blood (1982) saw a tormented John Rambo symbolically wage war on society following his mistreatment. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) sees Rambo redeem himself saving the forgotten POW's left behind enemy lines in Vietnam. Rambo III sees Rambo back in action to save his friend. I thought Rambo III was enjoyable for it's quality action and Sylvester Stallone in his element.Rambo III starts off with John Rambo now living in Thailand helping out the locals build a Buddhist monastery while dabbling in stick fighting contests on the side. When his friend and former commander Colonel Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) and Embassy official Robert Griggs (Kurtwood Smith) approach Rambo to join him to help the Mujahedeen rebels who are fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Rambo declines, stating he is tired of fighting and wants to live the rest of his life in peace. Trautman reluctantly leaves and continues to proceed with the mission. The mission goes awry and Colonel Trautman is captured and taken prisoner by the brutal Soviet Colonel Zaysen (Marc de Jonge). Griggs later informs Rambo of Trautman's capture and upon hearing the news, Rambo launches a rescue operation to save Trautman with the rebels. When asked why Rambo is doing this, he simply replies "Cause he'd do it for me." Sylvester Stallone returns in his now famous role as John Rambo along with Richard Crenna as Colonel Sam Trautman. Kurtwood Smith, well known as his role as Clarence Boddicker in Robocop, has a small role as embassy official Robert Griggs but as a good guy. Marc de Jonge was a quality villain as Colonel Zaysen although he was rarely sighted in Hollywood but instead well known for his roles in France before his untimely death in 1996.The best way to enjoy Rambo III is to ignore the negative reviews and criticisms about its plot. It is what it is. Enjoy Rambo III for its explosive action and Sylvester Stallone in his titular role.7/10.

The third instalment in the Rambo film franchise, Rambo III has the raw energy & unflinching brutality of its predecessors and is a typical example of 1980s action cinema but unlike the last two chapters, it's also grated with lots of cheese which turns it campy at times but then again, it makes up for that drawback with its impressive action set pieces.Rambo III finds the Vietnam-war veteran residing in Thailand when he's approached by his former commanding officer who asks for his assistance in delivering supplies to anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan. Tired of fighting, Rambo refuses the offer but when he's captured by the Soviet forces, Rambo goes on a solo mission to rescue him from his captors.Directed by Peter MacDonald & co-written by Sylvester Stallone, Rambo III lies very much on the same scale as First Blood Part II for it puts Rambo against the same enemy, only in a different setting. Once again, it's the action elements that keeps the momentum going even if those sequences can be predicted from afar, plus the character of Rambo remains inert to vulnerability.The film ups the ante on body counts & explosions, a welcome aspect, but its violence isn't affecting on an emotional scale. The desert locations & set pieces provide a little authentic feel to its setting, its 101 minutes of runtime is felt at times, and as far as performances go, Stallone dons the Rambo suit as per expectations but it's also good to see Richard Crenna getting more screen time than before.On an overall scale, Rambo III is another fine entry in the Rambo saga that further solidifies the legacy of its titular character, features a few cool moments of action over the course of its runtime but just like the last one, it's no match to First Blood. Surfacing at the time when Cold War themed action was becoming a thing of the past, Rambo III somehow manages to be an enjoyable ride, thanks to Stallone's screen persona & good dose of warfare.