Rambo III (1988) TriStar/Action RT: 102 minutes Rated R (language, strong violence) Director: Peter MacDonald Screenplay: Sylvester Stallone and Sheldon Lettich Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography: John Stanier Release date: May 25, 1988 (US) Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge, Kurtwood Smith, Spiros Focas, Sasson Gabai, Doudi Shoua, Randy Raney, Marcus Gilbert, Alon Abutbul, Mahmoud Assadollahi, Yosef Shiloah. Box Office: $53.7M (US)/$189M (World) Body Count: 115
Rating: **
The story behind Rambo III is actually more interesting than the movie itself. This third installment drops our hero (Stallone) in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan to rescue his friend Col. Trautman (Crenna) who’s being held captive by the Russians. A funny thing happened between filming and its release. Shortly before it hit theaters, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed a peace treaty with Afghanistan and started pulling out his country’s troops after several years of occupation. He was trying to soften the image of Communist Russia and had already done so to a substantial degree. By the time Rambo III came out, it was already dated thus diminishing the timeliness factor that defined its immediate predecessor. Did it also affect its potential earnings? I’d say it probably played a small part in its disappointing box office performance. The more likely reason it failed is the movie itself. It’s just not that good.
As Rambo III opens, Trautman finds Rambo living and working at a monastery in Thailand trying to leave his violent past behind. He shows up with Griggs (Smith, RoboCop), a field officer from the American embassy, and asks him to come along on a secret mission to an area near the Afghan border under the brutal rule of Soviet Colonel Zaysen (De Jonge, Empire of the Sun). Rambo declines the invite to join his former commander saying he’s tired of fighting. Trautman proceeds with the mission to supply Afghan rebels with weapons to fight the Soviet invaders. When he’s captured by Zaysen, the American government once again fails to act on behalf of one of their own. Rambo decides to mount a solo rescue mission without official approval. This means if he’s caught, the government will deny all knowledge of him and his mission. You think that will stop him? NOPE! This time, it’s personal.
Rambo goes to Pakistan and meets up with weapons dealer Mousa (Gabai) who agrees to take him across the border to the village of Khost and Mujahideen leader Masoud (Focas). The guerilla leader and his fighters are reluctant to help Rambo, especially after Soviet forces attack the village. They’re aware of the American leader’s presence and want to discourage any and all retaliatory action against them. Except for Mousa and a young village boy named Hamid (Shoua), Rambo is basically on his own in attempting to rescue Trautman.
There’s plenty of action in Rambo III; it’s just not as exciting as its predecessor. Besides being politically outdated, the whole idea of assisting the Afghans isn’t all that enticing. It’s terrible what they went through during the Soviet occupation, but you don’t feel any actual sympathy for them. When you factor in future events involving Afghanistan, it feels like a betrayal to root for them. But I don’t want to talk about geopolitics or international relations. Don’t we get enough of that on the nightly news?
Rambo III is directed by first-timer Peter MacDonald who replaced Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) several weeks into filming. His biggest mistake is trying to soften the image of the hero by having him care about an orphaned child and giving him a sense of humor. Neither one fits the character of Rambo. Who wants to see that? Certainly not fans who show up expecting another bad ass macho action flick starring their favorite killing machine. Rambo III doesn’t disappoint on that level. It’s violent as hell. The body count is in the triple digits this time. The problem is the action feels so generic this time out. The only scene that really sticks out is when Rambo cauterizes his own wound using gunpowder. YIKES! It might be more painful than sewing one’s own would like he did in First Blood.
Stallone delivers his usual stone-faced performance. His attempts at clever one-liners fall flat. He’s no Schwarzenegger in that department. Crenna looks tired and bored this time out. He isn’t given much to do in Rambo III, especially after he’s taken prisoner by an utterly generic Soviet villain. As far as movie villains go, he’s completely forgettable. I’ve seen Rambo III more than once and honestly can’t remember a single thing about him.
The screenplay by Stallone and Sheldon Lettich (Bloodsport) is subpar. It has holes big enough for the entire Soviet army to march through. For example, doesn’t anybody realize that killing Zaysen won’t solve anything? It wouldn’t take long for Soviet officials to send somebody to take his place. Oh, that’s right. We’re not supposed to ask such questions as logic rarely factors into anything that happens in movies like this. It doesn’t change the fact that Rambo III is one of the dumbest action movies ever made. It’s also the second weakest entry in the series topped only by Rambo: Last Blood. At best, it’s mediocre. It’s a sad day when massive amounts of violence can’t save a movie.
