Reviewed by Johnny McNair

NOTE: Rambo III is available on Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment individually, or as a part of a box set three-pack that includes First Blood and Rambo II.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment – 102 minutes – 1988 – Rated R – 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 – DTS HD 5.1 surround audio

The first two Rambo films were huge successes, particularly Rambo II, which literally rocked the mid 80’s. There was no doubt that Rambo would return for a third adventure, the only problem was that by 1988 people’s taste had changed and they didn’t want to see a shirtless muscle bound guy running around blowing up people any more. Of the four Rambo films, this is the weakest entry and lacks what the others had. Rambo III is available on Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment, so look out for flying arrows.

THE MOVIE

Rambo III takes place several years after the vents of part II, where we now find John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), working with monks in Thailand just trying to find some inner peace, and doing a little deadly stick fighting to pass the time. He is tracked down once again by his old friend Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna), who wants Rambo to join him on a secret mission to Afghanistan to help a band of rebels who are being abolished by the Russians. Rambo refuses the offer, because his war is over, so Trautman goes on the mission without him.

Things turn for the worse when Rambo discovers that Trautman’s team has been ambushed, and he is being held captive. Rambo realizes that he is a natural born killing machine and nothing more, deciding to go into Afghanistan alone to rescue his Trautman. As you would expect from a Rambo film, a whole lot of bullets fly, and a bunch of things (and people) explode. In the end Rambo saves the day and frees his friends from the clutches of evil.

The main reason this film doesn’t work is one, is came out after the Russians had already left Afghanistan, and two the reason why Rambo is fighting is not as personal as in his last two adventures. Also, the film is just silly, making Rambo stronger than Superman; he’s hanging from underneath tanks, pulling metal bars loose with his bare hands, and healing himself by pouring gun powder in his wound and igniting it for a primitive form of laser surgery.

There are some good moments of action, such as the escape from the prison camp and the cave battle that kicks ass, but in the end when you see Rambo and Trautman back-to-back fighting the entire Soviet army, I was reminded of the videogame Army of Two. This works in a game, but it’s not believable in the premise of this story. The third Rambo cost more than all four of the Rambo films combined, but it lacked the heart that made the others work. In a way Rambo III is like Rocky V; yeah it’s a part of the series, but it’s also the black sheep of the family that you don’t talk about very much.

VIDEO

Rambo III looks better than the first two Rambo movies, presented in full 1080p in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The scope of the film is larger, so sequences where you see helicopters swooping across the massive dessert look great. Details are also strong, displaying every muscle on Stallone’s body to perfection. Grain does flicker in the darker cave sequence, but overall the image quality is impressive.

AUDIO

Rambo III is definitely a step up from Rambo’s II’s sound; even though they both share the same DTS HD 5.1 Lossless Master mix, more effort went into separating tracks for better speaker performance. Just listen to the “Whooosh” the arrows make every time Rambo sends one sailing, and the combination of explosions, guns, helicopters and tanks in the film’s finale are all well balanced.

EXTRAS

Like Rambo II, the extras as slim, but hey, it’s better than nothing, even though there are elements from the standard DVD missing, such as the deleted scenes.

Director Peter MacDonald gives an audio commentary that goes deep into the making of the film. MacDonald actually has a good delivery and will hold your attention if you know this film inside and out.

‘Afghanistan: Land in Crisis’ is a half hour look at the politics of that region in the 80’s and why the filmmakers chose the situation as a backstory for the third Rambo film. Interesting in places, but nothing that will make the film stand out anymore.

Like the other two films there’s a trivia track…You know the deal.

BOTTOM LINE

Rambo III is not the best of the series, but it has some good moments. Fans will obviously add this Blu-ray to their collection, for all others give it a rent to see if it’s worth the purchase.

SCORES (out of 5):

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 2.5

Bottom Line: 3.0