Ranking the Rambo Movies

I just watched Rambo: Last Blood which came out earlier this year.  I had never seen any of these movies before, but watched them all over the last few months.  Now, I've decided to rank them.  We'll go from best to worst to make things interesting.



#1. First Blood (1982)

Of course First Blood is the best movie in the series.  How could it not be?  The first half of the film is one long chase sequence and is utterly thrilling.  The action sequences are all great, especially the one with all the booby traps.  Stallone gives his best performance of the series and we also get the best villain thanks to an excellent performance from Brian Dennehy.  The second half isn't quite as strong as the first half, but it's still a lot of fun.

  9/10: Great 

#2. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

This is the Rambo I was expecting when I started this series.  The action is incredibly over-the-top and an absolute blast to watch.  This time the second half is one long chase sequence and is incredibly entertaining.  There is some really cool cinematography and an excellent villain in the form of Murdock.  Rambo doesn't get much in terms of character development, the love interest, Co-Bao, isn't very good, and the other villain, Lt. Col. Podovsky is underused, but this movie is the incredibly fun entry in the series that most people think of when they think of Rambo.

 7/10: Good

#3. Rambo (2008)

On paper, this is the exact same movie as Rambo II, but the tone is completely changed.  This is a dark and gritty film that takes war seriously.  Lots of characters die horrible deaths.  I wouldn't call it fun, but I respect what the filmmakers were trying to do here.  The pacing is very good, the movie never really loses steam, and Rambo has a solid character arc.  Most of the supporting characters are underdeveloped, a lot of the CGI looks pretty bad, and there are portions of dialogue that are rough, but I still enjoyed the film.

 7/10: Good 

#4. Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

The 3rd act of Rambo: Last Blood is unbelievably fun and completely over-the-top.  It's the best action sequence since the 2nd movie.  Stallone does a good job and this movie has the most heartbreaking death in the series.  That said, most of this movie is pretty generic and feels more like a Taken film than a Rambo film.  I also don't like that it's called Last Blood when it leaves room for another sequel, but the movie as a whole is fine.

 6/10: Okay 


#5. Rambo III (1988)

Rambo III is hands down the worst movie in the series and the only one I would say is a bad movie.  There a few fun parts though.  There are a couple of decent action sequences, especially the final showdown, and it's cool to see Trautman actually go out in the field.  It's a shame Kurtwood Smith gets nothing to do, the Mujahideen storyline is really uninteresting, it takes way too long to get into the action, and a few of the action sequences are mediocre.  This one simply isn't worth your time.

 3/10: Really Bad 

So, that's my ranking.  What do you think?  Did I nail it or am I dead dog wrong?  Let me know!