On assignment for Looper.com, Tim talked acclaimed actress Famke Janssen for her new adventure film “The Vault,” as well as her role in the “X-Men” saga and more.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “Let’s Talk Movies with Tim Lammers” with Tim Matthews on KRWC-AM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11”.
Action star Sylvester Stallone is back — presumably for the fifth and final time — as former Green Beret-turned-mercenary John Rambo in “Rambo: Last Blood,” an ultra-violent revenge thriller that does nothing to add on to the Rambo lore apart from finding new and inventive ways for the indestructible screen hero to dispatch the bad guys.
Rambo starts “Last Blood” peacefully, as a rancher living in a southwestern town on the Mexican border whose biggest concern is the well-being of his niece, Gabriella (Yvette Monreal), a grown teenager getting ready to go off to college. Gabriella’s plans change, though, when a sketchy friend claims to have found the teen’s estranged father in Mexico, leading the naive girl into a trap of human traffickers.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rambo: Last Blood” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment is brought to you byMichael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Determined to save Gabriella at any cost, Rambo crosses the border and confronts the traffickers, who brutally prove to him that they have no regard for human life. When Rambo exacts his revenge on the traffickers, they decided to take the fight to former soldier at his ranch, which the former military man has been meticulously prepared for battle.
“Rambo: Last Blood” feels like a combination of three movie series — “John Wick,” “Taken” and naturally, the previous “Rambo” films. And while the “John Wick” and “Taken” films mostly have positive outcomes and a sense of humor (well, at least “John Wick”), there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for Rambo. Since the film is rooted in a deep tragedy, there’s no way for the character to win, which ultimately makes for brutal, dark and deeply depressing movie. Sure, “Rambo” fans will delight in how Rambo gives the bad guys exactly what they have coming to them, but the story is paper think and does nothing to advance the story that began with 1982’s “First Blood” as a whole.
Whether there will be more “Rambo” after this or not is yet to be seen (and God forbid anybody utters the word “reboot”), but the end credits, which shows highlights from the “Rambo” series since the beginning, suggests Stallone is finally ready to let the character go.
If that’s the case, it’s shame it couldn’t be done more gracefully like the way his Rocky Balboa grew and transitioned to a supporting character in the “Creed” films, but storywise, it’s hard to do something with character like Rambo’s since exacting revenge is his clearly his game. Anything other than that wouldn’t make any sense. If Stallone wants to keep the action career going, perhaps he should reassemble “The Expendables,” which was clearly the best film series he’s taken part in after “Rocky” and “Rambo.” At least those films give us something to laugh about while entertaining us with over-the-top action. “Rambo: Last Blood” just makes you squirm and feel terrible afterward.
Lammometer: 5 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
