Three years after rescuing P. O. W.s in Vietnam, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is working at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand doing handyman work for the monks and engaging in krabi-krabong matches for money which he donates to the monks. Rambo's old friend and commanding officer Colonel Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) visits Rambo and tells him of a CIA backed mission to supply Afghan freedom fighters against Soviet invasion. Rambo turns down the offer. Trautman is soon captured by ruthless Soviet Colonel Zaysen (Marc de Jonge) and with no official way to save Trautman, Rambo heads to Afghanistan to save his friend with the help of the Afghan freedom fighters.
Following the smash success of Rambo: First Blood Part II, Carolco Pictures announced one year after its release a third film would be produced. Production began with Aussie director Russell Mulcahy of Highlander and Razorback set to direct, but disagreements between star Stallone and Mulcahy eventually resulted in Mulcahy and his Director of Photography getting fired from the production. Peter MacDonald made his film directing debut with Rambo III having previously worked as a second unit director on films such as The Empire Strikes Back, Excalibur, Dragonslayer, and Rambo: First Blood Part II where he served as the helicopter unit director. While initially budgeted at $30 million, production delays and changes resulted in the budget ballooning to an estimated $58-63 million. Upon release the film made only about $53 million in the United States, considerably down from the $150 million earned in the U. S. by its predecessor, but due to the international market the film was able to reach $189 million but was still seen as a disappointment. Rambo III's underperformance is primarily blamed on the thaw of the Cold War tensions between the U. S. and Soviet Union initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev who'd be the final leader of the Soviet Union until he dissolved it into independent states leading to the end of the Cold War in 1991. With the movie's strongly anti-Soviet rhetoric in the face of a cooling political climate, this diminished much of the film's relevance. But production issues and political shifts aside, Rambo is just more of the same high muscle low brain wish fulfillment nonsense as the last film.
If you've seen Rambo: First Blood Part II, you've pretty much seen Rambo III with both films being about rescue missions from behind the lines of Soviet/communist controlled fortifications leading to a lot of action excess with explosions and kills galore. There's some minor differences between films such as an annoying kid sideskick or Trautman actually being more integral to the action than in the previous film where he was mostly sidelined, but I will say they've at least jettisoned the Nixon era talking points that protesting Vietnam was the same as protesting the troops so it gets that one bit of leeway. Aside from that however, Rambo III simply exists to be an exercise in orgiastic destruction with explosions every other frame and a climax filled with a battalion of Soviets who can't shoot straight to save their lives that culminates in a game of "chicken" between a tank and a helicopter.
Rambo III is pretty much the same film as Rambo: First Blood Part II. There's superficial detail changes and the scenery and locations are new, but everything that was popularized by Rambo, Commando, and the multitude of interchangeable knock-offs inspired by their success is on display here albeit with a ludicrously sized budget which made it the most expensive film at the time (to its credit you can see the money on screen). If you enjoyed Rambo: First Blood Part II you'll enjoy Rambo III just fine, but we're a far cry away from the grit and minimalism of First Blood.
Following the smash success of Rambo: First Blood Part II, Carolco Pictures announced one year after its release a third film would be produced. Production began with Aussie director Russell Mulcahy of Highlander and Razorback set to direct, but disagreements between star Stallone and Mulcahy eventually resulted in Mulcahy and his Director of Photography getting fired from the production. Peter MacDonald made his film directing debut with Rambo III having previously worked as a second unit director on films such as The Empire Strikes Back, Excalibur, Dragonslayer, and Rambo: First Blood Part II where he served as the helicopter unit director. While initially budgeted at $30 million, production delays and changes resulted in the budget ballooning to an estimated $58-63 million. Upon release the film made only about $53 million in the United States, considerably down from the $150 million earned in the U. S. by its predecessor, but due to the international market the film was able to reach $189 million but was still seen as a disappointment. Rambo III's underperformance is primarily blamed on the thaw of the Cold War tensions between the U. S. and Soviet Union initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev who'd be the final leader of the Soviet Union until he dissolved it into independent states leading to the end of the Cold War in 1991. With the movie's strongly anti-Soviet rhetoric in the face of a cooling political climate, this diminished much of the film's relevance. But production issues and political shifts aside, Rambo is just more of the same high muscle low brain wish fulfillment nonsense as the last film.
If you've seen Rambo: First Blood Part II, you've pretty much seen Rambo III with both films being about rescue missions from behind the lines of Soviet/communist controlled fortifications leading to a lot of action excess with explosions and kills galore. There's some minor differences between films such as an annoying kid sideskick or Trautman actually being more integral to the action than in the previous film where he was mostly sidelined, but I will say they've at least jettisoned the Nixon era talking points that protesting Vietnam was the same as protesting the troops so it gets that one bit of leeway. Aside from that however, Rambo III simply exists to be an exercise in orgiastic destruction with explosions every other frame and a climax filled with a battalion of Soviets who can't shoot straight to save their lives that culminates in a game of "chicken" between a tank and a helicopter.
Rambo III is pretty much the same film as Rambo: First Blood Part II. There's superficial detail changes and the scenery and locations are new, but everything that was popularized by Rambo, Commando, and the multitude of interchangeable knock-offs inspired by their success is on display here albeit with a ludicrously sized budget which made it the most expensive film at the time (to its credit you can see the money on screen). If you enjoyed Rambo: First Blood Part II you'll enjoy Rambo III just fine, but we're a far cry away from the grit and minimalism of First Blood.