Despite the popularity of the Rambo franchise, the film series never saw a ton of love at awards ceremonies. it’s not much of a surprise as action films rarely do so with the last three installments being relatively bad to mediocre when it comes to critical reception. Despite this, there’s going to be a fifth film titled, Rambo V: Last Blood with star Sylvester Stallone returning to reprise his role as John Rambo. We can expect a ton of action but it seems like the initial rejected idea for the film would have gone far differently.
The first film, First Blood can be considered the only good film in the series with it being more drama than action albeit with awesome action. It saw a lot of emphasis on the character of John, allowing us to really connect with him. The subsequent films went the more action heavy route, earning less than positive reception. With Last Blood expected to drop next year, we can expect something similar but it seems like the original idea for the film could have been an awards contender according to the franchise creator.
In an interview with Digital Spy, David Morell, author of First Blood, the novel which the films are based on revealed that the original concept for Last Blood which he discussed with Stallone could have been something award-worthy. He said:
“The year he was making Creed, [Stallone] phoned me and said that he wanted to make a fifth Rambo movie that would be soulful. And we spoke for about two hours, on the phone, every weekend, for about eight weeks. We had a story worked out that we were thinking would be the kind of movie that would get positive attention at film festivals; that this would, indeed, be a soulful journey. It would have action, but it would essentially be about a man who was in war, and was looking back about what it had accomplished.”
The idea was rejected however but the author believed that it “might have been eligible for some awards.” After Stallone revealed that he would be retiring from the character, the author thought that was it but lo and behold, there’s going to be a Rambo 5. He further discussed:
“Then the next thing I know, they are making a fifth movie, but it’s nothing at all like what he and I discussed. It was exciting, [but] I can’t talk about it. This would have put everything in a context, about the nature of war, and the nature of a man recalling it. Anyhow, it was sad to me [that it didn’t happen]. It was one of those passion projects.”
Some may disagree but it would have been cool to see what they had in mind initially. It’s presumptuous to say that Last Blood would suck if they didn’t go that route but perhaps there’s something in the film that would have something going for it instead of just dumb action. We’ll find out later on.
Source: Digital Spy
