No one in the cast and crew of 1982’s First Blood — not even director Ted Kotcheff and star Sylvester Stallone — could’ve predicted that their story of a Vietnam War veteran fighting for his life against hostile small-town law enforcement would become a decades-spanning franchise. Two sequels soon followed, and the film series would come to be known as Rambo, named after its singularly badass main character, with each new film upping the ante with action set pieces.
After the ’80s trilogy, the franchise returned in 2008 and again in 2019, with John Rambo repeatedly drawn back into violent conflicts. Now, a prequel film is set for release on June 4, 2027, exploring John Rambo’s origin story with Noah Centineo taking over for Stallone. To make sure you’re up to date on the series, we’ve created this guide to watching the Rambo franchise in order, from the relatively humble beginnings of First Blood to the explosive Last Blood.
First Blood (1982)
Considering the carnage that followed, it’s easy to forget that John Rambo doesn’t kill anyone in First Blood. Where sequels delivered a blood-splattered, superhuman Rambo gunning down the encroaching hordes with nary a grimace, First Blood finds him wounded and vulnerable, scarred by seeing so much death during the Vietnam War.
Based on David Morrell’s 1972 novel of the same name, First Bloodfinds Stallone’s Rambo, a veteran and drifter, becoming the subject of a manhunt by the local police of Hope, Wash. He survives using the tactics he learned during the war but is also haunted by the torture he endured as a soldier.
“A lot of the veterans felt horrible, guilty, they felt they’d dirtied their souls for absolutely nothing,” director Ted Kotcheff told EW in 2017. “The film was basically conceived as Rambo’s tragedy, that mirrored the tragedy of so many of the veterans that I talked to.”
But as moving as it is, it’s still a feat of crackerjack action — and Stallone knows why.
“Because it’s handmade,” he toldThe Hollywood Reporter in 2022. “It wasn’t over the top. It wasn’t supernatural. It was something a unique human being could achieve. That’s why I think First Blood is one of the first action films. I relied on body acting to tell the story. The character never talks, but you know exactly what’s going on through the other characters. They’re almost like narrators in his Greek tragedy. The guy never stops moving, and that’s what I call an ‘action film.’ There’s not one CGI shot. The audience goes: That is pretty special.”
Where to watch First Blood: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
And now for something completely different…
In the film, an imprisoned Rambo is offered a presidential pardon in exchange for a solo infiltration mission to seek out missing POWs in Vietnam. He’s ordered not to rescue any, but does anyway, leading to him being abandoned by his so-called allies and hunted by Vietnamese (and Russian) forces.
What happens next results in a lot of dead bodies, which is what drove First Blood director Kotcheff away from the project. “In my film, he’s against killing, he won’t kill anybody,” he told EW in 2017. “In the sequel, he’s turned into a killing machine. He kills about 75 people! I said, ‘That’s not the character I created. If you’re gonna do that, good luck, have a good time.'”
First Blood Part II ended up being directed by George P. Cosmatos (who would also helm the Stallone movie Cobrathe following year). A global box office hit, this was the iteration of Rambo that rocketed the character into the cultural firmament through parodies, video games, and Saturday morning cartoons. As EW’s Darren Franich wrote in 2011, “Starting with Rambo: First Blood, Part II, the series moved into its delirious-excess phase.” And there was no looking back.
Where to watch Rambo: First Blood Part II: Tubi
Rambo III (1988)
Three years after Rambo: First Blood Part IIcame Rambo III,with a streamlined title that distanced the franchise even further from its first outing.
Directed by Peter MacDonald — who was a second unit director for First Blood Part II— the threequel begins with Col. Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna), Rambo’s best pal and former commanding officer, trying to recruit him for a mission to help the Afghan Mujahideen fight against Soviet forces. Rambo refuses, but it becomes personal when Colonel Trautman is captured by a vicious Soviet commander (Marc de Jonge). Searching for his old friend, he travels to Afghanistan and teams up with the Mujahideen.
As MacDonald toldFilm International in 2013, Rambo III was a troubled production, with original director Russell Mulcahy fired alongside several camera operators, editors, and assistant directors. After taking over as director, MacDonald said he “tried very hard to change the Rambo character a bit and make him a vulnerable and humorous person.” He added, “I failed totally.”
At the time, its $63 million budget made it one of the most expensive movies of all time, so its domestic gross of just $53 million was considered a disappointment. (It scooped up another $135 million internationally, though.)
Still, the finale is fun in a smashing-action-figures-together kind of way, with a desert firefight involving a horse, tank, and helicopter.
It would be two decades before we got another film featuring John Rambo.
Where to watch Rambo III: Tubi
Rambo (2008)
In 2006, Stallone saw success in reviving the Rocky franchise.Why not try to do the same for his other iconic character? Thus, Rambo arrived in 2008 with a lot of raised eyebrows.
Never underestimate Sly, though. The sequel, in which an aging Rambo travels to Burma to rescue kidnapped Christian missionaries, made more than $18 million on its opening weekend before pulling in a worldwide gross of more than $113 million.
Successful as it was, however, many took issue with what they deemed an excessive amount of violence. EW’s critic made note of the carnage but still found a lot to like. “The brutality, tough enough to take, would be intolerable if Stallone didn’t toss the movie like a cant-clearing grenade at notions of stay-the-course righteousness,” they wrote in their B– review. “Rambo teaches that fighting sucks, good intentions can be futile, and coalitions of the willing are a charade: A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Sometimes that means tying on the old bandanna to hack one’s way out of the Hollywood jungle so disorienting to aging action stars.”
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, Stallone went so far as to callRambo “the best action film I’ve ever done because it’s the most truth.” He added, “But I got excoriated because the movie’s so violent. And it is violent. It’s horrifying. It’s children being burnt alive. That’s what makes Civil War worse than anything. It’s your neighbor, all of a sudden, killing you. I was really happy with that film and I never thought it would ever reach the theater.”
Where to watch Rambo: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
There was talk of a follow-up as early as Rambo‘s opening weekend, with executive producer Harvey Weinstein saying, “There’s something to be said for a Rambo that takes place on U.S. soil, like First Blood did.”
More teases followed. In 2011, for example, screenwriter Sean Hood <a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/new-screenplay-rambo-5/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>toldEmpire that Stallone wanted him to pen the “last chapter of the Rambo saga.” A few years later, Stallone himself made it sound like Last Bloodwas fast approaching. (There was also talk of a Rambo TV series, though it wouldn’t have involved Stallone.)
Then, 11 years after its predecessor, Rambo: Last Blood hit theaters. As predicted, it takes place on U.S. soil, though the character bounces between Arizona and Mexico while contending with a Mexican drug cartel responsible for kidnapping his friend’s granddaughter. Director Adrian Grünberg’s film is as gnarly as the 2008 outing, with decapitations, eviscerations, and other unmentionable acts of violence.
It probably won’t be remembered as anyone’s favorite Rambo movie, but it ends on an appropriately elegiac note that should please longtime fans of the franchise.
Where to watch Rambo: Last Blood: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
The Rambomovies in order by release date:
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Rambo: First Blood Part II(1985)
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