The Rambo franchise underwent a massive change after the first movie, and that new direction has stuck with the series ever since they put Rambo in the title. But even all the way back in First Blood, John Rambo's actions seemed to have always been fuelled by desperation. In Last Blood however, Rambo's actions are calculated, and personal. It's something I'd never really considered before, but I actually don't like this direction for the character. It's not that it doesn't make sense, because it does, just personally I preferred when Rambo was surviving the bad world that was happening to him, not creating it.
2008's Rambo was over the top and its very existence seemed bizarre, but it also felt like John Rambo "came full circle" as it were, which sort of justified that existence. Last Blood doesn't really feel like it re-opened or closed any circle. It kind of feels like an episode of a long-running show I haven't watched the last 10+ seasons of. Stallone seems to think he'll be getting a Rambo 6 where he's on a Rez, if that's the plan, why bother calling this one "Last Blood", and if it's not the case, why make this movie that starts and ends like it's supposed to slot in between other pieces of a story we haven't gotten yet?
End of the day, Last Blood was okay. A low point for the series, arguably even the lowest, but it was a franchise that has always been at least a little enjoyable, so that's not too harsh a burn.
Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.