3/5 stars Ever since the Rambo franchise dropped the political allegory in 1982’s First Blood to embrace full-blown gory mayhem with its 1985 second entry, Sylvester Stallone’s second-best-known series – after Rocky – has been all about the perverse pleasure of watching the titular protagonist slaughter nominal baddies like a psychopath on the loose. While the war and genocide settings in previous sequels partly condoned the spectacle of murder that John Rambo (played by Stallone, now age 73) serves up, the absurd nature of his extraordinarily sadistic way of killing is more pronounced than ever in Rambo: Last Blood , now that the character has returned from the wilderness of war-torn countries to live in relatively more peaceful times. Leaving behind the dodgy politics of the last three films, albeit keeping certain bias that would make Trump proud (the only Mexican characters here are criminals and their victims), this fifth and possibly final instalment sees the tormented former soldier settle down in his ranch in Arizona, grooming horses and taking part in the odd voluntary rescue mission in the area. Living with a family friend, Maria (Adriana Barraza), and her granddaughter Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal), whom Rambo regards as his own niece, our reborn hero – no longer relying on his superhuman physique and never even taking his shirt off – looks to be basking in domestic bliss. That is, until Gabrielle takes a trip to Mexico to look for her runaway father and ends up being abducted by a sex trafficking cartel. So far, so Taken . Some quick investigation and one startling bone-crunching moment later, Rambo is confronted by cartel leaders Hugo (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and Victor (Óscar Jaenada), and is severely hurt by their gang. With the help of Carmen (Paz Vega in a regrettably underwritten role), an investigative reporter who shares his pain, Rambo swears vengeance. The Rambo films have always seen the Vietnam war veteran pushed into situations by the folly of others, before reluctantly digging out his true self as a savage killing machine. But Last Blood marks the first time he goes on a killing spree on American soil; its operatic third act takes place inside the heavily booby-trapped tunnel network beneath Rambo’s ranch. As the film moves briskly from one extremely gruesome death to the next, Rambo has also fully become the cold-blooded killer that he almost made a point not to be in First Blood . While this is not your typical Rambo sequel, however, it is at least a much better film than 2008’s Rambo . As a generic revenge thriller with an unusually grisly edge, Last Blood is bloody satisfying indeed. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook