'Rambo III': Things start to get a little boring, which is a bummer

A Rambo movie can be many things, but it can't be boring, otherwise it serves no purpose. Unfortunately, for the most part, Rambo III is a total bummer.

The character does get a very cool opening scene, where he's inexplicably stick-fighting for extra money in Thailand. It's the kind of kinetic, very physical action that Sylvester Stallone really can sell.

But soon we learn that his increasingly mopey Rambo is hanging out with monks, acting all zen and basically not doing what he does best, which is kill. Rambo is always the reluctant mercenary but in this film he is especially in noble mode which kind of detracts from all the fun.

And the makers of the film made the embarrassing decision to make the plight of Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan the centerpiece of their film.

Rambo (and by extension we in the audience) have to sit patiently while inauthentic actors speechify about how cruel and barbarous the Russians are. Moments like this make the hooray for democracy finale of Rocky IV seem subtle by comparison.

Richard Crenna as Trautman

As with the previous Rambo movies, there is some decent action sequences here and there but much of it is shot in a murky, discombobulated way. First Blood and Rambo: First Blood II both have a faster pace and simpler stories. This one is all abrupt starts and stops and Rambo is given far too much sappy dialogue. His body is sick in this movie though -- made me want to work out the whole time. He literally looks like a piece of meat.

I still enjoy Richard Crenna's Trautman character, even while being tortured he manages to talk up how amazing Rambo is. I think these movies have even added camp value if you just assume Trautman is secretly in love with Rambo -- he certainly acts like it.

With a few notable exceptions, it's usually in part three where film franchises go off the rails a bit. Part II remains the biggest hit of Stallone's career, even topping all the Rocky movies, and so this one had big shoes to fill. It's clearly got a larger budget than the previous Rambos, the scale of this production is much bigger -- but the movies have gotten away from what made the original, First Blood, special.

That movie actually had some genuine suspense and something to say about the military industrial complex. It wasn't deep but it at least was intriguing. Rambo III is just a bunch of explosions -- and it doesn't hold up all that well.

Still, it's not the worst thing to have on in the background during a lazy Sunday afternoon.