Sylvester Stallone's Rambo Flop Is Finally Finding An Audience On Netflix

If there's anyone that doesn't need saving, it's Rambo. But even Sylvester Stallone's nigh-on invincible action hero needs a helping hand from time to time — especially when his movie flops with critics. Enter: Netflix. The king of the streamers has extended its own muscular arm to John J. Rambo, making for the streaming version of that "epic handshake" meme. That is to say, the streamer has given "Rambo: Last Blood" a small reprieve following a devastating critical response upon its 2019 debut.

Back in the mid to late 2000s, Stallone returned to his two best-known characters, giving Rocky a heartfelt and surprisingly solid legacy sequel in 2006's "Rocky Balboa." Given how these legacy sequels typically go, it was an impressive feat for Stallone to have pulled off, especially since critics were mostly complimentary of the movie. He followed it up with yet another revisit, this time to the world of John Rambo. 2008's "Rambo" wasn't quite as well-received as "Rocky Balboa," but despite its ultra-violence clashing with its otherwise contemplative tone, the movie was similarly impressive for not being all-out nostalgia bait.

Arguably, Stallone should have left things there — and for a while, he did. But then came 2019's "Rambo: Last Blood." In /Film's ranking of the "Rambo" films, "Last Blood" came in, well, last. The tortured Vietnam vet we first met in 1982's "First Blood" had disappeared long ago, with successive films in the franchise content to embrace gratuitous violence at the expense of any character study or exploration of the themes at the heart of the original film. Yet, somehow, "Last Blood" felt like the most egregious example. Critics certainly thought so, anyway, with Stallone's ostensible final "Rambo" installment garnering critical scorn.

That's where Netflix comes in. "Last Blood" is now taking the streamer's film charts by storm, giving John Rambo one final reprieve.

In what is likely the final "Rambo" movie, the titular hero is living a quiet life on his dad's Arizona ranch. Of course, things don't stay quiet for long. "Last Blood" sees John Rambo facing off against none other than the Mexican cartel, who kidnap the teenage granddaughter of Rambo's new friend Maria Beltran (Adriana Barraza). Stallone's ex-Special Forces officer obviously isn't about to stand for any of it, and takes the fight to the cartel in order to retrieve the captive teen. All of this culminates in him booby-trapping his ranch à la "Home Alone" and taking out the gang members one-by-one in a bloody final showdown, before settling into a rocking chair at sunset at the end of "Rambo: Last Blood."

Sadly, that final shot is less of a triumphant finale than an unearned retirement for Rambo, as "Last Blood" was met with some of the worst critic scores of the entire franchise. That hasn't stopped Netflixers from streaming the final "Rambo" installment in earnest, though.

"Last Blood" hit Netflix on February 10, 2025, in the United States. According to streaming viewership tracker, FlixPatrol, the film debuted in the number seven spot on the movies chart three days later on February 13. Oddly enough, the film has been charting in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland in the days leading up to its U.S. chart debut, even hitting number two in Austria and Switzerland. As it stands, "Last Blood" is now going it alone stateside, where the movie could well start to make a play for number one as the week goes on.

Things have been pretty dire on Netflix recently. Earlier this past week, we saw Dylan Sprouse's "Die-Hard"-like actioner "Aftermath" break into Netflix's top charts despite having no reviews to speak of and having prompted some of the most abject audience reactions imaginable on social media. As per FlixPatrol, "Aftermath" remains in the top U.S. charts at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Amy Schumer's latest comedy "Kinda Pregnant" is also holding strong on the Netflix charts despite some truly awful reviews. Beyond that, the Cameron Diaz-led "Back in Action" has finally dropped out of the streamer's movie charts after an incredible run spanning more than three weeks, clearing the way for a new champion to claim the top spot.

Considering "Back in Action" accomplished that with a lowly 28% RT score and has now finally disappeared from the rankings, a 26% score on Rotten Tomatoes for "Last Blood" clearly isn't going to be a hindrance to the movie's Netflix ambitions. In fairness, ever since Kevin Hart's "Lift" charted on Netflix at the top of 2024, it's pretty much been open season for any and all lackluster streaming fare. All of which is to say: Rambo has as good a chance as anyone of taking the top spot before this next week is out, even if The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw did label "Last Blood" a "massively enlarged prostate of a film."