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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Rambo III

EMAIL PRINTTriStar Pictures

5.8 User Score:

Generally unfavorable reviews

Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 6 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Action | War

Written by: David Morrell (characters)
Sylvester Stallone
Sheldon Lettich

Directed by: Peter MacDonald

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 25, 1988
DVD: November 23, 2004

Running Time: 101 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for profanity and graphic violence

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge, Kurtwood Smith, Spiros Focás, and Sasson Gabai

Just when John Rambo thinks he can finally rest, he finds himself on one last mission to Soviet occupied Afghanistan to save his friend Clononel Trautman.

Also On Metacritic

FILM: Rambo

Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Chicago Tribune Johanna Steinmetz

This is a comic book movie, its outcome as predictable as it is satisfying, which is part of its charm. [25 May 1988, p.7]

Variety Staff (Not Credited)

The battle scenes in Rambo III are explosive, conflagratory tableaux that make for wrenching, frequently terrifying viewing. Always at ground zero in the chaos is Rambo - gloriously, inhumanly impervious to fear and danger - whose character is inhabited by Stallone with messianic intensity.

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The New York Times Janet Maslin

Rambo's self-important, weight-of-the-world manner and his taste for political posturing would make him genuinely silly were they not counterbalanced by Mr. Stallone's startling, energetic physical presence and the film's stabs at self-mocking humor.

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San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Despite its faults Rambo III has an undeniable momentum and, judged on its own terms, a certain comic-book appeal. [26 May 1988, p.E1]

Chicago Sun-Times Lon Grahnke

Director Peter MacDonald keeps the action exploding across the screen, building to a climactic game of "chicken" between Rambo in a Russian tank and the Soviet commander in a helicopter. Gung-ho Rambo fans won't be disappointed. [25 May 1988, p.43]

Empire Kim Newman

Strays slightly from the formula and therefore loses some of its mindless fun credentials.

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TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)

Though less offensive than its predecessor, Rambo III -- which is dedicated to "the gallant people of Afghanistan" -- is still a mindless and uninspired effort.

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The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Rambo's return is thick with usual thrills. [26 May 1988, p.C1]

USA Today Mike Clark

Rambo III is hardly the first Stallone-y baloney to climax with a commie wipeout; it is the first to palm off its star as the product of a Buddhist monastery. Like, whew. Rambo in a monastery is almost as stomach-turning as E.T. in a brothel. [25 May 1988, p.1D]

Time Richard Schickel

There are, of course, low cunning, high explosives and much running around without a shirt, punctuated with other familiar gambits: torture scenes; the self-cauterization of, and instant recovery from, a wound large enough to stop an elephant; and a grimly preposterous two-man stand against a tank-led army. What few are likely to find amusing is Rambo III's story line. [30 May 1988, p.64]

Los Angeles Times Michael Wilmington

Admirers of Rambo III will probably point out that it moves fast. But then, so does a gazelle-and a gazelle has better dialogue and more personality. [25 May 1988, p.1]

Washington Post Desson Howe

Once again, John Rambo guns amok in the name of American democracy, but he packs less dramatic firepower than last time. Rambo III, a poorly paced, much less involving show of guns and machismo, makes you miss "Rambo II" (okay, "Rambo: First Blood Part II").

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Washington Post Hal Hinson

As you might expect, the calculations here are on a much less sophisticated level. And by less sophisticated, I mean like counting on fingers.

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Boston Globe Jim Sullivan

Rambo III is just another of Stallone's exercises in narcissism and jingoism, death and glory wrapped up in one tidy package. [25 May 1988, p.75]

Wall Street Journal Julie Salamon

This time Rambo pulls off his superhuman Soviet-blasting stunts in Afghanistan, not quite as late on the scene as he was in Vietnam. Not very exciting; very noisy. [2 Jun 1988, p.1]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.8 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.