Rambo III

1988 Action/Adventure

The third entry in the ultra-macho Rambo action movie series finds muscle-bound warrior John Rambo (co-writer and star Sylvester Stallone) refusing a request from his former Vietnam superior, Green Beret Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna). Trautman is to lead a mission to aid the mujahedeen rebels fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but the Buddhist Rambo turns his friend down. When the mission goes awry and Trautman is subsequently captured and tortured within a prison fortress, Rambo launches a rescue effort of his own, armed with his trademark bow and exploding arrows. Along the way, he allies himself with the freedom fighters and runs afoul of the villainous Russian commander Zaysen (Marc de Jonge). At the time of its release, Rambo III -- released in the same month in 1988 that Russian troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan -- was the most expensive film ever made, at 63 million dollars. more..

Director: Peter MacDonald

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge, Kurtwood Smith, Spiros Focas

Reviews

  • This is a comic book movie, its outcome as predictable as it is satisfying, which is part of its charm.

    - The Chicago Tribune

    27 April 2013

  • 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.

    Janet Maslin - The New York Times

    27 April 2013

  • Despite its faults Rambo III has an undeniable momentum and, judged on its own terms, a certain comic-book appeal.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

  • 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.

    - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

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

    Kim Newman - Empire

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Jerry Goldsmith

    BMI Film & TV Awards (1989)

  • Worst Actor

    Razzie Awards (1989)

  • Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

    Young Artist Awards (1989)