Legendary cinematic soldier John Rambo is equally as lethal whether he is wielding a knife, a bow and arrow, a gun or his bare hands, and he has used those skills to rack up a triple-digit kill count. Being that much of a badass is hard work though and it takes a toll, even on someone as rugged and fit as Sylvester Stallone. The actor recently spoke about the physical cost of Rambo 5: Last Blood, saying:
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the gym because I’ve been out there doing Rambo, which caused a lot of damage. So now I’ve got to fix things.
In his Instagram video, Sylvester Stallone was back in the gym after taking a hiatus from pumping iron to film Rambo 5: Last Blood. Rambo is a physically taxing role. By the sound of it, that last ride as the Vietnam War veteran was not an easy one, and it took a major physical toll on the 72-year-old actor's body. Just hearing the emphasis he puts on ‘damage’ implies that Sly really took a beating making this movie.
It may be easy to lose sight of the physically challenging nature of the Rambo role, and the fact that, despite his youthful energy and exuberance, Sylvester Stallone is not the same actor who was in his 30s when he filmed First Blood in 1982. You don’t bounce back quite as quickly when you’re older. In many ways, that makes his return to the Rambo franchise all the more impressive.
So after having his body broken down during filming, Sylvester Stallone is doing something about it. Rambo 5: Last Blood has wrapped filming and the actor is back in the gym working out again and building his body back up, knowing that weight training is one of the best things for injury prevention. Check out the video below to see Sly espouse his admirable and motivating ethos:
Sylvester Stallone is banged up and knows that it would be easier to just chill out and relax. It takes an a great amount of will to do what you should do and not what’s easy, and that’s what he is talking about here: advocating for the importance of self-motivation and constant self-improvement. No wonder Adonis Creed sought out Rocky, he’s a hell of coach.
Given the damage he says he took on Rambo 5: Last Blood, it’s probably a good thing that Sylvester Stallone is closing the chapter on this character as well as his time as Rocky Balboa. Still though, in a way it adds a layer of realism to Last Blood. Like Sly, Rambo is not young and war is a young man’s game that he will still have to wage to rescue his friend’s daughter in the film. The old soldier going in to battle one last time has something of an Old Man Logan/Unforgiven vibe to it.
Rambo 5: Last Blood opens in theaters on September 20. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of all of this year’s biggest movies.
