When one thinks of Sylvester Stallone, one probably thinks first of Rocky, but you can't really consider the man's full career without also considering his other big franchise, Rambo. The most recent entry in that franchise came out in 2019 and while the movie was neither a box office juggernaut nor a critical darling, it did bring back exactly the character that many fans were waiting for. Rambo: Last Blood was an action filled, bloody, and violent experience. It was not a movie for the faint of heart. Something proved all the more true by this close up of some of the makeup work.
Sylvester Stallone recently posted a video to Instagram that shows him in the makeup chair during the production of Rambo: Last Blood. It's a pretty brutal look. He's covered in blood. Only has one functioning eye, and has a cut that has already required stitches. If you're squeamish, this up close and personal look might be a little much.
I mean, it's hard to argue that this isn't great makeup work. Sylvester Stallone really looks like he's been to hell and back again. The work was done by Fiona Cush, who has also worked on other Stallone films including the Escape Plan series and Creed II as well as movies like Baby Driver, Goosebumps, and Bad Boys for Life.
Rambo: Last Blood saw John Rambo back home at the family ranch in Arizona following the events of 2008's Rambo. Rambo has an adopted family there but when a young girl who lives on the ranch goes looking for her biological father and ends up crossing paths with drug dealers, Rambo dusts off his training to attempt to bring her home.
What follows isn't simply action packed but is a visceral gorefest. Rambo doesn't simply beat the bad guys, he tears them apart, which is not to say that Rambo himself doesn't take some hits too. Rambo still ends up better than everybody else, as he is still alive at the end of the movie.
While the movie was called Last Blood, a reference to the first Rambo film, First Blood, which would seem to indicate that the film was intended to be the finale to the story of John Rambo, that's not necessarily the case. The film leaves the door open to more Rambo action. Last Blood wasn't a big box office hit, but the movie also wasn't all that expensive to produce, so a sequel is at least theoretically a possibility.
So perhaps we will see one more adventure from John Rambo. It seems that the door has closed on the life of Rocky Balboa, with the exception of a new director's cut for Rocky IV on the way. Maybe someday Rambo will join him in the '80s action hero retirement home.
