Rambo: Last Blood, the fifth and presumed final film in the Rambo saga (at least until the inevitable reboot) opens in theaters this weekend, leading fans of the series to contemplate its lasting pop culture legacy.
John Rambo himself, as played by Sylvester Stallone, now 73, is something of a contradiction. On the one hand, Rambo – as depicted in First Blood – is a symbol of wartime trauma, a man pushed back into violence when he has already left the Vietnam battlefields behind. In the Rambo sequels, however, the character changed, altered from a sad, tragic figure into an unstoppable action badass. Rambo became an admirable symbol for American military might and forthright American aggression as it was perceived in the Reagan era.
Source: IGN.com Stallone on Last Blood and the Central Contradiction of Rambo