Rambo III  ★★½

THE most interesting thing about the third Rambo instalment is its overt political stance.

Released in 1988, the closing credits for Rambo III state it is dedicated to the people of Afghanistan and the film accuses its Russian characters of raping women and burning babies.

Rambo’s mentor, Colonel Trautman, tells his captors “We had our Vietnam; now it’s your going to have yours” and an Afghan rebel leader makes an impassioned speech about the destruction of his land and people.

It’s a franchise not known for its subtlety, which is a shame when you consider the original source material for the first film, First Blood by David Morrell, was a fine novel that helped fuel the growing movement to generate more understanding and respect for war veterans.

Unfortunately Rambo III, co-written by its star Sylvester Stallone, has probably the laziest script of the four films to date and, blunt politics aside, is basically an average action film lifted by good locations and some fine set pieces.

Thailand looks beautiful and Arizona is an impressive double for Afghanistan, particularly the cave system where some of the action occurs. A game of chicken between tank and helicopter is a highlight of the action.

As for Stallone, he is particularly wooden and seems to have forgotten to write anything interesting for his own character to say.

The best thing he does is perform a form of keyhole surgery on himself using a bullet, fire and his thumb.