Rambo creator is 'embarrassed to be associated' with Last Blood
Rambo: Last Blood is the fifth movie in the Sylvester Stallone-led franchise and practically everyone is hoping that it is the last.
The film begins with the ageing soldier whiling away his twilight years, which are soon rudely interrupted when his adoptive granddaughter is kidnapped by a sex-trafficking ring in Mexico.
Reviews for the film have not been kind, calling Rambo: Last Blood disappointing and "offensive" while also calling out the excessive violence and the generic script.
Related: Rambo creator is "sad" that "exciting" original idea for fifth movie was scrapped
And now the original book's author and creator of Rambo, David Morrell, has chimed in – and he is absolutely not jumping to its defence.
"I agree with these Rambo: Last Blood reviews," he tweeted. "The film is a mess. Embarrassed to have my name associated with it."
And he wasn't content with just stopping there, as he later expanded on his disappointment to Newsweek, explaining: "I felt degraded and dehumanised after I left the theatre.
"Instead of being soulful, this new movie lacks one. I felt I was less a human being for having seen it, and today that's an unfortunate message.
"That film is typical of ultra-violent 1970s exploitation 'grindhouse' films, the technique of which Rambo: Last Blood resembles. The sets here look cheap. The direction is awkward.
"Rambo could be called John Smith, and the film wouldn't change," he added. "It assumes the audience is familiar with Rambo's background, whereas anyone under 40 will wonder what on Earth is going on with those tunnels."
David Morrell is a bestselling author whose debut novel First Blood was turned into the original film Rambo in 1982, and he has previously spoken to Digital Spy about how his character was changed from book to screen, and continues to change in further movie sequels.
Related: Here's why the planned Rambo TV series never happened
"In [Rambo] 2 and 3, he's a different character from the [first] movie, and he's a different character from my novel. And then in 4, he's different again," Morrell told us last year.
"I knew, for me, selling the Rambo movie rights was a big risk. You could have a film that's really terrible – and we know of authors who've had real embarrassments made on the screen.
"I feel I've been treated pretty well. I've got no reason to be embarrassed with [the movie of] First Blood. Then things moved on, so I just became kind of stoically adjusted."
Rambo: Last Blood is currently showing in US and UK cinemas.
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