Following the successful revival of the Rocky franchise in Creed and its sequel, Sylvester Stallone has just relaunched his other signature series with the return of John Rambo in Rambo: Last Blood. The fifth entry in the long-running action series hit cinemas this past weekend, arriving to lackluster reviews – including Empire’s write-up – and it’s not just the critics who aren’t keen. Writer David Morrell, the author behind the original 1972 novel First Blood, upon which the first Rambo film is based, hit out at the new film on social media, posting that the finished product is ‘a mess’.
“I agree with these Rambo: Last Blood reviews,” he tweeted. “The film is a mess. Embarrassed to have my name associated with it.” Morrell, who has a writing credit on the film as the creator of the central character, followed up his social media post with a letter to Newsweek further elaborating on his dislike of it – claiming that it ‘lacks soul’ and lamenting the quality of the filmmaking. “I felt degraded and dehumanized after I left the theater,” he said. “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.” He added: “The sets here look cheap. The direction is awkward.”
Despite the largely poor reviews and disparaging response from Morrell, Rambo: Last Blood had a reasonable opening weekend at the box office, pulling in just over $19 million – slightly above the launch of 2008’s eponymous fourth installment Rambo. Stallone is yet to respond to Morrell’s public criticism of Last Blood – stay tuned for any updates.