The Big Picture

The Rambo franchise, which began with the 1982 film First Blood, has spanned 32 years and includes five movies, an animated TV series, and video games. Sylvester Stallone’s portrayal of John Rambo, a one-man-army with a tragic past and muscular physique, became the iconic image of an action hero for two decades. The Rambo movies can be watched in order of release or in chronological order, with each installment showcasing Rambo’s evolution and his challenging, life-threatening situations.

The year was 1982. Late Night with David Letterman premiered on NBC, Chariots of Fire bagged Best Picture at the 54th Academy Awards, and the San Francisco 49ers won their first Super Bowl. And that’s also the year audiences met the legendary John Rambo for the first time. 1982’s First Blood was the ultimate action movie of that era, and it instantly became popular in its time, kicking off a franchise and spawning a series of movies that would be released in the coming years.

Inspired by the eponymous novel by David Morrell, First Blood featured Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, who continues to be the hero of the whole series. The Rambo franchise soon became so iconic that the legacy of the character has since spanned 32 long years with five installments, an animated television series with 65 episodes, and multiple video games. And more importantly, the fan following the franchise created for Stallone’s ultra-macho one-man-army stays on and will probably endure, far into the coming decades. Although Stallone’s Rambo is quite different from that of the book, his character left a mark on the audience. His tragic life and his deep-seated trauma, countered by his muscular figure, heavy-duty weapons, and bandana-clad, sweat-soaked body, became the archetypical image of an action hero for the next two decades.

The movie series kicks off years after the Vietnam War with Rambo going to meet a friend in a small town in Washington. He soon ends up in trouble with the local police and a mini militia as the situation quickly becomes increasingly disastrous. The stories of the sequels that followed see Rambo in different challenging and life-threatening situations, where he must save himself and others who seek his help. The one major difference between the ’80s movies and those from the 2000s is the change in the character arc of John Rambo. While the early installments focused more on glorifying the war and Rambo’s battles, the later ones brought back the angry hero that Morrell had created in the novel while still exploring his emotions. In a way, you could say that the entire franchise is the journey of Rambo’s life and his evolution.

Now, if you are looking to revisit the saga of John Rambo, then there’s an order in which you should watch them. The first three movies are somewhat connected, each taking off from where the previous one ended. But the last two movies are more standalone stories. From First Blood to Last Blood, here’s a quick guide on how you can watch the five Rambo movies in order of chronology and their release dates. Fortunately, the story’s chronology and the movie releases coincide. Buckle up, soldier, because it’s going to be a bloody ride.

Image via Orion Pictures Rambo: First Blood A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers. Release Date October 22, 1982 Director Ted Kotcheff Cast Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, Bill McKinney Rating R Runtime 93 mins

Rambo Movies in Order of Release Date
First Blood – October 22, 1982 Rambo: First Blood Part II – May 22, 1985 Rambo III – May 25, 1988 Rambo – January 25, 2008 Rambo: Last Blood – September 20, 2019

Rambo Movies in Chronological Order
The best way to watch all the Rambo movies is to watch them in their order of release, because the stories go more or less linearly, spanning years in John Rambo’s life, beginning with First Blood and ending with the last.

1. ‘First Blood’ (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
Image via Orion Pictures

Directed by Ted Kotcheff from a screenplay written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Sylvester Stallone, the first-ever installment stars Stallone, Brian Dennehy, and Richard Crenna in the leading roles. First Blood introduces John Rambo as a US Army veteran of the Vietnam War who is quite traumatized by his past. Seven years after the war, Rambo is now homeless and trying to make his way into a small town to meet a dying friend. But as luck would have it, he gets into trouble with the local sheriff, which unleashes the killing machine that he was trained to be.

2. ‘Rambo: First Blood Part II’ (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 33%
Image via TriStar Pictures

After the incidents of First Blood, Rambo ends up in a rural labor work prison. Three years later, he is visited by Col. Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna), who sends him on a secret mission to Vietnam. A small group of US soldiers is still in enemy custody as POWs in Vietnam and Rambo must infiltrate their location to get photographic proof. Rambo agrees to go through with the mission in exchange for a pardon. The movie follows his journey to Thailand and then Vietnam, through a series of bureaucratic roadblocks and attacks from pirates and Vietnamese troops.

3. ‘Rambo III’ (1988)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 41%
Image via TriStar Pictures

Taking off from the Vietnam mission in the previous movie, Rambo III explores the Soviet-Afghan War that happened in the 1980s. John Rambo is now living in Thailand. Col. Trautman visits him again with another mission. This time, the CIA wants Rambo to go to Afghanistan and investigate the Soviet Army. When Rambo refuses, Col. Trautman goes himself but soon gets captured by the Soviets. When Rambo hears about this, he heads to Afghanistan to save the colonel.

4. ‘Rambo’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 37%
Image via Lionsgate/TWC

Stallone himself directed this fourth installment of the franchise. It’s been 20 years since the events of the Soviet-Afghan War and John Rambo continues to live in Thailand and works as a snake catcher. Meanwhile, the Saffron Revolution has broken out in Myanmar. A team of Christian missionaries seeks Rambo’s help to enter the country on a humanitarian mission. He reluctantly helps them cross the borders and when the group gets attacked by rebels, Rambo sets out to rescue them with no-holds-barred violence.

5. ‘Rambo: Last Blood’ (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 26%

In the fifth and final installment of the franchise, Sylvester Stallone once again co-wrote the screenplay, alongside Matthew Cirulnick. Directed by Adrian Grünberg, Rambo: Last Blood stars Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Adriana Barraza, and Yvette Monreal in major roles.

It’s been 11 years since the events of the last film and Rambo now lives on his deceased father’s ranch in Arizona, along with his friend Maria and her granddaughter Gabriela. Gabriela suddenly learns about her biological father, who is supposedly in Mexico and wants Rambo to accompany her there. But Rambo refuses and fails to stop her from going. When Gabriela sneaks out of the house and goes across the border, she is soon kidnapped by the Mexican cartel. As expected, Rambo heads to Mexico to rescue Gabriela while fighting off the local cartel. This movie wraps up the entire storyline of John Rambo with flashbacks from the previous installments.