Rambo: Last Blood and RottenTomatoes.

I just found something rather weird, or perhaps it's always been that way..

But I was thinking about watching Rambo: Last Blood and decided to look up some reviews first. So I head on over to RottenTomatoes, which I've not done for a while, and the main reviews were mostly all negative. Then I looked at the differences between the 'TomatoMeter' - the critic reviews by people working for outlets, and the average movie goer.

TomatoMeter: 27%
Audience Score: 82%

So I read some of the 'critic reviews' and ... well, here are a few...

Claudia Puig, FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles), October 3, 2019
Racist in addition to being offensive in its sadism.

Shea Serrano, The Ringer, September 23, 2019
I just didn't like it because it wasn't fun (like, to illustrate this particular point, Assassins, which had a Latino bad guy). Or clever (like Demolition Man, which had a Black bad guy). Or sexually interesting (like The Specialist).

Scout Tafoya, Consequence of Sound, September 21, 2019
Rambo was always a product of Republican policy, and his sore loser, crybaby, murder fantasy is a daringly accurate reflection of the state of the Republican Party circa 2019.

Charles Barfield, The Playlist, September 21, 2019
Jingoism is expected, but 'Last Blood' takes extreme patriotism and adds a vulgar 2019 MAGA design flair to it

Matthew Rozsa, Salon.com, September 21, 2019
[It] is less an escapist action movie and more a dramatized manifestation of the most notorious sentences from Donald Trump's presidential campaign announcement speech.

Brandon Zachary, CBR, September 20, 2019
The latest (and hopefully final) Rambo film is instead a dour, repetitive, xenophobic and borderline unwatchable bloodbath.

Bob Chipman, Escapist Magazine, September 20, 2019
[Feels more like] a generic Taken knock-off goosed up with some half-hearted Mexican-border xenophobia that can't even muster the energy to commit to that base level of thematic coherence.

Hope Madden, Columbus Underground, September 20, 2019
Rambo: Last Blood is basically Taken meets Home Alone, only racist.

Roger Moore, Movie Nation, September 20, 2019
A fascist snuff film.

Rohan Naahar, Hindustan Times, September 20, 2019
Loud, full of hot air, but perversely watchable, Sylvester Stallone's sequel might become Donald Trump's favourite movie.

Luke Parker, We Got This Covered, September 20, 2019
Rambo: Last Blood proves that the time and place for muscly, muddy military machoism has long passed us.

Grace Randolph, Beyond the Trailer, September 19, 2019
Racist AND misogynistic... If only Stallone would go back to working with talented & exciting new directors like Ryan Coogler on Creed.

Vincent Mancini, FilmDrunk, September 19, 2019
Trump-era Rambo is essentially a human border wall keeping America safe from Mexican rapists and murderers. Absolutely deranged, a must-see.

Edward Douglas, The Beat, September 18, 2019
Rambo: Last Blood doesn't just feel dated and quite tone-deaf but also stuck in an era that's long gone with no need for nostalgia to remind us of it.

D'ya think that the media might just be, you know, just a little, on the left?

I just thought it was weird. And ^ makes it sure I am going to watch it now.. even if it does bore the pants off me.

This is not really that unusual on Rotten Tomatoes and does not necessarily reflect a political or ideological bias. Professional critics often hate movies most people like.

And also, they have a tendency to either be very cerebral or even tone deaf as far as not seeing deeper meaning in something that seems shallow. Doesn't necessarily mean they're biased.

Though maybe something like Rambo is just as played out as Star Wars.

I just thought all the references to republicans, Trump, etc.. stood out like a slap in the face. Never saw any of that pre-2016.

It appears that it doesn't matter what it is, no one can take anything at face value. It's a freakin' Rambo movie.. lol

Still, not watched it yet.

originally posted by: gallop
I just thought all the references to republicans, Trump, etc.. stood out like a slap in the face. Never saw any of that pre-2016.

It appears that it doesn't matter what it is, no one can take anything at face value. It's a freakin' Rambo movie.. lol

Still, not watched it yet.

Well, it's hard to talk about anything these days without commenting on Trump because Trump insists upon putting himself into everything. I'm just saying it's not unusual for professional movie critics to pan popular movies.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Actually it's the opposite, those with TDS insist on putting him in everything.

Jaden

From what I understand it isn't a very good movie.
I don't pay attention to RT ratings. There are some reviewers like Critical Drinker that can make reviews more entertaining than the movies they review. The few like him don't pull punches when reviewing and are far from being woke.

I watched it,It was OK but I thought the previous one was better(the one in Burma/Myanmar).
The latest one was predictable but pretty good.
i didn't find it xenophobic-Yes the bad guys were Mexican-but that wasn't why they were bad.
They were bad because they were low life cartel human traffickers,nationality/race was irrelevent.

Watch out for the collar bone scene-that was nasty.

originally posted by: Masterjaden
a reply to: BrianFlanders

Actually it's the opposite, those with TDS insist on putting him in everything.

Jaden

Well, I'd just point out that Obama didn't personally fight with everyone who criticized him on Twitter. I mean, I'm sorry. I'm not really a Democrat (W Bush didn't do it either) but Trump is not a subtle guy and he's not a diplomat. He doesn't do himself any favors with his behavior.

And I don't have to (shouldn't have to) tell you that Bush faced exactly the same kind of constant criticism as Trump does. I would argue that Bush handled it with a lot more maturity and class. As much as I didn't like the things that happened under Bush, I have to look back and respect the man for that.

Wow. I don't even care about movies, but some of those movie reviews are totally pretentious blatherskite.

"Rambo was always a product of republican policy"??

What a pussy.

If Rambo was black, a woman or LGBT and the bad guys were white but the script was exactly the same, those reviewers would have given the film a good score.

a reply to: gallop

You are a little late to the party of reviewers being shills for political reasons.. It really skyrocketed in 2016-2018 with the woke culture movies coming out like diarrhea. Give Nerdrotic a look over on youtube and it'll introduce you to that rabbit hole. He isn't THE GUY but it'll open you up to suggestions about how movie culture has almost entirely become open propaganda. I suggest Garry (Nerdrotic) because he isn't extreme at all. He's a nice guy talking about how what he love is being ruined. Gamergate really brought this to the forefront but it's only gotten worse since then.

a reply to: Grimpachi

I don't so much pay attention to the reviews, but .. like MovieChat, you get an idea about it. I'm not about things like iMDB ratings, often they are so skewed it's not worth listening to either.

Just wanted to read some different opinions... but was left with reading the actual movie goers reviews as a determination, mostly positive and barely any political references lambasting it for this or that. More about the content of the actual movie.

Reason I didn't just go to MovieChat (It's what the iMDB forums resulted in when they were closed down) was to avoid spoilers.

not that there really could be any, I guess.. lol

--ETA MovieChat, not MovieWatch...

originally posted by: Antipathy17
a reply to: gallop

You are a little late to the party of reviewers being shills for political reasons.. It really skyrocketed in 2016-2018 with the woke culture movies coming out like diarrhea. Give Nerdrotic a look over on youtube and it'll introduce you to that rabbit hole. He isn't THE GUY but it'll open you up to suggestions about how movie culture has almost entirely become open propaganda. I suggest Garry (Nerdrotic) because he isn't extreme at all. He's a nice guy talking about how what he love is being ruined. Gamergate really brought this to the forefront but it's only gotten worse since then.

I'd always relied on RT for the varied reviews. So it seemed a long while ago. But the reviews advocated by the site now are definitely skewed.

Not heard of Nerdtrotic. And since I'm a sad youtube junkie, might have a look as I lay my peepers onto tablet land later on tonight !

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: Masterjaden
a reply to: BrianFlanders

Actually it's the opposite, those with TDS insist on putting him in everything.

Jaden

Well, I'd just point out that Obama didn't personally fight with everyone who criticized him on Twitter. I mean, I'm sorry. I'm not really a Democrat (W Bush didn't do it either) but Trump is not a subtle guy and he's not a diplomat. He doesn't do himself any favors with his behavior.

And I don't have to (shouldn't have to) tell you that Bush faced exactly the same kind of constant criticism as Trump does. I would argue that Bush handled it with a lot more maturity and class. As much as I didn't like the things that happened under Bush, I have to look back and respect the man for that.

What has any of that got to do with how you view a movie?

No one was interjecting in their review of a movie "I didn't like it, it reminded me of Obama policy and proved it doesn't belong here today."

?

originally posted by: UKTruth
If Rambo was black, a woman or LGBT and the bad guys were white but the script was exactly the same, those reviewers would have given the film a good score.

One of the reviews I quoted almost went so far as to allude to that.

crazy...

a reply to: gallop

First mistake - trusting Rotten Tomatoes.
Depending on Rotten to provide an unbiased review is like depending on EA to release a complete game.

Watch it you'll like it.

originally posted by: DictionaryOfExcuses
Wow. I don't even care about movies, but some of those movie reviews are totally pretentious blatherskite.

"Rambo was always a product of republican policy"??

What a pussy.

Thank you for introducing me to a new word, and I to mean that. Blatherskite. I know blather... but this is a nice one.

I love language. Am at a loss as to how I missed this gem.

Totally agree too, btw. It was ones like that which made me decide to post a thread.

a reply to: gallop


I haven't trusted RT in a while but since 2016, it's gotten way worse. It's hard not to pay attention to RT over the years with it always being one of the top recommended by google.

Nerdrotic is a sensible guy who doesn't express anger at all or often. It's a good introduction to the culture of critiquing the critics.

originally posted by: Macenroe82
a reply to: gallop

First mistake - trusting Rotten Tomatoes.
Depending on Rotten to provide an unbiased review is like depending on EA to release a complete game.

Watch it you'll like it.

It's not so much about trust, it's about someone's opinion. I just wanted to peruse the plethora of others ideas on the actual movie, and was confronted with people .. well, being 2019 people.

I'm still gonna watch it. If not because I was interested anyway, but even moreso now that I know it must be a bit orrite.

the 82% of normal people without an agenda who said it was good, can't be watching a different movie.

It's a bit like listening to a review of an elvis record for the first time, and all the uptight folk saying it's the devils music.. but the rest of the world danced.

Ahem... and just because my uncle was the president of the elvis presley fan club where I live, long ago, does not mean I like elvis... Oo

originally posted by: Antipathy17
a reply to: gallop


I haven't trusted RT in a while but since 2016, it's gotten way worse. It's hard not to pay attention to RT over the years with it always being one of the top recommended by google.

Yeah, I guess.. as I said, it's been a long while since I looked at it for reviews. I just thought of it as a compendium of multiple opinions, different to reading one persons review on some website. I'll still look now though, to see the bias it seems to have adopted. An interesting thing to wonder about.

The internet is a whole different kettle of fish today. Full of blowies, and you rarely see a decent meal on the end of your hook.

Everything has been contaminated.