Rambo: Last Blood
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There's a solid argument to be made that Rambo really should've never been a franchise at all - the original, First Blood, was such a potent, effective thriller about post-war trauma, but the sequels quickly descended into empty-headed, ultra-violent schlock. And so it was something of a relief that 2019's Rambo: Last Blood categorically closed the book on John Rambo's (Sylvester Stallone) journey, not by killing him, but having him scarcely survive and then literally ride off into the sunset at the end. In the movie's end credits, we see a wounded Rambo saddle up his horse and ride off, intercut with a montage of footage from the four previous Rambo movies, making it categorically clear that the then-73-year-old Stallone was finally sunsetting the action icon. It's just as well, given that Last Blood was by far the lowest-grossing entry into the series and, in addition to negative reviews, was even disparaged by First Blood author David Morrell. Though Stallone hasn't entirely ruled out a sixth film, between Last Blood's ending, Stallone's age, and the general reception to the fifth film, John Rambo's time is clearly over.
