IMDb > Rambo III (1988)
Rambo III
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Rambo III (1988) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2)
Rambo III (1988) -- Rambo's Vietnam commanding officer Colonel Trautman is held hostage in Afghanistan, and its up to Rambo to rescue him.
Rambo III (1988) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
4.9/10   28,062 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
David Morrell (characters)
Sylvester Stallone (written by) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Rambo III on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 May 1988 (USA) more
Tagline:
God would have mercy John Rambo won't! more
Plot:
Rambo's Vietnam commanding officer Colonel Trautman is held hostage in Afghanistan, and its up to Rambo to rescue him. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins & 6 nominations more
User Comments:
Not terrible, but... more (123 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Rambo 3 (International: English title) (alternative spelling)
Rambo: First Blood Part III (Malaysia: English title)
more
Runtime:
102 min | Finland:87 min (1988) (heavily cut) (VHS version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Argentina:16 | Italy:T | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (video release) (cut) | Germany:Not Rated (SPIO/JK) (DVD release) | Finland:K-16 (1998) (uncut) (video) | UK:18 (uncut) (2001) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 (video rating) (1988) (heavily cut) | Finland:K-18 (theatrical rating) (1988) (uncut) | Malaysia:18PL | Brazil:14 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Norway:18 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The knife in this film is the first in the series to not be designed by Arkansas knifesmith Jimmy Lile. The blade was designed by fantasy knife designer Gil Hibben and is two inches longer than the one in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and three inches longer than the knife in First Blood (1982). The knife is also the first in the series to not be of a survival knife design. more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the scene where Rambo is asked to join the Afghanistan soldiers in the game where they use a sheep, at certain times during the game, the sheep looks like either a dead sheep, or a fake sheep with stuffing in it, as can be clearly seen when Rambo picks it up off the ground. more
Quotes:
[after barely escaping the explosion of a fuel bomb dropped by a helicopter]
Colonel Trautman: That was close John. How are you?
Rambo: Well done.
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in The Supermarket (2009) more
Soundtrack:
THE BRIDGE more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
22 out of 30 people found the following comment useful.
Not terrible, but..., 8 January 2002
Author: Wizard-8 from Victoria, BC

With the highest budget of the three movies, the movie certainly looks expensive, with an epic scope at times. But you never quite get the feeling that the movie settles into a comfortable groove. Though the action sequences have plenty of gunshots and explosions, the way they are filmed - and edited - doesn't have the right impact or flow, like the action sequences in the second installment.

In another comparison to the second installment, the story - while as sparse as this one - certainly kept moving. Here there are a number of segments that move very slowly and/or don't seem to have much purpose. The movie should have gotten down to business. The uneven flow of the movie also suffers near the end, as if the movie all of a sudden decides it needs to wrap things up in a few minutes, making the final battle almost come out of nowhere.

(In fairness to the director, it should be pointed out that he was a sudden replacement after original director Russell Mulcahy was fired, and had only ONE DAY to prepare to helm the rest of the movie.)

Like the previous installment, there is some dumb dialogue, but this time around it's not delivered in a slight tongue-in-cheek manner. If they had been willing to show this time around that they weren't taking things so seriously, it would have helped. You might say that the actor playing the Russian commander is not playing things seriously, but he goes SO over the top that he's embarrassing.

It's watchable, but disappointing - they had the chance to make a kick-ass action movie here.

By the way, the Afghans that Rambo helps in this movie are *NOT* the Taliban. People seem to forget that Afghanistan is made up of a number of different tribes. You can tell these particular Afghans are not the Taliban, because (among other things), the women are not completely covered, and the men play the traditional Afghan game with horses and a goat's skin (forbidden by the Taliban.)

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (123 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Rambo III (1988)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
4.6........... are you kidding me????? achilles_nation15
John Rambo or John Matrix? Hyrynen
Raising Arizona! neal2zod
Just a lil bit about this movie.... ironcrown
Rambo 3 dedicated to the taliban! chris-4829
What do Russians think of this movie? OrinBoyd
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Rambo: First Blood Part II Live Free or Die Hard The Living Daylights Rambo GoldenEye
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Action section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.