In the late 1980s, Sylvester Stallone’s ego was inflated while he was filming Rambo III. His manic behavior is not the only reason why the star has very bad memories of this third part, dedicated to the Vietnam veteran. The film depicts fictional events during the Soviet–Afghan War. In the film, Rambo embarks on a dangerous journey to Afghanistan to rescue his former commanding officer and his longtime best friend Colonel Sam Trautman from the hands of an extremely powerful and ruthless Soviet Army colonel who intends to kill both Trautmans. and Rambo, helping a local band of Afghan rebels fight Soviet troops threatening to destroy their village.
Released in 1988, Rambo III grossed $189 million worldwide, compared to its predecessor’s $300 million. Thus, this third opus shows that the two franchises launched by Sylvester Stallone are no longer as popular with the public, two years before the failure of Rocky V. The two feature films have often been considered the ugly ducklings of the sagas they feature, especially Sly himself.
Complex Production:
Seduced by some of his clips and the film “Highlander”, Sylvester Stallone asked Russell Mulcahy to direct “Rambo III”. Inspired by the idea of working with one of his idols, the director agrees. But creative differences quickly appeared between them. Malkahi assures that the scale of his production does not correspond to the need to film the headliner nearby. On his part, the star said during the question/answer session for the site Ain’t It Cool News.RELATED:
Rambo III Physique / Stallone’s Keto Diet and Training
I hired him, and he left for Israel two weeks before me with a mission to find about twenty extras who could play Soviet soldiers. (…) When I arrived on set, I saw two dozen blond, blue-eyed young men who looked like they had been kicked out of a surfing competition. Rambo is not afraid of competition, but faces third-rate models… I expressed my disappointment to Russell, and he took it very badly.
Thus, Russell Mulcahy is replaced by the director of the second division, Peter McDonald. During filming, the latter told the LA Times that he had no choice but to comply with Sylvester Stallone’s demands. The ego of the actor and screenwriter is then especially inflated. Just divorced from Brigitte Nielsen, performer Rambo is going through a difficult period, as he explains, quoted by Allociné:
Emotionally speaking, I was at my lowest. I didn’t care if I lived or died.
The Film Is Dated Before Its Release
Therefore, Sylvester Stallone doesn’t have very good memories of Rambo III, and not just because of the personal setbacks he faced at the time. The actor quickly realizes that the film’s geopolitical themes are outdated even before its release. The Cold War is coming to an end, and the situation in Afghanistan will not go in its favor. During an interview conducted in 2013, he said:
I wasn’t happy with Rambo 3. Because who knew that the guys I fought with would become al-Qaeda (…); it was a bad decision. And then, a month before the film was released, (…) Gorbachev kissed Nancy Reagan on the cheek; everyone loves each other, and I’m the bad guy.The star concludes by insisting that he has learned his lesson and wants to “never make political films again.”