Rambo III (1988)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A war veteran embarks on a perilous solo mission to rescue his commander from Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
The story
After being pardoned for saving the POWs in Vietnam, former U.S. Army Green Beret John Rambo has settled in a Thai Buddhist monastery. When his old friend and ally, Colonel Sam Trautman, is captured by Soviet forces during a mission to supply the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, Rambo is forced to take action. Despite his desire to remain out of the conflict, Rambo receives permission to undertake a solo rescue mission. He travels to the region to infiltrate the Soviet-held territory and rescue Trautman from the hands of a ruthless Soviet Army colonel, all while navigating the dangers of the war-torn landscape.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After settling in a Thai monastery, John Rambo is informed that his friend Colonel Sam Trautman has been captured by Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Rambo is granted a solo, unofficial mission to rescue him. He travels to Pakistan and then to the town of Khost. He faces resistance from local Mujahideen and a Soviet ambush. After a brutal battle at a Soviet base where he faces Colonel Alexei Zaysen, Rambo and Trautman manage to escape but are forced to flee on foot after their helicopter is damaged. They are eventually joined by the Mujahideen forces in a massive cavalry charge. The climax features Rambo hijacking a tank and engaging in a high-stakes battle against Zayen's Mi-24 Hind-D helicopter. Rambo destroys the helicopter and kills Zayen before finally making his way back to the border with Trautman.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter MacDonald
- Writers
- Sylvester Stallone · writer; Sheldon Lettich · writer
- Cast and characters
- Sylvester Stallone · John Rambo; Richard Crenna · Colonel Sam Trautman
- Genres
- action; adventure; war
- Themes
- war; loyalty
- Tone and mood
- action-packed
- Premise and plot tags
- sequel; war; rescue mission
- Source material / true-story basis
- Rambo III (novelization by David Morrell)
- Franchise connections
- Rambo
- Reception
- The film was not well received by critics and was considered to have under-performed compared to its predecessor.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 39% · scale: percentage · review count: 38; Metacritic · score: 36 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Actor · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release.; The film was parodied in Hot Shots! Part Deux.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…