Given how the franchise evolved over the course of its four sequels, it’s very easy to forget that First Blood saw Sylvester Stallone cause exactly one onscreen fatality, and even that was accidental after the traumatized war veteran threw a rock at a helicopter. By the time 2008’s Rambo rolled around, the bodies were dropping like flies, and then some.
Throwing on the red headband for the first time in 20 years, Sly also directed for the first and only installment, and he clearly had some rage issues. Picking up with the title hero living a quiet life of solitude on the Thai border, Rambo is forced to dust off his penchant for killing when a group of missionaries get kidnapped, forcing him into a reluctant rescue mission.
Well, maybe “reluctant” isn’t the word when the grizzled badass racks up a mind-boggling body count of 254 by the time the credits roll, ranging from shootings and stabbings to literal detonations of weapons-grade explosives, along with the unforgettable moment a vehicle-mounted machine gun literally turns some poor sap into nothing but red mist.
Funnily enough, the excessively gratuitous violence was one of the main criticisms, but action junkies couldn’t get enough. 14 years later and that’s still true, seeing as Rambo is locked, loaded, and gunning for the top end of the streaming charts. As per FlixPatrol, the blood-soaked rampage is currently the seventh most-watched film on HBO Max’s global rankings, with subscribers baying for blood as they watch Stallone barrel his way through an entire army.