Morrell is the author of dozens of novels, including the upcoming Before I Wake. 'The best I can say is that the first two minutes were promising.' 'From multiple perspectives, this film fails miserably,' Morrell concluded.

Numerous reviewers have decried the indiscriminate slaughter of Mexican villains in a political atmosphere where demonizing Mexicans is so central to President Donald Trump's policy ambitions. In back-and-forths on Twitter, Morrell also says his criticisms have nothing to do with political readings people have made of Last Blood. Morrell instead describes the inability of Rambo and Sheriff Will Teasle (played by Brian Dennehy) to see events from the other's perspective as the novel's main theme.

Sylvester Stallone as traumatized veteran John Rambo in 'First Blood.' Orion Picturesįor his part, Morrell has long insisted First Blood was about war, specifically the violence of the Vietnam War returning to America, but apart from politics. Embarrassed to have my name associated with it.' 'I hated the film,' Morrell posted to Twitter, agreeing with the overwhelmingly negative critical consensus surrounding Rambo: Last Blood. A version of the plot point made it into Rambo: Last Blood, which shows Rambo journeying to Mexico to rescue a friend's granddaughter, Gabrielle (Yvette Montreal), from cartel sex traffickers. Stallone finished the script with Matthew Cirulnick ( Absentia). Morrell's hope for Last Blood was to portray a 'soulful' Rambo, which included portraying Rambo tracking down a missing child, defending a family he never had.īut communication between the author and Stallone soon ended. Morrell had some involvement with the newest movie, the fifth in the series, conversing with Stallone by telephone during the writing process. When the police attempt to cut his hair, he breaks free of the police station, setting in motion a bloodbath, as the police and National Guard hunt him down. In First Blood, Rambo (he has no first name in the novel), a Vietnam War veteran, is harassed by Kentucky police and suffers flashbacks to his time as a prisoner of war while imprisoned. The creator of Rambo isn't happy with Sylvester Stallone's latest entry in the movie series named for the character, Rambo: Last Blood.ĭavid Morrell is a bestselling thriller author, whose debut novel, 1972's First Blood, was adapted into a 1982 movie of the same name.

First Blood by David Morrell