Bullet Points: The Last American Soldier
Where Rambo Rip Offs are concerned, I am not sure any of them will ever be able to reach the awesomeness of 1986’s The Intruder in my eyes. But that does not mean I am not willing to give more Rambo Rip Offs a chance to knock The Intruder off the top of the Rambo Rip Off mountain. And that is how I came to watch 1988’s The Last American Soldier…
- The Rescue Mission: We get to see our hero Sgt. Roger Craig (aka The Commander) in action right out of the gate. The Commander (Craig Alan, Get the Terrorists) and his two wingmen ambush a convoy leaving a Viet Cong prison… they blow up a jeep, take out 20 soldiers, procure two trucks and free 30 prisoners. This does not sit well with the VC and more notably their Russian comrades, who can’t believe the VC got shown up by The Commander. But it’s not all bad news for the baddies, they believe they have located The Commander’s base of operations.
- Sgt. Roger’s Neighborhood: After the successful rescue mission, Roger returns to the village he calls home and spends some time with his pregnant wife Cho Lin. Cho Lin tells Roger someone named Cherokee has been trying to reach him on the radio all day… Cherokee was the old call sign for his commanding officer back during the Vietnam War… what could he possibly want!??
- The “Final” Mission: Sgt. Roger Craig cuts a deal with his former commanding officer, he’ll steal some top secret Russian technology IF he is provided two passports and passage to the United States for him and his wife, so their child can be born in the USA. Both sides agree to the terms and it isn’t long before The Commander makes sneaking on to the Russian ship that is housing the top secret Russian technology look easy. And just like that it is another successful mission and this time it is the Russians with egg on their face.
- The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming: While The Commander is delivering the top secret Russian technology, The Russians are attacking The Commander’s village and it is an absolute massacre! The village is decimated, women and children are killed… Cho Lin survives, but ends up being taken captive. When The Commander makes his way back and sees all the carnage… he prepares for war or I guess in this case MORE war. But this time it is different, because…
- …This Time It’s Personal: Roger knows what the Russians want and the Russians know what he wants… this sets up an exchange. Roger returns the top secret Russian technology and in return is reunited with his wife, Cho Lin. But both parties end up double crossing one another… Cho Lin ends up dead, and the Russians get a box of rocks. When Cho Lin dies, Roger goes full Commander and charges his foes, but the numbers game quickly catches up with him and now he is captured and being tortured. The Russians want him to admit he is an American terrorist and more importantly they want to know where their stolen technology is… Sgt. Roger Craig proves to be a tough nut to crack, so after a grueling day of torture they lock him up for the night, with plans to resume the torture the next day. But The Commander has another plan… he’s stashed a special “fake death” pill he got from the village medicine man before he died. The Commander pops the pill and the next day, his “dead” ass is dumped in the river.
- From Beyond the Grave: With the element of surprise now in his favor, things are looking good for The Commander heading into the third act where he’ll be able to make good on his promise to his Russian foes that they will meet a bad end. The Commander makes it a point to say he ALWAYS keeps his promises when addressing his adversaries, but I do want to call out the fact that he did promise his wife that their baby would be born in America… and he didn’t keep that promise! Too soon??
The Last American Soldier wasn’t quite at The Intruder level, but it could easily end up in my Top 5 Rambo Rip Offs. There were a few stand out moments through out BUT they all paled in comparison to the final action scene that featured two helicopters, a rope ladder and a bazooka wielding Commander… as a result, The Last American Soldier sent me home happy.
Now to send you home happy with some Bonus Bullet Points…
- AKA: The Last American Soldier is also known as Commander in many parts of the world.
- Where’s RJG?: Like many Rambo Rip Offs, The Last American Soldier was shot in the Philippines and I was absolutely shocked that the real Jim Gaines did not appear in the movie, totally blowing my theory that it was a requirement that if a movie was shot in the Philippines that Jim Gaines had to be a part of it.
- Familiar Face: Jim Gaines may not have been in the movie, but I did recognize Mike Monty. Monty had a brief role as Colonel Brandt and was in the movie just long enough to establish that he was not a fan of the way Sgt. Roger Craig did business. I remember seeing Monty in Blood Debts, Whiteforce and Strike Commando.
