Sylvester Stallone drew first blood as Vietnam vet John Rambo 26 years ago. Since that time Rambo has become as career-defining for Stallone as Rocky had previously. Most actors strive for that one character they’ll long be remembered for, and Sylvester Stallone has two.

It’s been 20 years since John Rambo secured the release of Col. Trautman in “Rambo III” and he’s been making a living as a cobra wrangler in Thailand. Medical missionaries approach him to take them up-river into Burma so they can deliver aid to victims of the intense civil war there.

Rambo tries to talk them out of it but the lone female missionary, Sarah, convinces him to take their crew in its long-tail boat.

At age 61, it’s questionable whether or not he should be attempting physically demanding roles like Rambo. The results of his highly publicized steroid usage while filming in Thailand show up dramatically in his physique and more notably on his face. ‘Roids and bad plastic surgery have not been kind to Sly.

Granted, there are not a lot of good roles for actors getting up there in years, but come on – an action hero with regular prostate exams? Maybe it’s time to hang up the .50 caliber gun, John?

This film does the Rambo legacy no favors either. There were no questions that needed to be answered after the third installment from 1988. Does Sly just need a payday?

Remarkably, with all going against the mere thought of a fourth installment at this late stage, the film is not all that bad.

While the theme of rescue of Westerners from a brutal Southeast Asian regime has been done to death, it does give Rambo a reason to do his thing.

And he does it here like never before. The carnage of the sadistic Burmese soldiers is particularly grisly. This 2008 edition is far more graphic than anything seen yet in the Rambo series. Unique ways of killing the villagers is a pastime for them. No torture technique is spared. Parents will want to note that much of the footage here is extremely graphic.

On the positive side of things, this new Rambo film helps prepare the way for 65-year-old Harrison Ford and the fourth installment of Indiana Jones. If this keeps up, studios will have to have geriatric centers on site. What’s next? Paul Newman as the Green Lantern?

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John Malgesini is a teacher at Umatilla High School.