Rambo III is a 1988 American action film directed by Peter MacDonald and co-written by

Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel
to Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), it is the third installment in the Rambo franchise.

The film depicts fictional events during the Soviet–Afghan War. In the film, Rambo sets out
on a dangerous journey to Afghanistan in order to rescue his former commander and his
longtime best friend, Col. Sam Trautman, from the hands of an extremely powerful and
ruthless Soviet Army colonel who is bent on killing both Trautman and Rambo, while helping
a local band of Afghan rebels fight against Soviet forces threatening to destroy their village.

Rambo III was released worldwide on May 25, 1988. At the time of its release, Rambo III
was the most expensive film ever made with a production budget between $58 and $63
million. The film was not well received by critics and grossed less than its predecessor,
Rambo: First Blood Part II, earning $189 million worldwide.

A sequel, Rambo, was released in 2008 with Stallone reprising his role and also directing the
film.

Three years after the events in Vietnam, John Rambo has settled in a Thai monastery and is
helping with construction work on the monastery grounds. He supports the monastery by
competing in krabi-krabong matches in nearby Bangkok. Colonel Sam Trautman visits his old
friend and ally Rambo, and explains that he is putting together a mercenary team for a CIA-
sponsored mission to supply the Mujahideen and other tribes as they try to repel the Soviet
Army in Afghanistan. Despite being shown photos of civilians suffering at the hands of the
Soviet military, Rambo refuses to join, as he is tired of fighting. Trautman proceeds anyway
and is ambushed by enemy forces near the border, resulting in all of his men being killed.
Trautman is captured and sent to a large mountain base to be interrogated by Soviet Colonel
Zaysen and his henchman Sergeant Kourov.

Embassy official Robert Griggs informs Rambo of Col. Trautman's capture but refuses to
approve a rescue mission for fear of drawing the United States into the war. Aware that
Trautman will die otherwise, Rambo gets permission to undertake a solo rescue on the
condition that he will be disavowed in the event of capture or death. Rambo immediately flies
to Peshawar, Pakistan, where he intends to convince arms dealer Mousa Ghani to bring him to
Khost, the town closest to the Soviet base where Trautman is held captive.

The Mujahideen in the village, led by chieftain Masoud, hesitate to help Rambo free
Trautman. Meanwhile, a Soviet informant in Ghani's employ informs the Soviets, who send
two attack helicopters to destroy the village. Though Rambo manages to destroy one of them
with a DShK heavy machine gun, the rebels refuse to aid him any further. Aided only by
Mousa and a young boy named Hamid, Rambo attacks the base and inflicts significant
damage before being forced to retreat. Hamid, as well as Rambo, are wounded during the
battle and Rambo sends him and Mousa away before resuming his infiltration.

Skillfully evading base security, Rambo reaches and frees Trautman just as he is about to be
tortured with a flamethrower. He and Trautman rescue several other prisoners and hijack a
Hind gunship helicopter to escape the base. The helicopter is damaged during takeoff and
quickly crashes, forcing the escapees to flee across the sand on foot. An attack helicopter
pursues Rambo and Trautman to a nearby cave, where Rambo destroys it with an explosive
arrow. A furious Zaysen sends Spetsnaz commandos under Kourov to kill them, but they are
quickly routed and killed. An injured Kourov attacks Rambo with his bare hands, but is
overcome and killed.

As Rambo and Trautman make their way to the Pakistani border, Zaysen and his forces
surround them. But before the duo are overwhelmed, Masoud's Mujahideen forces attack the
Soviets in a surprise cavalry charge. Despite being wounded, Rambo takes control of a tank
and uses it to attack Zaysen's Hind gunship in a head-on battle with both vehicles firing high-
calibre machine gun rounds, Rambo firing the tank's main gun and Zaysen unleashing volleys
of the Hind's high explosive rockets and missiles. The final charge sees the two vehicles
collide, but Rambo survives after firing the tank's main gun after colliding with Zaysen's
Hind. At the end of the battle, Rambo and Trautman say goodbye to the Mujahideen and leave
Afghanistan.