Sylvester Stallone just posted the coolest recap of the ‘Rambo’ series

The 'Rambo' series didn't start off with John Rambo as a one-man Army, hell-bent on killing anyone who stood between him and his mission. But that's what it turned out to be. And now few action movie images are more iconic than Rambo tightening up his trademark red headband.

You know the one.

The series began as a very poignant, yet action-packed treatise on the treatment of Vietnam veterans in the years following the end of their war. In First Blood, there's only one onscreen kill, a guy who falls out of a helicopter for trying to kill Rambo. Rambo isn't purposely involved in his death. If you want to know the whole point of the first Rambo movie, you can just watch John Rambo's speech at the end of the movie.

By First Blood: Part II, the idea that John Rambo was just a simple guy with extraordinary training in extraordinary situations, was long gone. In the second Rambo movie, John Rambo is the perfect man to lead a mission back to Vietnam to rescue POWs still held there. Rambo is twice as ripped and definitely kills people in this movie. By Rambo III, he just lays waste to an entire army.

If you don't remember any of that, Sylvester Stallone posted a helpful reminder to his Instagram account.

From G.I. Joe-level animation for First Blood, the VCR-level graphics in between the "trailers," the backyard, action figure quality of the trailer for First Blood: Part II, to the 8-bit Nintendo-style graphics for the Rambo III trailer, everything about this rundown of John Rambo's life is perfect. And perfectly chock-full of late 1980s to early 1990s nostalgia. Whoever came up with this idea – and it very well could have been Stallone himself – needs an award of some kind. A webby, a grammy, a Pulitzer. Something.

The fun doesn't stop at the original three Rambo movies. The "trailer" for the fourth installment is a nod to a hilarious "Reading Rambo" meme. This comes in the form of a Rambo IV children's book, narrated by Sly, describing the most epic and violent Rambo scene in the series' history.

You know the one.

If you're interested in watching the entire Rambo series recap, check it out on Stallone's official Instagram feed. If you're interested in recapping the entire series in its non-cartoon entirety, you can join me on my couch on Thursday as I attempt to contain my overwhelming excitement for the best action movie series since ... ever.