Rent First Blood on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: David Morrell (based on the novel by), Michael Kozoll & William Sackheim and Sylvester Stallone (screenplay by)
Directed by: Ted Kotcheff
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, David Caruso
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Verdict
This is much more than an action movie. The action is a result and secondary to the emotional trauma suffered by Rambo in Vietnam. He lashes out in defense when hassled by the local cops. The rest of the movie is Rambo doing what he does best, surviving and winning. Neither side will back down. The cops don't have the resources to assess or address Rambo's issues. Rambo was an excellent soldier, but there's no demand for his skills when the war ends. He returns to a country where the outlook is bleak. He has nothing and nobody. There's no place for him or his finely honed abilities.
Watch It.
Review
When I first watched the Rambo films, I imagined they were all like the pop culture portrayals of the sequels. I was surprised at the depth of the first movie. The sequels certainly were a cash in, and this movie is an impressive rumination on a soldier broken by combat.
Opening with John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), a drifter with few resources, looking for a friend from his unit in Vietnam. The friend has died, and we realize Rambo is alone.
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| Sylvester Stallone plays John Rambo |
Sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehy) gives Rambo a ride out of town. Why? Teasle doesn't like drifters. If he lets Rambo stay, others will follow. Rambo decides not to leave town to spite the cop. The cop retaliates by arresting Rambo. Being in jail gives Rambo flashbacks to being a prisoner in Vietnam. The cops see the scars and continue to abuse Rambo. I'm sure especially at this time people were as aware about PTSD, but it's still crazy that cops treat a veteran like this. The cops don't realize that they're trying to cage a wild animal. A bit of decency and civility would have gone a long way. Rambo has been imprisoned, and in his mind it's happening all over again.
We're sympathetic to Rambo. This movie could release today, and it would still be relevant. It's true, war never changes. There are movies about the horrors of war, but this highlights the horrors after war. The message gets lost in packaging this as an action movie. That be more a fault of the sequels that abandoned all subtlety and messaging to make Rambo an action star. In First Blood, it's a credit to the movie that Rambo doesn't say much, but we know what he's thinking. The situation escalates and when Rambo tries to turn himself in, the cops start shooting at him. They escalate it, and even upon learning Rambo is a Green Beret and war hero, they refuse to back down because they want revenge.
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| Sylvester Stallone plays John Rambo |
Rambo's former commanding officer comes down to resolve the situation. He provides a great one liner, stating he didn't come to save Rambo from the cops, he came to save the cops from Rambo. "Rambo's the best." The whole point of this movie is that Rambo was a soldier. He was the best. What happens when the war is over? His skills don't translate to everyday life, and his experiences make holding a normal job incredibly difficult. There's no space for Rambo in this country despite what he did and sacrificed. That is what this town represents. The cops want to drive him out, ignoring his valor and service.
Rambo will not back down, and it reaches a point where the National Guard and the cops can't back down. The movie opened with Rambo looking for a connection, and old friend. It ends with the closest thing he can find. Rambo unburdens himself to his former commanding officer. Rambo returns to a country that protests him. He did what he was told, but what did he get? In the war he was something, now he has nothing and nobody. You can't excuse what Rambo did in this movie, but you can certainly be sympathetic for the underlying cause.
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