First Blood Review

What would happen if you angered the last man on Earth you would want to anger? Well, that’s what First Blood the 1982 film directed by Ted Kotcheff explores in the film starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, former Special Forces soldier, a green beret, that served in Vietnam. This adventure tells the story of this man Rambo who is haunted deeply by his time in Vietnam and what happens when bored Sheriff Teasle portrayed by Brian Dennehy picks a fight with Rambo and arrests him leading to Rambo being abused by police officers at the station resulting in Rambo turning violent and escaping. The rest of the film is about the police hunting Rambo down with their vendetta as heated as ever and Colonel Trautman, played by Richard Crenna, the man who trained Rambo, stepping in to prevent the police from meeting their demise under the wrath of Rambo. This adventure is well executed and told thoughtfully through the eyes of an emotionally wounded Vietnam vet which results in an impactful action adventure film.

      The writers manage to capture the heart and soul of this story so well in its theme. They establish Rambo effectively as a man wounded by his experiences in Vietnam and Sylvester Stallone wonderfully captures that element in his performance. This notion of affected warriors of our country is so true and Kotcheff does justice to respecting this important truth and powerfully explores its implications. Portraying Rambo as less than perfect gives him depth and dimensionality which makes him an interesting character to root for. The lead up to Rambo’s violent escape at the police station as being a result of a bored small town Sheriff in Washington exemplifies a profound meaning in a greater context. Sheriff Teasle was more than willing to cast judgment on Rambo based on his appearance as a hitchhiker revealing that Teasle is possibly disillusioned about his place in society after living in a quiet town and not respectful to people’s situations outside his “world”. Teasle may at first appear to be a one-dimensional character but the way he talks and views matters suggest there's something remarkably real about his character and much more lifelike than a cliche good doer movie Sheriff. The writers do an excellent job of constructing the characters in a way that when implemented into the action in the story they really shine. The occurring theme throughout of the past haunting oneself plays out throughout with Rambo and also reveals the theme of danger present.

       Rambo represents danger in all its power. As a former green beret with issues angered by small town law enforcement, he becomes a beast of survival. He uses his stealthy survival tactics from the jungles of Vietnam and his fierce physical prowess to take out his opposition. Every time Rambo is on screen and opposed to the law enforcement you can feel the presence of danger he brings to the screen and how his opposition tries to cope with being ordinary small town folk compared to the one man army that is Rambo. When the National Guard is brought in for reinforcements, there is a scene where they cower at the order to charge into a cave after Rambo, a man they know will eat them alive as soon as they do. Colonel Trautman plays the role of the voice of caution to Sheriff Teasle, warning him of Rambo’s wrath. However, Teasle refuses to back down revealing his stubborn yet persevering character. The action that creates the danger is well executed and implements its well-crafted characters up to the climax of the film to great effect.

       Rambo is a man to be feared and the screenplay of this film and ultimately the final product of the film brings that idea to life and fleshes that character out with dimensionality from a tortured past that speaks to a problem many vets face today. The innocent setting and honest characters reveal aspects of human nature and overall the cast and writers bring to life an electrifying tale. First Blood is an invigorating and exciting great action adventure movie. I am assigning this film a score of 8.8/10.