Director: Ted Kotcheff
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, Bill McKinney, David Caruso, Jack StarettCountry: United States
Rating: R
Run Time: 93 minutes
Stallone's films are a huge chunk of action cinema that I honestly have never truly explored. The only Stallone films I have seen from start to finish up until now are Rambo and both of The Expendables films. As a kid, I was raised on Arnie. Therefore, I didn't really watch any Stallone films at a young age. As I grew up and made my own movie watching decisions, I simply never gravitated towards Stallone.
However, if I am to understand action cinema, Stallone's filmography is quite important to tap into. Therefore, I have chosen to start with his most action packed and iconic series of them all, the Rambo films. I watched Rambo back in 2008 and thought it was a cool action film. And even though I know the final film is a great conclusion, I have never seen the original three. Therefore, let's embark on the great Rambo adventure and see how these classic action films hold up today.
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| Dennehy plays essentially the biggest ass hole of all time. |
John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is an ex-Vietnam soldier who is now a drifter. As he passes through the small town of Hope, Washington, Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy, Silverado) immediately takes a disliking to him. He expresses his distaste of drifters and tells Rambo to skip town. When Rambo refuses, he arrests Rambo and brings him in. When the police officers try to shave Rambo, he flashes back to Vietnam and goes nuts. After breaking out of jail and making his way into the woods, Rambo wages a one man war against the sheriffs that will tear the woods and town apart like never before. However, the only way to stop Rambo is to get help from Colonel Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna), Rambo's former trainer.
First Blood is a great action film that is heavy on morality and theme and light on action and violence. It's funny to think that Rambo only kills one person in this film and will go on to kill hundreds in the three sequels. John Rambo started out as a realistic and vulnerable action hero, not a one man killing machine. Rambo is also a victim of the harsh realities of war. Stallone does a fantastic job playing both a crazed mad man and a redeemable victim of war all in one film.
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| "Don't push it. I'll give you a war you won't believe." |
One thing I was surprised to find in this film was how minimal Stallone's dialog was. Rambo says little verbally and instead speaks through his actions. The film concludes with a truly powerful monologue from Stallone that is completely gut wrenching. He screams about how all he knows in life is killing and war now that Vietnam has ruined him. The modern day world feels like another planet to him. This speech alone makes the film worth viewing. It's a very convincing and moving scene that says a lot about the realities of war.
The other characters on display in the film are also fantastic. Brian Dennehy gives a performance as good as Stallone's as the town's sheriff. He plays one hard ass sheriff who is willing to lock Rambo up simply for walking back into his town. His character is just as complex as Rambo's is too. He struggles with controlling his taste for violence and the duty he has as the town's sheriff. Richard Crenna is also great as Colonel Troutman. He is the only person who understands Rambo because he got to witness Rambo become a victim of war back in Vietnam. Crenna brings a great mentor presence to the film as well.
As I stated before, First Blood is pretty light on action (in my opinion). The highlight of the flick for me came with the very first action sequence. When the police try to shave Rambo, he flips out and beats the crap out of every cop in the police station. He than proceeds to steal a motorcycle and engages in an epic off road chase with Sheriff Teasle in a police car. The two go through farm land, trees, rocks, and everything else in their path. There are a few other small beats of action until the finale of the film. Rambo comes back to town and proceeds to blow up the gas station, gun store, and even the police station. If watching Stallone shoot the crap out of windows and blow up buildings with an M60 is your kind of thing, than the ending of First Blood will blow your mind.
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| Some glorious M60 gun handling. |
The majority of First Blood takes place in the gorgeous forests outside of the town of Hope. By the way, Hope is a great name for the town. There is no hope in that town for Rambo or anyone else. All that remains there is hate and fear. These forest sequences are photographed beautifully. Foilage has never looked so great in high definition. The woods also serve as a safe haven for Rambo. Rambo is a man of the wild who can clearly survive anywhere. Therefore, it was nice to see Rambo plunged into a wild setting suitable for his character.
First Blood also has some of the most awesome lines in all of action cinema. Seriously, take a look at some of these lines. They're amazing!
"In town you're the law. Out here I'm the law. Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe." - Rambo
"You send that many, don't forget one thing."
"What's that?"
"A good supply of body bags." - Troutman to Teasle
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| "When you draw first blood..." |
This film also reminded me of the very first film that I ever reviewed for this blog, William Friedkin's The Hunted. However, everything that The Hunted wants to be pales in comparison to what is going on in this film. First Blood excels as an action morality film. It has some good action, fantastic performances, and a very strong message about war and its effects on our soldiers. First Blood is a great start to one of the most popular action franchises of all time. I look forward to continuing the Rambo adventure in the James Cameron scripted...Rambo: First Blood Part II!
Rating: 9/10 - First Blood is a powerful and dramatic action film that reminds the viewer that not all action films are just dumb escapism.
Franchise:
First Blood (dir. Ted Kotcheff, 1982)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (dir. George P. Cosmastos, 1985)
Rambo III (dir. Peter McDonald, 1988)
Rambo (dir. Sylvester Stallone, 2008)
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