First Blood Review (1982)

Sylvester Stallone is a strange one. He has turned out some cracking performances over his long career, with stand out performances in several films starting with Rocky in the late 70's progressing onto this film and then in later films with Rocky Balboa and the rather stupid but always enjoyable Expendables, but like any actor he has had a lot of doozies too, and in my opinion there are a fair few of these. However I always think back to First Blood when talking about Stallone, as it might just be his best performance.

First Blood

On the surface, First Blood might seem like nothing more than a mindless action flick, a one man show against a relentless army of police officers and swat team members, but I feel it is a lot more than that.
John Rambo is a Vietnam veteran, who is on his way to try and find his war time buddies only to find that his last remaining friend has died from cancer. Rambo then travels to the small town of Hope in Washington. Due to his army style coat and unkempt look with long hair and dirty clothing, Rambo is soon met by the abusive sheriff of the town played by Brian Dennehy, who informs Rambo that the small town of Hope would not take kindly to an ex soldier or "vagrant" as he is often labelled travelling through their town. Rambo by now used to these kind of remarks by this point instead simply asks "Is there somewhere round here I can get something to eat?" leading the sheriff to drive him out of town, after Rambo is vague about where he is going and gets dropped off outside the town. Defying what the sheriff said, Rambo makes his way back towards the town, before the sheriff brings him to the police station.
The next few scenes are brutal and might actually be my favourite part of the whole film. Rambo is tortured and tormented in the police holding cells, with the officers involved cleaning him down with a hose and attempting to shave him with a razor, and this in turn brings back the horrible experiences that he had to go through during 'Nam. Finally breaking loose, Rambo goes to the thing that he knows best, the woods.

"I didn't do anything"

I will leave my details on the plot there, as Rambo really is a film that you have to just watch, and it isn't without its subtext. The whole point of Rambo rebelling against the law of the land is that he has been treated badly ever since he returned from the war he has been treated like "vile crap" and called things such as "baby killer" and due to this, he isn't able to adjust well to the normality of the American lifestyle. Rambo finally has enough of being treated badly by the country he fought so long to protect that he just snaps and he does it in the most awesome way imaginable. He takes the war home, and against the people that have mistreated him.
The thing is that Rambo himself isn't exactly a bad guy. He even tries to warn off the law men that are trying to chase him down, "Don't push it or I will give you a war you won't believe." In fact I actually find myself rooting for John throughout the whole film, even after he has stabbed people and shot them, all he is doing is trying to live his life. Rambo retreats to the wilderness because it is all he knows, it's what he is comfortable with and so he ends up using this to his advantage when the law brings hell down upon him, he is the man that comes out on top.

"Don't push it."

The performances in this film are outstanding. I will go into Stallone in more depth a little later, but Richard Crenna as Colonel Trautman, Rambo's ex military commander who attempts to sympathise with Rambo despite his killings of some innocent civilians, and then being the father figure and friend to Rambo during his grievances of the loss of his comrades and the trauma the war has brought to him. The previously mentioned Brian Dennehy is also great as the sheriff, who you have to love to hate. This guy is a real asshole and its hard to take your eyes off of him when he is on-screen, treating Rambo badly and just being a tool in general, how this guy came to be sheriff of a town I will never know. Stallone himself actually gives his best monologue of his entire career towards the end of this film, pouring all of his heart and soul into the performance, making us really feel for this guy that has been and is still experiencing hell. The first time I watched this I think I actually ended up welling up towards the end and that's a true testament to a great performance.

Perhaps Stallone's best performance

So in the end, this film is a hell of a lot more than a mindless action flick, it has soul, heart and meaning and it really is one of the best performances of Stallone's career. I am going to attempt to review each of the Rambo films and with this one I have actually "Drawn First Blood." So stay tuned for the rest of the reviews which will be along shortly. Check this one out if you haven't already as I am sure there is something here for everyone. First Blood is as good now as it was back then, and there is a lot of stuff I haven't mentioned in this review such as the spectacular climax to Rambo's rampage along with the interesting use of several of his survival skills. So go watch it!