Rambo: First Blood
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Movie Reviews of Rambo: First Blood
Movie Review: One of Stallone's best
Summary: 4 Stars
"First Blood" was the film that rejuvenated Sylvester Stallone's then floundering career. After the successes of "Rocky" and "Rocky 2", Stallone found himself in some movies that, while good, failed to do any business at the box office. "First Blood" broke that streak, would go on to gross $120 million worldwide, and helped make Stallone one of the top action icons of the 1980's."First Blood" is the story of John Rambo, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran who returns to America after escaping from a POW camp in 'Nam, only to find that it's a different America than the one he left. When he arrives, he gets called a "baby-killer" and spat upon by protestors who view the United States' and his involvement in the war as less than honorable. With nowhere to go, he becomes a drifter, a "forgotten hero".
The film starts with Rambo hiking in the Pacific Northwest, looking for his only surviving buddy from 'Nam. When he arrives at his friend's place, he is saddened to learn that he has passed away from cancer due to exposure to Agent Orange in the war. An upset Rambo then finds himself in a small town where the local sheriff tells him that the town doesn't want someone like him there, and drives him to the city limits. Defiant, Rambo heads toward the town again, only to be arrested and charged with vagrancy. As he is being processed, harassment by the police officers triggers flashbacks of the brutal torture he suffered in Vietnam, and he escapes. He commandeers a motor bike and heads to the mountains, where he takes on the sheriff's posse, and ultimately 200 National Guardsmen. A trained Green Beret, he escapes his pursuers, setting up the climactic showdown between Rambo and the sheriff.
Sylvester Stallone gives a great performance as Rambo, and his speech at the end of the film , where he bares his soul and relates to his commanding officer (and in essence, us as well) the suffering he has endured, both during and after the war, is chilling. Character actor Brian Dennehy also turns in a great peformance as Sheriff Will Teasle, the man who pushes Rambo and draws "first blood" in this war. Also appearing is Richard Crenna as Colonel Sam Trautman, Rambo's C.O. in 'Nam, who gets one of the best bits of dialogue when he describes Rambo and his elite training, with almost father-like pride ("Rambo's been trained to ignore pain... to ignore the weather... to live off the land... to eat things that would make a billy goat puke") to a defiant Teasle. All 3 men give strong performances throughout.
The DVD has some pretty good features, among them a trivia game (with some true bafflers!), a trailer, production notes, a featurette on the film (which plays more like an expanded trailer), and commentary by "First Blood" author David Morrell. It certainly is interesting to hear him compare the film version with the book that he wrote (one of the main differences in the film script being that Rambo lives; in the novel, he dies on the last page). All this is held together by some neat motion menus.
The film is in a widescreen anamorphic format, although the picture leaves a bit to be desired, with some color fading and scratches throughout. The soundtrack is in Dolby Stereo, and sounds dated. It's not necessarily that bad, though, as most of the film is dialogue-driven throughout, with the exception being the last 1/3 of the film, when Rambo returns to the town.
I give the DVD 4 stars, because this is one of those films that would have been served well with a better digital re-mastering of the print, and a 5.1 soundtrack. I give the actual film 5 stars, because this is one of those films that strikes a chord with everyone. Far from the outrageous action-oriented and almost cartoonishly violent sequels that would follow, "First Blood" is basically a psychological story about a man who is trained as a killing machine for war, yet finds out that when he comes back from that war, he can't just "turn it off". Rambo leaves his wide-eyed innocence back in 'Nam, and when pushed around by Teasle and his posse, he reverts back to that which he knows best: Defeating the enemy by any means necessary. It's certainly well worth it to sit down and watch Stallone in his 1st portrayal of Rambo, playing him as the haunted man who can't escape his past, as opposed to the later films where he would become an unstoppable killing machine who would grunt and yell his way to almost implausible victory. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: John Rambo , the Anti War hero .
Summary: 4 Stars
In the beginning of the eighties ,"Rambo" seemed to come from nowhere , but winded up setting the standard for a long series of films , in which the main theme was violence and carnage brought to the extreme.
"Rambo" is indeed which it was the opening shot for, but also has an extra value included - the violence stands for something you can understand, sympathy and identify with.
When released, Stallone was already a big star after the three Rockies. It turned up that Rambo has established his stature to even a higher ground, and would be the character he'd be most recognized with worldwide from that day on.
An ex-green berets, Vietnam War fighter wanders through the wrong All-American small town. He is captured and tormented for no obvious reason. Manages to escape and consequently is hunted down and decides to fight back and retaliate.
There is one thing I dare to claim not as many as before remember , or attribute major importance to , and that's the closing speech of Rambo , which embodies the essence of the entire movie , and clarifies its message in a crystal clear way . This monologue gives the film its right to exist and to stand tall along with other influencing motion pictures of that time . I think that in this single scene Stallone gave one of the best performances of his life .
After all that had happened - all the blood that had been spilled, all the men that had been killed , all the suffering so many had suffered , all the agony , pain and horror - after almost killing the man that had been responsible, in Rambo's view, to it all - he bursts out crying in the presence of his training officer and mentor , Colonel Trautman , and finally start talking . Watching this scene is so hard that tears might fill your eyes , because all the wrong and unjust in regard to the treatment of America of Post Vietnam War towards its returning soldiers is cried out loud ; Rambo and so many other soldiers came back to the U.S , as victims and survivors of the horrors of Vietnam , only to discover that not so many had missed them . The frustration of the American society from the fiasco in Vietnam was thrown in the faces of those lost boys , that did not understand what hit them .
All this burden and more is vented in the mentioned above Epilogue , and there is no comfort in any reply Trautman could come up with , because there is no excuse to these sins of society that represent the ugly side of human nature . Stallone plays convincingly like he really was Rambo - a victim and a want to be survivor of the gloomy reality , and you then can better understand him - what he was all about , why , his violence , rage and the bloodshed he so expertly conducted .
At that time (1982) , nearly ten years after the end of the war , these issues were still troubling , burning and unresolved in he American society . Nowadays , even twenty years after the movie has hit the screens , I think that not everything is forgiven and people still suffer from the consequences of that war . Maybe this movie , among many others that were made on the same subject ("The Deer Hunter" and "Born On The Fourth Of July" to mention a few), should stand as a memoriam to the personal , often swept away , problems caused by wars , and for the terrible price single individuals must pay if they manage to stay alive and survive hell . The war these soldiers face at home is , sometimes , even harder .
Movie Review: The original and best Rambo
Summary: 4 Stars
First Blood is a straight-forward, well-written action flick that keeps the audiences attention and ends on an emotional note that serves to expose the plight of our veterans of vietnam. John Rambo's treatment by the local sheriff is not unlike that which some of our less fortunate citizens experience when law enforcement gets carried away. For an action film, First Blood didn't stray too far away from reality like many of today's hyper-violent films do. For that reason, the film succeeded and has a loyal fanclub. If there's anyone left who hasn't seen First Blood, I think you'll be glad you did.
A spotlight reviewer stated she didn't like Stallone's acting because his voice is annoying and his mouth is squinted to one side, like a stroke victim. Well, you nearly guessed it. For the record, Stallone had a complicated birth that left one side of his face paralyzed, hence his speech impediment and asymetrical facial features. The guy is a lot smarter than he sounds. I applaud him for overcoming what in today's acting world would be a career-limiting featural flaw.
Stallone has had his share of flops (Judge Dread, etc) but he can act with the best of them when the film is well written and directed. He's also a talented writer, as evidenced by his writing credit for Rocky.
I can't say enough good things about Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Wil Teasle. He really nailed the part. I especially liked his squaring off with Colonel Samuel Trautman. Dennehy brings a wealth of acting ability to any film he's in. If Stallone is the brick, Dennehy is the mortar in First Blood. Well done.
Movie Review: Best commentary on any DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
This first Rambo movie is actually pretty entertaining. Rambo isn't the self-righteous hero as he is a lost soul, providing strong parallels to Frankenstein's Monster. Those who have read Mary Shelley's novel may recall that the monster was given life but could not die. This also seems to be Rambo's dilemma. All of his friends have died, but even though he throughs himself off a cliff into some trees, he manages to escape with only a few injuries. Rambo is a man looking for comfort who is misunderstood because of a monstrous appearance. Col. Trautman fills the role of Dr. Frankenstein -- The first words out of his mouth are "God didn't invent Rambo. I did." But unlike Dr. Frankenstein who abandoned his monster, Col. Trautman came to take responsibilty for his creation, to try to calm him down.Now let me sing the praises of the commentary on this disk, given by author David Morrell. He never stops providing constant insight into comparing his book to the film, how the Rambo phenomena has influenced his life, an analysis of the character of Rambo as he is supposed to be representative of the Liberals (surprising as the sequels seemed to be more Republican in theme) and how the Rambo character ties into the Heroic cycle, praise of the music cues as well as certain action sequences. He also talks about the movie cycle on the whole and how with each movie Rambo became more & more invincible, and his knife got larger & larger. David Morrell's commentary is the best that I have encountered on any DVD anywhere. Even those who hate the Rambo movies may find enjoyment in David Morrell's commentary.
Movie Review: Not the dumb Movie I thought it would be
Summary: 4 Stars
Before I saw "First Blood", I thought it would be a stupid Action movie, you know the typical "good and bad" cliches and a lot of pointless shootouts. I was certainly wrong. Stallone isn't a good guy at all, he doesn't safe any poor widows from evil villans like Van-Damme loved to do in a bunch of terrible movies, he rather seems tragic and confused, I think he really got an Actors part in this movie. Although, there are a lot of weak points in this movie ( 1.I think the message that this movie intends (?) to deliver doesn't come across that clearly 2.The Policemen are actually more stupid than the Victims in any "Friday the 13th" movies, just take that one scene where the evil sherrif's car gets crashed because HE DROVE DIRECTLY INTO A PILE OF STONES! 3.I always knew there is a tunnel-system in the forest but nobody belived me... ) I think it is better than most people expect it to be. It manages to make you think a little, and that is by far more than I expect from an action-movie. They had to make two sequels that are exactly what I thought this film would be, avoid them and give this one a fair try!