Review of First Blood (1982) by Xavier R — 01 Aug 2018

First Blood is such a great drama film with many underlying themes that to classify it as a typical Stallone action flick would be doing it injustice of the highest order. The film opens with a Vietnam vet returning home and not just feeling ostracized but also profiled and harassed in a small town, led by an evil sheriff and his henchmen.

There are themes of post war stress disorder, loneliness, betrayal and hurt under the umbrella of the overall action machismo. That is not to say there isn't any action sequences- they are present albeit low-key.

Stallone is quite good (considering he wasn't even the first or second choice) and shows his thespian skills here. The cinematography is very good and the locations (British Columbia) combine great montages of the scenery as well as the small town.

First Blood is a great watch. It is well above and beyond an action film.