Review of First Blood (1982) by Nathan O — 07 Oct 2011

First Blood presents itself as a simple summer blockbuster. Such as we see today, summer blockbuster's prove to be exciting and fun action thrillers or adventures films with sometimes modest to weak performances, with a weak story and an even more weak script.

But, somehow, First Blood finds a way to go above and beyond it's simplistic nature. John Rambo, played by Stallone, a troubled Vietnam veteran wanders into a small town looking for a place to stay for the day but an uptight police station led by Officer Teasle, played by Brian Dennehy doesn't want Rambo in their town.

From then, a war sparks between a lone solider and the town's authorities. The conflict is endearing, the plot is fascinating, as the plot progresses and interest in both sides of the matter duke it out in a miniature war.

An excellent performance by Stallone and Dennehy as sharp rivals and a deeper than what appears on the surface plot pass First Blood into a thrilling classic of 80's action films.