Review of First Blood (1982) by Edward B — 06 Jan 2011

First Blood sets itself apart from most war movies, as well as the sequels that would soon come after it, in that it deals with the hero removed from the war trying to reintegrate back into civilized society. Like the similar themed The Deer Hunter, First Blood shows that these "killing machines" are actually too physically, mentally, and most of all emotionally scarred to just return to their pre-war selves. It's not their fault; it's the fault of the country that sent them to war in the first place.

John Rambo, played very well by Sylvester Stallone, has come to the ironically named town of Hope to deliver something to a friend of his who he served alongside in Vietnam. He learns that his friend died. With nowhere to go, no friends to see, Rambo wanders the town until he's picked up by the town sheriff and driven to the city limits. The sheriff doesn't want him there, saying that his kind are not welcome in the town. Rambo shows some resistance, and is arrested unjustly. The abuse that the rest of the officers show him set him off on a violent rampage and soon, the entire force is after him. Rambo survives only by doing what he was trained to do for war.

The film isn't afraid to look at this issue from both sides. The ignorance of the police represent the ignorance of anyone who assumes they know what Vietnam was about even though they never were there. But war changes man for the worst, and because of that, Rambo can never just blend in with these ignorant folk. The film's climax reveals the film as a tragedy.

The sequels celebrate Rambo's ability to kill people in graphic and vicious ways. This film, the original Rambo movie, mourns the man who could be forever lost to this ability.