Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Memorable, crazy movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Crappy film

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.

First BloodAmidst the action movies of the 80's First Blood is one of the greatest. Not for the action or the explosions but for the stand out performance by Sylvester Stallone. An underrated actor who is as much to blame for the negativity that is often bestowed upon him. He has made some poor movie choices throughout his career but First Blood certainly isn't one of them. The film is based on the novel by the same name written by David Morrell and tells the tale of John Rambo. A Vietnam war veteran who on his return home finds that his country doesn't want to accommodate him anymore. He wanders from state to state, a drifter with no purpose. All his friends have been consumed by the war either on the field or by the chemicals sprayed on to the fields. The opening scene of the film describes this to heart wrenching effect. Alone in the world Rambo stumbles upon a small town where all he wants is to get something to eat. He is bullied and made unwelcome by the towns sheriff played by Brian Dennehy. From here on the story unfolds as local law enforcement mistreat the drifter causing him to retaliate. Stallones performance here is at first subdued before over boiling with fury. He looks gaunt, undernourished and tormented. The fear is apparent in his eyes. But there's also a rage there too. A fire that still burns, a war that wages within him. He was extracted from a war he was told he wasn't able to win. He was returned home to a country that seemed to not care for him. A country that he had sworn to serve. A country that he loved but didn't love him back. When the switch in Rambos head is flipped and he goes off like a land mine all those around him, all those who crossed him will pay. Stallone doesn't have much dialogue in the film except right at the end where a broken man finally breaks down, confiding in the only friend he has left. Colonel Trautman played brilliantly by Richard Crenna. In the novel Rambo dies. Killed by his only friend. In the movie obviously he survives as several silly inferior sequels followed. First Blood should be judged as a stand-alone film and not have the cartoon like sequels tarnish its brilliance. The movie is wonderfully shot and has a fantastic score by Jerry Goldsmith. With a strong cast and a career best performance by Stallone this film has stood the test of time. A character study of a man broken by war and it's aftermath.

First Blood is the first in a great series of movies.John Rambo is a Vietnam veteran still haunted by the demons of the war the soldiers weren't allowed to win. The transient Rambo goes to see one of his former friends and fellow soldier only to find out he died from exposure to agent orange.While passing through a small town, the local sheriff spots him and decides their quiet community isn't the place for people like Rambo. After refusing to leave, Rambo is arrested, tortured, and ultimately escapes into the dense forest.The rest of the movie is a cat and mouse game between the local sheriff's department, state police, national guard, and Rambo, with Rambo ultimately becoming the cat and the police the mice.Rambo is fast paced with action and the last several minutes of the movie are unforgettable, as Rambo breaks down and perfectly gets across the demons that still haunt him.

Sylvester Stallone stars as John Rambo: a lonely, alienated, and troubled Vietnam vet just trying to move on with his life until he gets unlawfully provoked over a misunderstanding, and finds himself in a war against a sheriff's department and the national guard. The fight doesn't seem fair, mostly because Rambo is outnumbered, but all bets are off since he's a former Green Beret, and he's had a really hard time moving on with his life. Unlike the sequels, this one is (for the majority of the run time) more of a dramatic survival story and not a balls-out action film. I really loved the focus on stealth and guerrilla tactics over pure brute force. It's a great character study with focus on vet's rights, PTSD, and intolerance. It does get kinda preachy, but nevertheless is still very compelling and gripping. Sylvester Stallone is wonderful. He shows off his action skills, and he's great as expected, but where things really shine is with the character and the acting. The action is a main part of who he is, but he's still a flawed and rounded character. Stallone really has to act here at times too, delivering what's still the most dramatic monologue of his career that actually sees him breakdown in tears. It's not often you see something like this, much less have it actually be really powerful and moving. Bravo. For supporters, we get a young David Caruso that's kinda fun to watch, but the main support that really holds the film up is with Brian Dennehy as the determined narrow minded sheriff and Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor- perhaps the only one capable of bringing the senseless conflict to an end. Both are great, and this is some of their best work. You sort of sympathize with the sheriff a bit, but probably not as much as you should. The film really paints it as Rambo good, everyone else bad, and that's a shame that they didn't go for a bit more complexity or moral ambiguity in that area. Things fare better with Crenna's character, but he too could have been a tad more developed. That's really my only major issue here: the film is a bit too one sided, and towards the end, things just kinda start crumbling. I get how Rambo said that if they kept pushing he'd really ramp it up, but when this all happens it just took me out of it all somewhat, and seemed a bit inconsistent. Fortunately things don't crap out too much, and the film does conclude pretty satisfactorily. It's just the lead up to the climax where it has its stumble. The film is well shot, the locations are great, there's pretty strong direction, neat ideas, and, probably most effective next to the acting, we get Jerry Goldsmith's absolutely thrilling and brilliant score. I still get chills every time I hear the opening notes to the main theme. EVERY time. Definitely check this one out.