First Blood (1982)

 

Some actors manage to bring to life an iconic character and almost become synonymous with said character. Then there are those that do this several times. Stallone has both Rocky ànd John Rambo and without a shadow of a doubt: these two are pretty big for the 80s. Hell, most kids my age played around as if we were Rambo in the jungle. To be fair: that is mostly based on the second outing in this franchise, as this first one is surprisingly restrained and serious, a fact that a lot of people seem to forget.

John Rambo is a veteran of the Vietnam war and he is travelling the US searching for his old squad buddies. But alas, they all have passed away, the last one due to cancer. So now hopelessly alone, Rambo drifts from town to town minding his own business. That is, until he stumbles on the Town of Hope where sheriff Teasle (a gleefully despicable Brian Dennehy) instantly takes a dislike to John and treats him like a piece of human refuse. Rambo just wants some food, but then the sheriff arrests him without any real reason and when the deputies abuse him at the police station, Rambo snaps and escapes into the woods. 

Things don't stop there, because now Teasle and his men want to capture Rambo, but the only snag is that John Rambo is a highly trained Green Beret, who knows pretty much all there is to know about guerilla warfare and survival. So Teasle and his men are hopelessly outclassed. When they call in the help of some National Guard members and State Police, a Colonel Trautman arrives on the scene. Trautman was Rambo's commanding officer in Vietnam and probably the only person who can reach John. 

That is, if Teasle hasn't pushed Rambo too far over the edge... 

There is quite a bit of action to be found here, but it's mostly a man on the run and more clearly: an innocent man on the run. It doesn't take long for Teasle and his men to abuse John Rambo and in all honestly: you get why he snaps. There is absolutely no reason for the police to be the bastards they are, except a misguided feeling of superiority. After that, it becomes a pretty rousing chase, with Rambo being increasingly more inventive in staying ahead of the police force and with increasing damage to property. 

I did say property, because there is only one person that dies in this film and that is because he falls from a helicopter, not because Rambo kills him. 

Stallone brings his A-game to the role, and you truly get the feeling Rambo is a mentally broken person. Heck, the emotional speech he delivers near the end is pretty spot on and apparently based on true stories by Vietnam veterans. It's another indictment of the treatment of war veterans in the United States: hailed as heroes when they leave, spurned like rabid dogs when they return, often with a plethora of issues (healthwise, both physically and mentally). But everyone delivers. Richard Crenna is great as the reserved Trautman and Brian Dennehy is one of those actors you can either love or hate in a part and here he brings his most vile bastard to life. 

So here is an action classic that has a lot more to offer than mere explosions and sensation. Things would become far more over the top later on, but this one is surprisingly low key and character driven. With guns.