Rambo: First Blood

Rambo: First Blood
Original title:Rambo: First Blood
Director:Ted Kotcheff
Release:Cinema
Running time:89 minutes
Release date:22 october 1982
Rating:
John Rambo, a veteran of an elite unit serving in the Vietnam War, is looking for his former comrades in arms. When he passes through the small town of Hope in the northwestern United States, the local sheriff mistakes him for a vagrant and wants him out. But the tenacity of the former warrior is not enough to reduce the number of his pursuers during a manhunt through the forest and mountains.

Tootpadu's Review

Still very far from the warlike preoccupations of the two sequels, this little action movie is still pleasant to watch, having somehow resisted the wear and tear of time. It is mainly the part concerning the manhunt that is interesting and even breathtaking at times, while the few sequences that desperately try to motivate Rambo's actions turn out to be at best boring and at worst ridiculous. This is mainly due to Richard Crenna's exaggerated acting, which stands out in a decent cast. Stallone also lacks credibility in his last tragic confession scene, but until then he naturally fills the still reasonable frame of Rambo.

For a film that has spawned a whole sub-genre of violent, cynical and moronic films, the casualty count is exceedingly low, and the many casualties are hardly without reason. It would certainly be going too far to consider "Rambo" as a pacifist film, however, it knows how to dose its violence with intelligence, avoiding unnecessary bloodshed and gratuitous violence. This does not mean that it has a subtle and promising ideological message. However, its sustained sequence of action scenes without pomp, but effective, and some observations not devoid of ironic humor, make it a good entertainment, much less gruff and more modest than its two sequels.

First Blood
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Produced by Buzz Feitshans, Herb Nanas, Andrew G. Vajna, Mario Kassar
Written by Ted Kotcheff, David Morrell, David Kozoll, William Sackheim, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Kozoll
Based on the book "First Blood" by David Morrell
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, Bill McKinney, Jack Starrett, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff, Julia Nickson-Soul, Martin Kove, Marc de Jonge, Kurtwood Smith, Spýros Fokás, Graham McTavish, Julie Benz, Paul Schulze, Tim Kang
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography: Andrew Laszlo
Edited by Joan E. Chapman
Production companies: Elcajo Productions, Anabasis N.V.
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release date : 22 october 1982 (United States)
Running time : 89 minutes

Reviewed on 26 march 2004, in DVD

Tootpadu's Mark: