ViewGuide

Created Sep 15, 2008 12:07PM PST • Edited Sep 15, 2008 12:07PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   After willjros, I thought it’d be nice to post a second review of this underrated classic and introduction to one of the more iconic film characters in american cinema. Who hasn’t heard the name Rambo? Based on the novel by David Morrell, this tells the story of one vietnam veteran and green beret John Rambo, who is having trouble creating a segue back into the typical American lifestyle. After a chance encounter with some officers who don’t seem to like his kind, Mr. john Rambo escapes and decides to turn a modern police brutality case into the second war of his lifetime. Full of interesting ideas and gratuitous violence, first Blood stands the test of time as a modern action classic and one of the bigger roles of Stallone’s career.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

   This film definitely belongs to Stallone and he indeed owns every scene. Every filmed moment that doesn’t include Stallone playing john Rambo seems to pale in comparison. The actor isn’t exactly known for his abilities behind the camera (the razzie nominations be proof of that) but he belongs in a role like this. Brian dennehy is an able bad guy cop, David Caruso is a young officer who is going along with the officers tirade against rambo, and richard Crenna plays Col. trautman, a man who seems to live and bleed his pride in creating a machine like Rambo, even though he knows he shouldn’t. the entire cast isn’t exactly up to the par of playing in a movie like this, but the principal cast knows what it is and plays the hell out of it.

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Giving the film production quality of this film comes with some backstory: i am a sucker for gritty 80’s action films. And First Blood nears the top of my list of films from that era. Everything about this movie feels like the time with whence it came and for that i applaud the unapologetic way with which it dispenses its violence. The direction is above average for a feature such as this, the dialogue is solemn and subtle, and only occasionally heavyhanded, the music is iconic in a way that transcends simple scores (the rambo theme, when first used in any sequel, automatically puts you into a place of remembrance of the events of the first one, and if that isn’t a good score, then what is?), and the visuals are gritty, gooey, and filled with the kind of stuff you want to see in a movie called “first blood”.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Very Good 3.5

13. Music Perfect 5.0

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 2.5

    There is a lot of edge to this film, do not get me wrong on that. But compared to some of the exploitative films of the last couple of years, this is quite tame. Compared to the newest Rambo film, this is quite tame. The rudeness factor is subtle but there, with bad cops and interesting and violent behavior permeating a lot of the scenes, notably the first half. There is no time for sex in this film, its a movie about a man fighting more men. The violence is steeped pretty high though. but what can be said? rambo is a trained killing machine. By movies end, it feels as if Rambo cannot and will not be defeated. and then the sequels prove it.

17. Sex Innocent 1.3

18. Violence Savage 3.7

19. Rudeness Salty 2.5

21. Reality

    Glib 2.0

    I have to give this a fairly real meter. i have relatives who had trouble becoming part of society again after vietnam, still suffer flashbacks and nightmares, etc. The idea that something like this may have taken place seems to be all to real for our society around that era. the lengths that the film go seems to be exaggerated, but Hollywood has to take ideals and place them into an entertaining environment…its what they do. all in all, this feels like a film that thirty years ago could have actually been a true story swept under the rug by the military, and part of me wants to think thats the intended goal. And in my mind, Rambo is one of our greatest American soldiers that never existed.

22. Circumstantial Glib 2.0

23. Biological Glib 2.0

24. Physical Glib 2.0