Review: First Blood

Several years after serving, John Rambo (Sly Stallone), a Medal of Honour-receiving Vietnam vet and Green Beret finds out that one of his comrades has died from Agent Orange-induced cancer. He finds himself drifting into the sleepy small town of Hope, Washington (fictional, but it was filmed in the real Hope…in Canada!) when the local sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehy) spots him as he drives by. He doesn’t like the long-haired, unshaven look of him and politely tries to get him to drift elsewhere. When it becomes obvious that Rambo (who just wants to be left alone) isn’t going to do this, Teasle sees him as a troublemaker and has him arrested for vagrancy. The subsequent rough treatment by Teasle’s officers, led by the nasty Galt (Jack Starrett) merely serves to inspire extremely traumatic flashbacks for Rambo of his treatment as a POW. He attacks, and runs off into some nearby woods. Teasle and his men (including David Caruso and Chris Mulkey) pursue him, but it quickly becomes clear that the woods are very much Rambo’s kind of terrain, as the seriously troubled former soldier has finally snapped. Richard Crenna plays Col. Trautman, Rambo’s former mentor and the only man he trusts, who attempts to assist Teasle, and the group of state police and National Guardsmen who have turned up to put an end to this situation. In the meantime, he fills Teasle in on just what kind of soldier he is dealing with. Bill McKinney turns up as the representative of the state police.

We’ve probably all seen this 1982 Ted Kotcheff (“Wake in Fright”) war-drama, but have you seen it again lately? I have, and I had forgotten just how damn good it is. Co-scripted by star Sly Stallone, this isn’t a ra-ra, Reagan-era, right-wing flag-waver of American military super-awesomeness. That’s either the second or third film you’re thinking of, if that’s what your impression is. What Stallone and co-scripters Michael Kozoll (“The Hard Way”) and William Sackheim (Producer of “Pacific Heights” and co-writer of “The Hard Way”) have focussed on here is the plight of the returning Vietnam veteran, who went away a soon-to-be war hero, and came home to a country that had viewed the Vietnam war on TV and had pretty much changed its tune and in the eyes of many, turned its back on its soldiers. However, more crucially it also deals with genuine criticisms of why American troops were sent there at all, as well as the psychological FX of war on those who were there doing the fighting and killing. Overall it also seems to me to be an example of the idea of the war machine, with Rambo a soldier trained to kill now returning and not knowing where their place is in society. To call this a flag-waving pro-war film is insane, even though Mr. Stallone is a noted right-winger. It’s not a propaganda piece at all. It is, however, an extremely entertaining film that is quite obviously one of the best films of its type, probably even the best.

When people try to defend Sly Stallone as a capable actor, “Rocky” and “Cop Land” get a mention, but I reckon you could easily cite this film too. He effectively conveys a troubled guy who just wants to be left alone. He has enough emotional scars to deal with, he doesn’t need some insecure, controlling small-town lawman giving him shit. I strongly and aggressively disagree with Leonard Maltin’s suggestion that Stallone’s final speech is unintelligible. I understood practically every word of it, and it’s the undeniable heart of the film. It’s the scene that explains the message of the whole thing. It’s not as powerful as Bruce Dern seemingly losing control of his own voice for a second in “Coming Home”, but it’s not that far behind, either.

Stallone has been surrounded here by a pretty damn rock-solid supporting cast. The standouts are Brian Dennehy (especially), Richard Crenna, and actor-director Jack Starrett (who directed the blaxploitation classic “Cleopatra Jones”, of all things). Brian Dennehy may be one of the best living actors to have not won an Oscar (along with Donald Sutherland). The quality of his films may vary, but you’ll rarely see him fail to do his very best in anything he appears in. So far as one can tell, he just doesn’t phone in performances and he certainly doesn’t fail here. I bet he approached his character here like he was actually the good guy. He is absolutely not playing the good guy here, though you do get the sense that his character can be a good guy…so long as you never cross him. His character Sheriff Teasle is used to having things the way he likes it in his quiet little town, and is actually a controlling prick. Dennehy is a most versatile actor as good at playing the villain as he is a good guy, and he probably called upon both facets to make this character whole. Richard Crenna had been very effective prior to this film (most notably “Wait Until Dark” and “Body Heat”) but this role is probably the role he would be most closely associated with for the rest of his life and career, and only partly due to repeating the performance in two subsequent sequels. As Rambo’s commanding officer and the only person he trusts, Crenna isn’t remotely subtle, but who would want him to be? His opening speech is movie legend, and Crenna delivers it perfectly. Jack Starrett doesn’t have the meatiest of roles in the film, but as the most black-hearted character, he’s definitely unforgettable. Sounding a bit like Rip Torn crossed with Sam Elliott, the gruff-voiced Starrett plays a deputy who is just plain fucking mean. In smaller turns, a young David Caruso is hilarious simply for existing, whilst you’ll also see familiar face Chris Mulkey turn up as Ward, the unfortunate chap assigned the Dickens of a task in getting Rambo fingerprinted, and getting a kick in the nuts for trying to shave him. It’s a real shame that notorious “Deliverance” co-star Bill McKinney has such a nothing role, he’s basically playing the 1982 equivalent of the superfluous lawman character that Charles McGraw played in “The Defiant Ones”. The character simply isn’t needed and gives McKinney nothing to do except stand around a bit. Although he would vastly improve upon it in “Rambo: First Blood Part II”, the music score by Jerry Goldsmith (“Planet of the Apes”, “The Omen”) is rock-solid, and Andrew Laszlo (“The Warriors”, “Poltergeist”) has the fun task of shooting some harsh but gorgeous scenery that proves to be a character itself.

To me, the only flaw with the entire film is that in the latter portion of the film, it all goes a bit overboard with the explosions. Rambo’s big drop that he miraculously survives is one thing, but at the climax it just gets a bit out of hand, despite that terrific speech at the end. Also, I have to make special mention of the hideous end theme by Dan Hill, which sounds like warmed over Foreigner.

Definitely one of the best films of its type, and certainly one of Sly Stallone’s best films. Often wrongly lumped in with the Reagan-era action flicks that sprouted from it, this one’s got a bit more going on upstairs than mindless, right-wing action movie nonsense. Terrific performances and an overall professional job of filmmaking certainly help.

Rating: B+