First Blood (1982) [discussion]
First Blood (1982) [discussion]
arguably (prove me wrong!) one of stallones best movies.
the entire subsequent rambo franchise feels like a farce compared to the original.. they dont even feel part of the same universe.
gritty.. realistic without being over the top (remember that one?!). a good movie makes you feel, and this movie makes me so angry. the revenge is almost justified.
being the early 80s the political fallout of vietnam was still hot on everyones minds. ostracized vets a serious reality.
the small town redneck sheriff always makes for a great villain. that ignorant evil is a valid antagonist even today. brian dennehy was amazing. you just want to punch him in the face. if you look close you can spot a baby faced david caruso.
so what do you peeps think of this masterpiece?
the film is and was awesome with the only weak spot being the inexplicably overdramatic crenna, it's cringe-inducing whenever he starts to speak. the sequels are nothing short of idiotic, starting with the headband - he wore the thing as a bandage and somehow it became his identity.
do yourself a favor and read the book. the characters are downright psychotic, the lot of them. way less action and more introspective explorations of two men descending into their own private hell, getting crazier by the hour. morell wrote it after watching reels from vietnam and talking to psychotic vets.
tarantino quipped once that he'd like to do the book, with adam driver as rambo and kurt russel as sheriff.
For the readers- the guy who wrote First Blood also wrote a book called Creepers and it's fantastic
Stone cold classic. Can't speak for everyone else, but for me and my little friends, it really shaped how we saw Vietnam vets as victims. I'd go as far as to say it pumped GenX with the unconditional love we have for vets. Didn't want to be guilty of that shame again.
All the actors knocked it out the park. Every scene was so natural, yet the shit that went down was so inevitable. OK, Colonel Troutman overacted it all a bit, but he clearly told us who John Rambo was.
To do what it takes to survive, to eat things that'd make a billy goat puke! Remember one thing when you go out there with John Rambo: a good supply of body bags!
I fucking love Crenna in Rambo
spot on!
OK, Colonel Troutman overacted it all a bit, but he clearly told us who John Rambo was.
oh yeaaaah im rewatching it right now and youre absolutely correct.. troutman does get a bit... theatrical.
What do you think of the original ending - where Troutman kills Rambo?
I almost feel like it would have been a more fitting end the character.
What do you think of the original ending - where Troutman kills Rambo?
whatchootalkinbout?! is that on video somewhere or just from the book?!
i would love that ending. the whole movie is him being the last of his kind. that ending would be bleak, but appropriate.. wrapping up the entire debacle. im not sure if im referring to the the movie or the war.
Stallone made great first movies. It's sequels that he kinda sucked at.
I'd say it's a tie between First Blood and Rocky for his best performance for sure, with Rocky being a little better as a movie overall.
Tbh though, he squandered his ability as an actor chasing being an action star. First Blood was the last movie he made that had any real acting in it.
I'm not saying that he didn't do good action movies, he did, and he still kinda does. It's the acting part that he started phoning in. Even in the Rocky series, the second one was half-assed acting compared to the first, and it went schlocky after that. It's like he was doing a caricature or impression of Rocky rather than seriously acting.
Now, again, as an action star, he was top tier. He had the moves, the look, and just enough skill to make characters pop a little.
It's one of my favourite movies. I watched a walking tour on YouTube of the filming locations in Hope BC a few years back, it was pretty interesting with lots of fun facts. Nighthawks (1981) is also pretty gritty and has Rutger Hauer and Billy Dee Williams. A lot more recent and better gritty Stallone movie is Cop Land (1997) from James Mangold, saw it for the first time a few months ago and really enjoyed it.
Can you tell I like Stallone? Went and watched a whole bunch of his movies in a row not too long ago and they're really hit or miss.
edits to add that Billy Dee Williams was also in Nighthawks and that Cop Land is the better movie
thank you for this! im grabbin nighthawks now, it sounds like a great double-feature. i vaguely remember cop land im going to have to give that a rewatch also.
i agree about his movies.. hes not the best actor and has made some ..interesting.. choices
First Blood and the sequels are completely different beasts. Agreed on all counts it is an amazing standalone movie. And the sequels are pure 80s action movie epic cheese. Very similar to the first Rocky movie and its sequels (II to IV)