Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this movie, the most successful of the movies featuring the Rambo character, has many moments of violent bloodshed (including the hero sewing his own gashed arm shut) and foul language. Rambo's incredible guerilla survival skills have special appeal for young fans, but there's lots of not-to-be imitated stuntwork.
Families can talk about the difference between the military and the civilian mindsets in the movie, and how Rambo was educated by the Army: "When in doubt, kill." You can also discuss the shabby treatment of American Vietnam veterans compared to other war vets, and how Hollywood's portrayals of them -- either psychos or super-commandos -- contributed to the problem.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Charles Cassady, Jr.
FIRST BLOOD introduced to movies the John Rambo character, a cross between G.I. Joe and Tarzan, and a virtual icon of American film in the 1980s. We see him first as a shaggy-haired drifter trying to visit an old platoon comrade in rural Washington state -- where he learns the man, his last surviving friend, has died of Agent Orange-related cancer. The downcast Rambo is subsequently sighted by bullying local cops, harassed and arrested for vagrancy. When the small-town lawmen brutalize him in the town jail, flashbacks to Rambo's wartime torture by Viet Cong push the well-trained Green Beret back into full combat mode and instincts. Escaping into the wilderness, he fights back using guerilla weapons and tactics. Ultimately he makes one-man war on the entire town with captured National Guard firepower.
First Blood is a crude but often effective actioner whose worthwhile themes about the country's treatment of its soldiers kind of get lost in the fiery mayhem and the now-classic pose of the Rocky leading man brandishing enormous rifles and bandoliers.
The problem-plagued production shot alternate endings, one in which Rambo died, another in which he didn't. Audience reaction made the filmmakers take the softer option -- and made the producers very wealthy when the film and its sequels became a hit. At least Rambo got to deliver a powerful climactic monologue (the only time he speaks at length) that puts into words the vet's feelings of anger and betrayal. And reminds us that Stallone could be a fine actor, when not caricaturing himself.
Other Vietnam Vet Dramas:
Heroes
Coming Home
The Deer Hunter
Born on the Fourth of July
Jacknife
In Country
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Sexual ContentNon-erotic, bare-butt shot of Rambo hosed down by police. |
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ViolenceRambo is tortured with knives in Vietnam flashbacks, brutalized by cops in modern-day America. Plenty of beat-downs, shootouts, spearings on Viet Cong-style death traps, and a memorable scene in which Rambo stitches up his own arm wound. One of Rambo's traps kills a bloodhound (off screen). Rambo never directly kills anyone here (except an animal he hunts for food), he just wounds and maims. |
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LanguagePlenty of "s--t," "hell," "damn," and "f--k." |
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Social BehaviorRambo was rewritten (for Stallone specifications) from the book's pitiless, murdering character to someone who never intentionally kills, but causalities and wounded still result from his actions. His commanding officer, Trautman, seems to be the voice of reason and the only person who understands Rambo, but the authority figures of the small-town sheriff and his men are irredeemable bullies who pretty much dictate the fatal flow of events. |
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CommercialismA mention of Soldier of Fortune magazine. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSocial saloon drinking and smoking. |
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