Parents' Guide to

First Blood

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

First, most popular Rambo movie is bloody and violent.

Movie R 1982 97 minutes
First Blood Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 12+

Based on 11 parent reviews

MannyReviews
MannyReviews Adult
May 10, 2021
age 14+

A very good action movies for older kids

It is a great movie, with no sex or anything. There is some language but if your child can handle language, I wouldn't worry. In terms of violence, there is some blood mostly when he flashes back to Vietnam and it shows him being tortured, but most of it is just action and war violence. Rambo shows kids to always stand up for what is right, and to never give up.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
CSMContentDefault
CSMContentDefault Adult
August 30, 2020
age 14+

Rambo: First Blood review

Violence: Shooting and explosions. Bloody wounds. Flashbacks to Vietnam show Rambo being tortured, although this is very brief. Rambo kills three hunting dogs off-screen, we hear the dogs whimper in pain. Although there is lots of violence, Rambo never directly kills anybody. Language: Two clear uses of "fuck". 14+ for violence, blood and language.
1 person found this helpful.
See all 11 parent reviews

What's the Story?

FIRST BLOOD introduced John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), a cross between G.I. Joe and Tarzan, and an 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 that the man, his last surviving friend, has died of Agent Orange-related cancer. The downcast Rambo is subsequently sighted by bullying local cops, and is 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.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (11 ):
Kids say (52 ):

This '80s classic is a crude but often effective actioner. Even if its 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 to First Blood 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 that reminds us that Stallone could be a fine actor, when not caricaturing himself.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the difference between the military and the civilian mindsets in First Blood, 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 that of other war vets, and how Hollywood's portrayals of those veterans -- as either psychos or super commandos -- contributed to the problem.

  • Families can also talk about whether the amount of violence in the movie is fitting, given its subject matter. Are there times when violence needs to be graphic to get a filmmaker's point across? Why or why not?

Movie Details

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