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.

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 11 parent reviews

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.
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.

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.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate