KCR: First Blood (movie)

Image via WikipediaI never read the book written by David Morrell that the movie was based on, and I doubt few have.

The setup: a Vietnam vet, John Rambo (Stallone) was drifting across the US, looking for a friend, only to be told he had died months ago upon arrival. He drifted through a town, and the local sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehey) was basically not very nice to him, and shipped him out of town. When Rambo decided head back into town, the sheriff slapped Rambo with some "vagrancy" charge and arrested him. In the prison, Rambo was abused, which triggered a violent flashback to his days as a POW, forcing him to escape. Sheriff Teasle and his deputies, embarrassed, started a manhunt, only to find that they are no match in their own woods against a master of jungle warfare who hunting VC for a living... when Teasle called out state police and national guard with orders to shoot first and ask questions later, the only one who can save the town of Hope and Rambo himself may be his old commander, Colonel Trautman...

The movie got a reputation for being bloody that it never deserved. The ONLY confirmed death in the movie was... ONE... the ONE deputy that tried to kill Rambo with the rifle from the chopper. Lots of people were wounded, some in very nasty fashion. But there were no deaths. Rambo was restrained in his response when he could have easily killed a ton of people around him. This is one guy who was pushed over the edge.

The action really did speak louder than words in this movie. The last half of the movie is virtually all action, non-stop. And they had to redo the movie many times, trying to decide whether Rambo lives or dies. In the book Rambo dies at the hands of Trautman. In the movie, he lived in repentance for the sequels that will surely follow (and it sure did, 3 more movies).

In fact, Stallone seem to be marketing a clothing line based on the John Rambo and Rocky Balboa look.

The movie is worth watching at least once, and in fact, several times, as it's a classic in pacing and tension.