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Movies / On DVD / First Blood
First Blood

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First Blood (1982)

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Reviews Counted:34

Fresh:29

Rotten:5

Average Rating:7.1/10

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Sylvester Stallone stars as ex-Green Beret John Rambo, a shell-shocked Vietnam vet adrift in the Pacific Northwest. Harassment by an unsympathetic small-town sheriff brings on nasty flashbacks of... Sylvester Stallone stars as ex-Green Beret John Rambo, a shell-shocked Vietnam vet adrift in the Pacific Northwest. Harassment by an unsympathetic small-town sheriff brings on nasty flashbacks of torture at the hands of the Viet Cong; after busting out of the jail where he has been unjustly imprisoned, our psychically-scarred hero vows to get revenge on the ungrateful sheriff. Before blowing the sheriff and his town away, however, Rambo must use his jungle smarts to elude the relentless posse of state troopers and National Guardsmen who pursue him through the forest. [More]

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, David Caruso

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, David Caruso

Director: Ted Kotcheff

Director: Ted Kotcheff
Producer: Buzz Feitshans
Screenwriter: Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, Sylvester Stallone
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith

[See More Credits]

Reviews for First Blood

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

As a Stallone vehicle this is sleek, slick and not unexciting, but crassly castrates the David Morrell novel on which it is based.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Stallone underwent training in survival skills and hand-to-hand combat that helped give the film such a raw and authentic edge that excited the audiences of the time.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
04/30/09
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

The entryway to the disturbed psychological headspace of a single man, one bent evermore on survival, instinct trumping all.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
06/14/08
Keith Uhlich
Keith Uhlich
UGO

...does get loonier as it goes along, yet for a while it's actually a mournful and sobering action-movie treatment of postwar stress.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
05/13/08
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

Now that's ballsy.

Full Review Source: Stranger Song | comment Comment
02/05/08
Rob Humanick
Rob Humanick
Stranger Song

One of the all time most kick ass movie.

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment 1 Comment
01/29/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

...First Blood primarily comes off as a relatively tame survivalism flick...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
01/24/08
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
04/20/07
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

This action film hangs on an interesting reversal, taking the crazed-killer-in-the-woods theme from Friday the 13th and turning it inside out-- the psychopath is now our hero, a maladjusted ex-Green Beret played by Sylvester Stallone.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/01/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

An effective, if outlandish, picture that exists merely for its big-screen thrills.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/01/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Ted Kotcheff has all sorts of trouble with this mess, aside from credibility.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 6 Comments
03/01/07
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is just too somber and preachy.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 1 Comment
12/30/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The film that introduced John Rambo is a gripping survival adventure with an emotional ending that's downright moving. Jerry Goldsmith contributes an excellent musical score.

comment Comment
02/16/06
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
06/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/30/05
Greg Maki
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

Stallone's dogged tale of survival seems so fresh you'd swear it was made last week . . . except for the sad truth that they don't make 'em like that anymore.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
01/07/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Rambo defeats the United States!!! The reason there shouldn't be sequels.

comment Comment
12/21/04
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

Sylvester Stallone is one of the great physical actors in the movies, with a gift for throwing himself so fearlessly into an action scene that we can't understand why somebody doesn't really get hurt.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

First Blood is ragged and flashy; it ought to be a big success with audiences that value action for its own sake.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for First Blood

April 09, 2008: UK Box Office Breakdown: Son of Rambow Highest New Entry
In a piece of news almost as heartwarming as the film itself, Son of Rambow came in at second place in the UK box office this week, with the British indie nabbing almost... More...

April 07, 2008: Director Garth Jennings on Son of Rambow: The RT Interview
We catch up with one half of Hammer & Tongs to talk First Blood, a return of innocence, and why an 60 year-old bloke sitting on a gun isn't much fun. More...

January 23, 2008: Total Recall: Journey to the Center of Rambo
This week, Sly Stallone revives one of his most iconic characters. In Rambo, John Rambo is back, after a short twenty year break. The Rambo films are now a staple in 80s pop... More...

June 05, 2007: "John Rambo" Finds a Home at Lionsgate
When Sylvester Stallone's "John Rambo" hits theaters later this year (or early next year), it'll come baring that creepy grindy-gears Lionsgate logo that all the... More...

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