As a Stallone vehicle this is sleek, slick and not unexciting, but crassly castrates the David Morrell novel on which it is based.
Comment
01/26/06
First Blood (1982)
85
%
Tomatometer
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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... [More]
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, David Caruso
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Reviews for First Blood
Top CriticStallone 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.
04/17/01
Top CriticClick to read the article
04/30/09
The entryway to the disturbed psychological headspace of a single man, one bent evermore on survival, instinct trumping all.
06/14/08
...does get loonier as it goes along, yet for a while it's actually a mournful and sobering action-movie treatment of postwar stress.
05/13/08
Now that's ballsy.
02/05/08
One of the all time most kick ass movie.
01/29/08
...First Blood primarily comes off as a relatively tame survivalism flick...
01/24/08
No review available.
04/20/07
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.
03/01/07
An effective, if outlandish, picture that exists merely for its big-screen thrills.
03/01/07
Top CriticDirector Ted Kotcheff has all sorts of trouble with this mess, aside from credibility.
03/01/07
Top CriticThe film is just too somber and preachy.
12/30/06
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.
02/16/06
No review available.
06/14/05
No review available.
01/30/05
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.
01/07/05
Rambo defeats the United States!!! The reason there shouldn't be sequels.
12/21/04
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.
10/23/04
Top CriticFirst Blood is ragged and flashy; it ought to be a big success with audiences that value action for its own sake.
08/30/04
Top CriticLatest 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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