First Blood (5)

Was this the first of the Rambo series? I think it was; Stallone looks so young he is what, 10? This film rates half that, 5 - watchable after all.

Rambo is a Vietnam vet travelling looking for an old war buddy when a local cop begins harassing him. He runs from them and so they decide to hunt him down. However, in the nearby forest all his army skills are put to use and he quickly "disables" the small team. But of them dies in an accidental fall which further infuriates the cops. They call out the national guard and a big hunt begins. Rambo's old commander is brought in to try and talk him into stopping, but Rambo is trained to survive and kill. By skill and luck Rambo evades all of them begins to hunt the sheriff for himself.

I had never seen this film before but I knew of the myth of Rambo from later films as a one man super army. Some of that is seen here but also shown is that he is a pretty screwed up veteran who no longer fits into normal society. This is not the action packed war mayhem of the latest Rambo, there is weak action, but where it is better is the touches of his madness and struggle with the world outside the war. The film quality is a bit poor but satisfyingly, the story isn't too bad and it all makes a reasonable film.

And before you say it, I know he's not 10!