FIRST BLOOD: The Subversive Start To A Macho Franchise
When people talk about the Rambo series, the discussionis usually colored by Rambo: FirstBlood, Part II and its cartoon-lunatic excesses. The more knowledgeable ofaction fans will naturally be quick to point out that the series didn't beginthat way. In fact, if you look back at series debut First Blood, you'll discover that this film and what it had to sayabout America was downright subversive compared to the jumbo-size machismo ofthe second film.
FirstBlood takes its basis from a dark, thoughtful novel byprolific writer David Morrell. The anti-hero protagonist is John Rambo(Sylvester Stallone), a Vietnam vet-turned-drifter passing through the PacificNorthwest after a failed search for an old army buddy. When he crosses into anearby small town on foot, he arouses the suspicions of Sheriff Teasle (BrianDennehy). Rambo resists the Sheriff's attempt to shoo him off and getsarrested.
Teasle soon realizes he's made a mistake when hisovergrown-bully deputies antagonize Rambo, prompting a PTSD-inspired freakout.Rambo breaks out of the jail and escapes into the nearby mountains, prompting aviolent, rapidly escalating game of cat-and-mouse. The Sheriff soon findshimself trading barbs with Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna), Rambo's formercommanding officer, who shows up and informs him that Rambo is a skilled GreenBeret. Teasle is too proud to back downand this sets the stage for a brutal, explosive endgame.
If you want to take FirstBlood at face value as an action/thriller, it works perfectly well on thoseterms. The script builds the escalation of the conflict in an intelligent,character-driven manner but delivers plentiful action, including a memorablemoment where Rambo is stalked by helicopter, an intense scene where Ramboreveals his knowledge of booby traps and a variety of exciting chases and fightscenes.
However, FirstBlood becomes more rewarding when you notice how it uses its thrillerstructure and scenes of conflict to offer commentary on post-Vietnam WarAmerica. Rambo's treatment by the sheriff is a microcosm of how the U.S.treated traumatized Vietnam veterans, rejecting/vilifying them when theycouldn't fit back into "normal" society. Such hostility is reflectedin the dialogue between Teasle and Col. Trautman, with Teasle showing an open contemptfor the military's inability to win the war or handle its soldiers afterwards.
The film also critiques the side of law enforcementwhere the job is treated as an extension of macho pride, with Teasle and hismen recklessly escalating and creating a problem that didn't need to happen.Like the "weekend warrior" reserve soldiers who appear in a memorablescene in the film, Teasle's crew likes the idea of having power but are reluctantto risk themselves or their comfortable lives the way men like Rambo did. The action fuses with these themes in anunforgettable way during the finale when Rambo brings the horrors of war backto the small town, forcing Teasle to confront the kind of fear and danger thatRambo saw during wartime.
This combination of commentary and action works thanksto thorough craftsmanship from the filmmakers. Director Ted Kotcheff was ajourneyman whose c.v. includes everything from Wake In Fright to Weekend AtBernie's but he had a gift for social critique that served him well here.He also shows an adeptness at suspense here, staging a barrage of excitingsequences here with the aid of a talented crew: cinematographer Andrew Laszlomakes excellent use of the scenic mountain locale and Jerry Goldsmith providesa score full of percussive cues for the action.
Most importantly, Kotcheff gets strong performances thatfuel the film's conflicts. Stallone gives a complex performance here as a quietoutsider who hides deep reserves of pain and anger beneath his scruffy surface.Dennehy is fantastic as the sheriff, using his everyman persona in a subversivemanner to create a territorial bully who leads others into danger with his dumbpride. Crenna is a delight to watch asthe sardonic Trautman, using a uniquely musical delivery to puncture thesheriff with putdowns and creating an aura of subtle, genuine toughness thatoffsets all the fake machismo around him. The backing cast offers an array of familiarfaces like Chris Mulkey, Bill McKinney, a young David Caruso and erstwhiledirector Jack Starrett, who is unforgettable as the most cruel and dumblyviolent of the sheriff's subordinates.
To sum up, FirstBlood is an impressive, serious piece of work that stands apart from themore outlandish franchise it spawned, underpinning its tight thriller storylinewith a dark view of America and the trouble it has in coping with itspsychological scars. Even if you turn your nose up at the Rambo sequels, you might be surprised at what a daring film thisis.