When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, the Vietnam vet snaps, runs for the hills and rat-a-tat-tats his way into the action-movie hall of fame. Hounded by a relentless sheriff, Rambo employs heavy-handed guerilla tactics to shake the cops off his tail.
Director Ted Kotcheff has all sorts of trouble with this mess, aside from credibility.
– ,
Variety,
1 Mar 2007
fresh:
First Blood is ragged and flashy; it ought to be a big success with audiences that value action for its own sake.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
30 Aug 2004
fresh:
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.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
fresh:
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.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
1 Mar 2007
fresh:
The darker tone, somber subtext, and generally non-exploitative violence allow viewers to enjoy the film not only as an action/thriller but as something with a degree of intelligence and substance.