(DVD version
), which was based upon the novel of the same name
by David Morrell and was the first of the "Rambo" film franchise.Unlike its sequels, which were nothing more that Hollywood fluff action films that tried to trade off its good name, this film represents a stark character study of a generation of forgotten men, who dutifully served their country when it called, only to be rebuffed as outcasts when they finally returned by a traitorous and shameful society. As such, critics were and still are far more kind to this first film, and, in truth, it is one of the only Stallone films that is or ever was worth a damn. Personally, knowing his idiotic views on the 2nd Amendment, I find it difficult to watch him profit off films where he has a gun in his hand; still, "First Blood" really is good.
The film opens with John J. Rambo trying to visit a brother-in-arms, whom her served with in Vietnam, only to discover his friend has died as the result of Cancer from Agent Orange exposure. Then, enter a disagreeable small-town sheriff, who tries to run him out of town as a vagrant (for no better reason than that he doesn't like the looks of him), rather than giving him the basic respect he deserves as a Veteran; and actually arrests him for vagrancy when he refuses to leave. Even if the lack of respect for a man who served his country weren't already bad enough, this film ought to be part of the training for incoming law enforcement officers on just what a bad idea it is to strong arm and mistreat a person in your custody who has already obviously been through the ringer and is carrying both physical and mental scars to prove it. It isn't long before Mr. Rambo slips his bonds and the incompetent cops have a manhunt on their hands, going up against a man who turns out to be a former Special Forces operator. Needless to say, it's a bad day for them, and they deserve it.
From a preparedness and wilderness survival standpoint, there are lessons to be made note of. He's shirtless when he escapes into the woods, so he makes himself a poncho out of an old tarp foraged from what appears to be an abandoned logging-camp and ties it around his waist with cordage he, likewise, foraged; he creates diversions using what amounts to a scare-crow that resembles him from a distance and in low-visibility; and, he constructs Vietcong-esque booby-traps beneath the dense Pacific Northwest forest canopy. He also utilizes an old, long-abandoned mineshaft for shelter, and kills a wild pig for food with a spear fashioned out of a fallen tree limb and his survival knife.
The knife he carries, itself, is one of the only troubling aspects of the film. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't around during those times. I'm too young. I have a hard time, however, buying that a knife with a hollow hilt could have possibly been standard military issue for Special Forces operators. Don't get me wrong, I can see the usefulness of having a tiny survival kit stowed-away in the hilt of a knife; but, because the tang of the blade doesn't extend down through the handle, the knife would be inherently weak and prone to have the blade snap off during rugged use. Maybe I'm wrong, but those knives always felt like a gimmick to me.
A very good film, in my opinion, and a worthy addition to any Prepper / Survivalist Doomer Fiction movie library.
please, please dont support this actor. after all the movies he has made,
ReplyDeletemost involving the use of lots of firearms etc, has come out in support of
gun control. a typical hollywood hypocrite. at least bruce willis and brad pitt, and chuck norris have the integrity to say firearms are part and parcel of their lives and support the 2nd amendment. stallone? forgetaboutit.