First Blood

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2:19

First Blood

R

1982

1h 35m

Action

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Vietnam veteran and drifter John J. Rambo wanders into a small Washington town in search of an old friend, but is met with intolerance and brutality by the local sheriff, Will Teasle. When Teasle and his deputies restrain and shave Rambo, he flashes back to his time as a prisoner of war and unleashes his fury on the officers. He narrowly escapes the manhunt, but it will take his former commander to save the hunters from the hunted.

Critics Consensus

Much darker and more sensitive than the sequels it spawned, First Blood is a thrilling survival adventure that takes full advantage of Sylvester Stallone's acting skills.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

06/24/2022

4/5

Stallone brought intense physicality, obviously, but also hangdog vulnerability to a character who takes revenge on a cruel, unfeeling establishment and utters some of the most iconic lines in shoot’em’up history.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

06/23/2022

3/5

Watchable if entirely preposterous...

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Michael Sragow

Rolling Stone

06/21/2022

An ambitious, bloody, talented but pulpy mess.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Apr 17

3/4

The first and best of the franchise.

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Rachel Wagner

rachelsreviews.net

Mar 31

I didn’t expect to be moved by Rambo’s story but I was.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 14

Considerably less thoughtful than, say, "Coming Home" on a similar subject, "First Blood" so revels In sadism that Its high-minded pretenses are quickly washed away in blood; first, last and always.

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Mitchell S

@Mitchstur May 25

It's a little bit of an absurd story but it's fairly entertaining.

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Brody W

@RT77467322 May 3

very "hell yeah" energy.

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andras gaspar P

@pasztorandrasgaspar Apr 17

Rambo is a great action thriller movie because a like the motorcycle scene and the suspensful scenes in the movie.

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Ethan G

@ethdrew05 Feb 23

The movie follows John Rambo, a former Green Beret and Vietnam War veteran, played by Sylvester Stallone. Rambo travels to a small town looking for a friend, but the local sheriff doesn’t trust him and forces him to leave. Things escalate when Rambo is arrested and mistreated. Because of his traumatic war experiences, he reacts defensively and escapes into the nearby forest. From there, the story becomes a tense survival chase between Rambo and the police.

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Sabra P

@Sabrapriz Feb 2

First Blood is first and foremost an oft-overlooked war classic, spinning the focus and looking at the very real and painful fallout.

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Gareth E

@Gareth1970 Jan 28

I realised I’d never seen this and just thought I should watch it as a fan of the Rocky films. We know more about PTSD today than we did then and while the film is clearly preposterous it’s a very good watch. Not just to fill in a gap in your personal movie history but because Stallone brings a genuine vulnerability especially in the first and last scenes. Genuine pace, classic action and once the action starts the adrenaline flows to the end.

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Ted Kotcheff

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First Blood: Trailer 1

2:19

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Synopsis

Vietnam veteran and drifter John J. Rambo wanders into a small Washington town in search of an old friend, but is met with intolerance and brutality by the local sheriff, Will Teasle. When Teasle and his deputies restrain and shave Rambo, he flashes back to his time as a prisoner of war and unleashes his fury on the officers. He narrowly escapes the manhunt, but it will take his former commander to save the hunters from the hunted.

Director: Ted Kotcheff
Producer: Buzz Feitshans, Herb Nanas
Screenwriter: Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, Sylvester Stallone, David Morrell
Production Co: Elcajo Productions, Anabasis N.V.
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)