#113: First Blood
Release Date: October 22nd, 1982
Format: Streaming (Paramount+)
Written by: Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Sylvester Stallone
Directed by: Ted Kotcheff
3 Stars
Although it carries the reputation of an innovative action-adventure classic - which isn’t wrong - First Blood is also a case of having too many cooks in the kitchen.
If you read a bit about the history of the making of First Blood, the first of five Rambo movies, you can see why the film, although affecting, is a bit disjointed. This is a film that spent years and years in development hell, with the film rights and multiple scripts being bought and sold through the ‘70s, until Stallone was finally attached to star and the green light was lit.
Even then, Stallone reportedly went through seven different re-writes of the script that was eventually used for filming, only to be so disgusted with director Ted Kotcheff’s first 3 ½ hour cut of the film that Stallone was convinced it was going to ruin his career.
The film went through extensive editing to arrive finally at its 93-minute run time. The end product is a mixed bag.
I think Stallone is great in it. I think he has a clear vision of who John Rambo is, and his performance is surprisingly vulnerable (full disclosure: I am in the camp who believes that Stallone is a good actor).
Also great is the forest setting at the base of the Cascade Mountains in British Columbia, which is breathtaking. Watching Rambo skillfully navigate the rainforest, evading his pursuers, is exhilarating. Stallone is such a talented and sacrificial physical performer. There are multiple moments in the film where you can see him genuinely risk his safety and hurt himself performing a stunt. It adds a great degree of believability to the film. The set piece with the helicopter and Rambo hanging on the side of a cliff overlooking a white water rapid is exhilarating cinema.
I can’t say that Kotcheff’s direction is always that inspired, or frankly, consistent. His actor’s performances are all over the place. Brian Dennehy is perfectly cast as the film’s antagonist, a real life blue collar guy with military experience, but I think he performs the role a little too theatrically here. It doesn’t quite match the verisimilitude of the action scenes and Stallone’s performance. And even more out of place is the performance of Richard Crenna as Rambo’s military commander. If Dennehy gives a performance worthy of the stage, Crenna’s performance seems like he should be on a 1960s TV melodrama. Are there really Army colonels that stalk around reciting soliloquies, modulating their voices and giving long pauses for dramatic effect? I don’t think it’s a bad performance, but it doesn’t belong in this movie. Or maybe Kotcheff doesn’t know what type of movie he’s making?
So why is First Blood, and Rambo, so beloved? He’s an interesting character, and like Rocky Balboa, Stallone seems singularly suited in bringing him to life. In this first iteration of the character, he’s a wounded and fragile man, abandoned by his peers and his government. In the Rambo sequels, during the full boom of the late-Reagan era, he becomes a flatter character, more about simple vengeance and heroism.
Would First Blood be a better movie if Stallone were given full control as director/writer/star? Possibly, but given the diminishing quality of the sequels under Stallone’s greater creative control, it’s far from a guarantee.
As it stands, First Blood is an exciting, uneven action-adventure thriller that could use a better director, Stallone or otherwise.
