The Screen Addict | Rambo

With four bigger and louder sequels since its initial release, it is easy to forget that First Blood (1982) was originally conceived as a rather stern comment on the traumas of war. My mission to introduce my younger partner to films she has not seen, continued yesterday with Sylvester Stallone’s second iconic character – John James Rambo.

Almost 40 years on, FB still draws me in from the very first frame on. Jerry Goldsmith’s beautiful score brilliantly sets up the character in the opening sequence and really captures the essence of the story throughout the film.

And what a story it is. There’s something quite poignant to me about a disillusioned man who drifts the US looking for his old army buddies because he can’t find his place in a post-Vietnam society. That sense of “Sehnsucht” just really speaks to me.

John would have been okay if it weren’t for overzealous sheriff Will Teasle – played by the incomparable Brian Dennehy – but the police chief just cannot help but be an asshole. He doesn’t want vagabonds in his town and when Teasle eventually arrests Rambo, he triggers a war he could not have imagined, to paraphrase the script.

FB could have easily become a mindless actioner, but Stallone, director Ted Kotcheff, the writers and the entirety of the cast elevate it to so much more than that. Every single time I revisit the film, I am completely blown away by the final scene in which Rambo’s former commander Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) confronts his protégé with the harsh reality of the situation.

Stallone’s response: “Nothing is over!” cuts through my soul like a carpet bomb, and I rate the entire scene as one of the very finest performances I ever saw. Some view Crenna’s acting as a little cheesy, but I think it is spot on for the film. Kirk Douglas was originally slated to play Trautman – and Al Pacino was eyed for Rambo – but I simply cannot imagine anyone else unironically delivering lines like: “I didn't come to rescue Rambo from you. I came here to rescue you from him.” Perfection.

As I mentioned earlier, after FB the character of Rambo changed into something else entirely – very much like John McClane in the Die Hard sequels. I have great affection for all subsequent films and I revisit them regularly, but they really have nothing to do with the original film. First Blood – like Die hard (1988) – is basically a one-off, and I see the sequels as taking place in a completely different universe altogether.

It is therefore no surprise that the character of Rambo has been sent up so many times since arriving on the scene in 1982. Most famously by Charlie Sheen in the Hot Shots films, but even Stallone himself poked fun at his alter ego in Tango & Cash (1989) when his character Ray Tango famously stated: “Rambo is a pussy.” How’s THAT for being meta.

John James Rambo is in my heart forever. And now that the rights are with Millennium Media, I am quite sure we will see much more of the Vietnam Vet – or his offspring – going forward. Or, to quote our hero again: “Don't push it! Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe.”

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Twitter (X): Robin Logjes | The Screen Addict