Rambo’s First Outing

Andy Warhol once likened this movie to Friday the 13th, just another slasher with people getting picked off by a killer one by one. Sorry Andy, I disagree. Rambo’s first outing is more different than most horror, suspense, and action movies put together. How? Nobody gets killed!

Throughout numerous explosions, shootings, stabbings and smack-downs, John J. Rambo refuses to kill. Alone after coming home from the Vietnam War—no friends, no family—he simply wants to be left alone. But a stubborn sheriff, obsessed with his own interpretations of the law, pushes Rambo a little too far.

All the while we are treated to important topics . . . about survival . . . about how the media (and the minds of people in general) can be manipulated with misleading info . . . about the treatment of men and women in uniform suffering from P.T.S.D. (post-traumatic stress disorder). . . .

We even get a Christmas tree and a couple of humorous moments thrown in just for the fun of it! Every scene is clear and easy-to-understand. The music is memorable (even the 1980’s power ballad during the ending credits; like it or not, it’s unforgettable!). Rambo’s first outing, also known as First Blood, may have happened a long time ago—from another era in the U.S. history of action movies—but its thrills and ideas are definitely still relevant in today’s world.