First Blood
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Green Beret veteran Rambo takes on a Pacific Northwest sheriff and the National Guard.
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First Blood Ratings & Reviews
- Rowan KrzysiakMarch 2, 2025You think of Rambo and it's blood, guts and stupid action. This has a small dose of that but I can only assume that the sequels following this masterpiece did this movie a real disservice. It's a clever movie with real depth disguised as something stupid. It's brilliant and can be read and enjoyed at whatever level you're prepared to take it. Essential viewing.
- Mr. DMarch 22, 2025Decent 4k remake. Trautman still cant save the civilians from Johnny but it remains a Classic.
- Franck QuinnApril 12, 2026This is the best Rambo movie .
- eatonjbNovember 28, 2025It's sometimes a hard movie to watch, but the depth of John Rambo's character takes center stage. The feeling that our troops came back to is on full display. He is not about killing everything that crosses him, he has a strong backstory that really makes the entire movie wothe a second or third watch.
- jackmeatMarch 24, 2026My quick rating - 8.0/10. If your only exposure to the Rambo name comes from exploding helicopters, infinite ammo, and enough body counts to make your old high school reviews proud. First Blood is here to politely (and then aggressively) correct you. Revisiting this one, especially in that slick 4K “Ultimate Uncut” form, I quickly realized this isn’t the bandana-wearing action meme people remember. This is a tense, grounded thriller that just happens to feature Sylvester Stallone looking like he could dismantle a small army with a pocket knife and some unresolved trauma. The setup is deceptively simple. John Rambo rolls into town, just trying to exist, and immediately gets on the wrong side of small-town authority. Enter Brian Dennehy as the cop who wakes up and chooses hostility. He plays it so well that you’re not just rooting against him. You’re actively waiting for karma to arrive like a freight train. Spoiler: it does, and it’s wearing a green jacket. What really stands out is how quiet this movie is. Stallone barely speaks, but his performance carries weight through pure expression. You can see the pain, the restraint, and the ticking clock before things inevitably go sideways. And when they do? It’s less “rah-rah action hero” and more “oh no…they really shouldn’t have pushed this guy.” There’s also something oddly funny, intentionally or not, about how casual the cops are early on. They’re cracking jokes, strolling through the woods like it’s a Sunday picnic, completely unaware they’ve just activated hardcore survival mode. That legendary line - “We ain’t hunting him, he’s hunting us” hits like a tonal slap to the face, and it comes in early. From that point on, it’s less a chase and more a slow realization of just how badly they’ve miscalculated. Director Ted Kotcheff deserves a ton of credit for keeping things practical. There’s minimal gunfire, barely any explosions, and yet the tension is constantly tightening. When action does happen, it feels raw and earned. And no CGI safety nets. When vehicles go crashing down hills, that’s real metal, real gravity, and probably a real insurance headache. Visually, the Pacific Northwest setting (standing in via British Columbia) adds a ton to the atmosphere. Foggy forests, wet terrain, and rugged mountains make it feel isolated and dangerous. It’s the kind of environment where you absolutely do not want to be hunted by someone who knows what they’re doing, which, unfortunately for everyone involved, Rambo very much does. Watching it now, it also hits differently thematically. The treatment of Vietnam veterans, the media spin during the manhunt, it all feels uncomfortably relevant. Turns out “fake news” didn’t just spawn with social media - it’s been lurking around long before hashtags were a thing. After a couple of decades away, nothing about this revisit felt drastically different, but the appreciation definitely hits harder. I am not sure what the Uncut part added. First Blood isn’t just the origin of a franchise - it’s the one entry that actually slows down, breathes, and reminds you there’s a human being behind the legend. And that makes it way more dangerous than the sequels ever were.
- tha6538March 13, 2026A forever classic
- Ariel BuckmeierFebruary 20, 2026A perfect movie, Stallone gives everything in this role. The photography and the music by Jerry Goldsmith are top. They dont make movies like theese anymore.
- Mike MartinsJune 7, 2025🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 A Powerful Classic — Stallone is a Genius Rambo: First Blood is an absolute cinematic triumph that stands the test of time. From start to finish, it’s gripping, emotional, and thought-provoking. The pacing is tight, the atmosphere is tense, and the story dives deep into the human condition without ever needing to over-explain itself. Sylvester Stallone delivers a phenomenal performance, full of raw intensity and quiet vulnerability. He doesn't just play the role — he embodies it. It’s not just action for action’s sake; there's heart, purpose, and weight behind every moment. Stallone proves here that he’s not only a powerhouse on screen but also a genius storyteller with a deep understanding of character and emotion. This isn’t just an action movie — it’s a powerful statement, and it still resonates decades later. A must-watch.
- thornman99December 24, 2025Great movie...better than its sequels.
- flavo43December 16, 2025First Blood is far more than an action film—it’s a poignant character study that arrived at a time when many Vietnam veterans still felt alienated, misunderstood, and abandoned by the society they served. John Rambo is not portrayed as a swaggering hero, but as a deeply damaged man trained for war and then cast aside once that war ended. The film captures the psychological scars of combat and the difficulty of reintegration with surprising sensitivity. Sylvester Stallone delivers a restrained, emotional performance that grounds the film, especially in its devastating final moments. The action is intense and well-paced, but it never overshadows the story’s core themes of trauma, injustice, and institutional failure. Rather than glorifying violence, the film uses it to show how quickly situations spiral when empathy is replaced by authority and fear. First Blood launched a major franchise, but its original power lies in its humanity. It stands as one of the most thoughtful and tragic examinations of the Vietnam veteran experience ever put on screen.
- Michael SurberJune 5, 2025A very moving and tragic story overall. Besides Rocky, John Rambo is the role Stallone was born to play. This film and all the sequels are mostly misunderstood and harshly misjudged as brutal examples of the savages of war. Truthfully, Rambo is a tragic example of how far too many Americans view and treat our veterans. It's a moving commentary of the stuggles many of them go thru upon returning after their service. Watch it and decide. Even better, read David Morrell's original book.
- Just4FunNovember 20, 2025An absolute classic. I will never get fed up returning to movies like this. Takes me back to VHS tapes and village video stores.
- ryuichi2476November 11, 2025I remember watching this on VHS not understanding the emotional aspect. Knowing what I do now this film has made another huge impact on me.
- Dan The Man KearneyOctober 12, 2025CLASSIC Especially If you know what they went through to make this movie
- LindsayOctober 4, 2025Someone described this movie as a 70’s film made in the 80’s and that’s exactly right. The theme of this movie is both poignant & understated. Stallone shows his acting chops in the final scenes of the movie.
First Blood Trivia
First Blood was released on October 22, 1982.
First Blood was directed by Ted Kotcheff.
First Blood has a runtime of 1h 33m.
First Blood was produced by Buzz Feitshans.
Green Beret veteran Rambo takes on a Pacific Northwest sheriff and the National Guard.
The key characters in First Blood are John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), Col. Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna), Hope Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy).
First Blood is rated R.
First Blood is an Action, Adventure, Thriller film.
First Blood has an audience rating of 8.6 out of 10.
First Blood had a budget of $15M.
First Blood has made $125.2M at the box office.