Should I watch Rambo: First Blood Part 1?

The long and short of it: Yes
When was it made: 1982

Based on a book by David Morrell, First Blood was directed by Ted Kotcheff and is quite honestly not what I expected. I haven't seen the rest of the series, but I had gotten the impression that all Rambo movies were about a sweaty Sylvester Stallone stalking the steamy subtropics (sorry, I'll cease) slaughtering (ok, for reals this time) Viet Cong and waving his American phallus for all the world to see. I haven't seen the rest of the series, but this movie is almost the exact opposite of that (well, he does stalk sweatily). Instead we see a Vietnam veteran just trying to survive in the world he fought to protect in the only way he knows how.

If you've seen a parody of an action movie, than you've seen a man with a bandanna and a machine gun striding shirtless and shooting down enemies of America without getting a scratch-this is a parody of Rambo, though definitely from the later films. The name, if not necessarily the movie, is ubiquitous enough that it has entered the vernacular. In addition Sly Stallone has just recently starred in a new Rambo movie, which may call a few peoples attention back to the original.

The movie has been accused of glorifying violence, but I disagree. There is violence in this movie, make no mistake, but almost all of it is shown in a more serious light. This is not like 300, whose appeal is derived solely from getting to watch 1800 abdominal muscles slaughter Persians. The violence can be a bit unrealistic, but it is not obvious or laughable, just touched up to make the movie more exciting. But in reality, the entire movie is only setting a stage for the final scene-you don't get the final scene without the rest of the movie, but this would be a dumb action flick without the ending. If you want to see a good move that deals with a pertinent issue but that is still enjoyable and exciting, then you need to see First Blood.

I thought the movie was great. I went in expecting something entirely different, but I still got what I wanted. I actually feel a bit guilty-I wanted to see Sylvester Stallone gunning and gutting, killing everyone in his path. I wanted a good ole' action flick. But seeing the characters interact and showing the negative consequences that the respective characters blood lust has made me feel bad for craving that violence. Quite honestly Stallone's last scene really changed the whole movie for me-it's hard to write an opinion for the whole movie because that last scene colored the whole thing for me. But it is probably the best acting I have ever seen Stallone do, and is one of the most powerful scenes I have ever watched. To be quite honest, First Blood is a must watch if only to hear his closing speech and every person who ever mistreated a veteran should be required to watch it.