I haven't seen this movie for a really long time and just bought the new restoration from a 4k master on blu-ray and was happy to watch it. I thought it wouldn't be as good as I remembered it, because most of the time you realize that movies you liked in your childhood weren't actually that good. That's however in no way true for Rambo (the German title of "First Blood" which is why I always got confused in the past when I heard the original title and thought that it was a part of the franchise I hadn't yet seen). The restoration looks really good (except for some scenes that stand out because of their worse quality (mostly due to bad lightning in the original movie, I guess), and besides that, the movie is still really captivating, though it is in no way over the top. The car/motorcycle chase for instance - how unimpressive was the car flip or Rambo falling from the motorcycle? Still it was more captivating than a lot of modern movies with so overrealistic and fast paced cuts, that you just stop caring all together. Also I totally forgot how funny Richard Crennas persona was: "God didn't make Rambo - I made him. I'm Sam Trautman - Colonel Samuel Trautman. I came to get my boy" - what an introduction :D And then follows a dick-measuring contest between Will Teasle and Sam Trautman. That is great acting. As is the acting of Brian Dennehy as the dislikable villain character - and of course we cannot forget the actin of our main character, portrayed by Sylvester Stalone - I also forgot how extremely moving the last scene was - I remembered that there was this critical moment when Rambo finally opens up to Trautman, but I forgot just how intense it was, and how unexpected it came. It feels somewhat displaced in a movie that builds up as an action movie with the underdog fighting the bad guys who unfortunately have the law on their side. And at the finale all of a sudden this change of tone - that is really bold, it's both strange but because of it strangeness so much deeper and better - as you are simply not prepared to what is going to happen. I always remember to feel sympathetic towards Vietnam veterans even though I am and always was a pacifist. I guess that is an impression that this movie left with me when I saw it the first time at my earlier teen years. Last but not least I also really liked the sound track and the setting and locations are also really great. All in all a pretty good movie and factoring in that this movie had me so interested even though I've seen it a couple of times in my youth, and feeling that though it is so 80s it is still a movie that could captivate so many young audiences who have never seen this movie before, I am inclined to give it the best rating possible. And because I mentioned the new blu-ray release: this is really worth a buy. There is more than 1,5 hours of extras, and these are pretty mixed - from the classics like interviews, making-ofs, trailers and featurettes to two serious documentaries, one on the Vietnam war and the other on the training of Green Barrets, as well as a fitness training featurette from the personal trainer for Rambo, there is a lot really interesting and unconventional ground covered. And the steelbook artwork looks just stunning as well :)

Look John, we can't have you runnin around out there wasting friendly civilians

Great movie, a very solid action flick! Stallone plays his part of the haunted Vietnam vet, who doesn't know how to cope with civilian life, very well. If the supporting actors (especially Trautman and Teasel) had been chosen more carefully (or if they had played their roles a little better) the flick would have been even better!

“I didn’t come to rescue Rambo from you. I came here to rescue you from him.” Based on the bestselling novel by David Morrell, First Blood is an incredibly compelling and provocative action film. When a small-town sheriff arrests a drifter for vagrancy, who turns out to be a decorated war hero, he ends up starting a war that he might not be able to win. Sylvester Stallone gives traumatized Vietnam veteran John Rambo real depth and emotion; delivering one of his best character performances. And, Brian Dennehy and Richard Crenna are also extraordinarily good, and are able to heighten the drama and add moral ambiguity to their characters. Dark and gritty, First Blood challenges the audience and addresses some important social issues that are still relevant today.

This is so much more than a mindless action flick. It's not just about John Rambo running around laying mayhem. Unfortunately he was later reduced to just that. [spoiler] I'm still covinced the alternate ending would have been the way to go but according to Stalone it backfired at a test screening so they re-shot the end to the released version. [/spoiler]. The book this is based on is really recommendable. And I think especially the finale scenes showed that Stallone could be a convincing actor which he later got seldom chance to prove. I have seen this one probably close to ten times now and I still can enjoy it very much.