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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
First Blood
EMAILPRINTOrion Pictures Corporation
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 7 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Adventure | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Michael Kozoll
William Sackheim
Sylvester Stallone
David Morrell (novel)
Directed by: Ted Kotcheff
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 22, 1982
DVD: October 21, 1998
Running Time: 97 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, Bill McKinney, and Jack Starrett
John Rambo (Stallone) escapes from jail and utilizes the skills he learned in war to evade the sheriff who arrested him.
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Empire Adam Smith
There's the fact that First Blood is a first-rate, taught action thriller.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
Boasting some of the best use of rugged landscape since the westerns of Anthony Mann, First Blood is an effective, if outlandish, picture that exists merely for its big-screen thrills.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Until the last twenty or thirty minutes, however, First Blood is a very good movie, well-paced, and well-acted not only by Stallone (who invests an unlikely character with great authority) but also by Crenna and Brian Dennehy, as the police chief.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
The director, Ted Kotcheff, does a good job with the violence and suspense, working well with the wide-screen format, and he seems fully aware of the dark, subversive implications of the material, even if the screenplay doesn't allow him to resolve them successfully.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Bruce McCabe
Ted Kotcheff's First Blood is a cute, slick anti-Vietnam war film carefully treated to go down for the pro-war constituency it's made for. [23 Oct 1982]
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott
First Blood is a gung-ho action flick fast enough and brutal enough to become Stallone's first non-Rocky hit; on the profound sympathetic levels it seeks to address, however, it is an emission of profound stupidity. [22 Oct 1982]
Variety Staff (Not Credited)
Director Ted Kotcheff has all sorts of trouble with this mess, aside from credibility. Supposedly, the real villain here is society itself, which invented a debacle like Vietnam and must now deal with its lingering tragedies. But First Blood cops out completely on that one, not even trying to find a solution to Stallone's problems.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
John Rambo gave it a10:
Awesome film. Stallone's greatest acting performance. An instant classic imho - has brilliant character development and an excellent story with some amazing gun shooting action. Awesome cast - everyone is perfectly casted and each portray the characters brilliantly. No doubt, First Blood is the best in the Rambo series.
