9 Movies That Succeeded By Ignoring The Source Material
3. First Blood
In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, many a film was produced showing both the horrors and hidden scars of that conflict.
Following in the footsteps of Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter, First Blood was released in 1982. Unlike the gung-ho, macho sequels that followed, the original Rambo flick was a serious affair; focusing on a man suffering from the trauma of war and returning to a country that no longer cares for him.
The original novel by David Morrell was far more bloody and sinister, with the protagonist effectively bringing the war back to the United States. However, with Sylvestor Stallone having reached peak popularity with the Rocky series, the script ended up being rewritten. As opposed to Rambo going on a killing spree like in the book, First Blood went for a more sympathetic side to the character.
He does not directly cause the death of any police officers and is instead forced to fight a cruel force who have no respect for what he went through. With this key change, audiences were drawn to the character. In the book, Rambo also dies, which was altered for the movie and thus spawned an even bigger franchise.