8. First Blood (1982)
![Rambo: First Blood](https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2012/08/a06.jpg)
John Rambo is a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. He is the last surviving member of his unit. He heads into Hope, Washington where he is accosted by the arrogant poophead sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) who thinks that Rambo with his unkempt appearance is a drifter. Teasle escorts Rambo out of town, but Rambo comes back. Teasle arrests him. At the station the deputies taunt and bully Rambo. They go to dry shave him and he has a flashback to being tortured by the North Vietnamese. He throws the men off, steals a motorbike and gives the police the run around. A helicopter tries to kill him but he throws a rock at it, killing the cop inside. This infuriates Teasle all the more. Some fantastic fun happens where the police try to catch Rambo in the woods but he is far too fly for them. The National Freaking Guard show up! As does the man who trained Rambo. He urges Teasle to let things go until Rambo cools down but Teasle is a prat. There then follows hijinks as Rambo is trapped in a mine by the National Guard but uses his combat skills to escape and wreak merry havoc. He ends up standing over Teasle with a gun pointing at him, raging about the horrors of war to everyone in attendance. Realising he has nothing to live for, he turns himself in. However, at the end of the credits we see him and his old trainer exiting the police station. First Blood is not particularly my cup of tea as I am not a fan of action movies but it is interesting in its treatment of Vietnam - particularly the Vietnam Vet. Tortured by flashbacks and haunted by memories, they are not jolly people according to First Blood. However, they are just about the most amazing don't f**k with me soldiers in the world. First Blood played an important role in the rehabilitation of the image of the Vietnam vet. Embarrassed by them during the 1960s and 1970s, Revisionist Reaganite America was ready to turn them into superman John Rambo. Vietnam vets were heroes, not a shame on the nation. The war was worth fighting. The second Rambo film First Blood 2 would take this idea even further. Rambo is sent to track down American POWs in Vietnam. Nobody knows about them and the mission is hush hush. He eventually manages to free the POWs after a spot of bother with fantastic baddie actor, Charles Napier. This film basically asserts - Vietnam vets are heroes, the war never stopped - we were not defeated, and now we have freed the POWs we have won the war really. It is radical historical revisionism and the sociology and politics behind it are fascinating.