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The character of John J. Rambo as played by Sylvester Stallone has become an icon, especially of the era it came from. The Green Beret superhero tapped into the lingering resentments of the Vietnam era and blew stuff up real good like. The best part about the film is its set up, however it changes gears into brainless zone.

Rambo comes to a small mountain town to visit an old friend from Nam, but discovers the man has died of cancer related to Agent Orange. He goes into town to get something to eat and because of the haggard way he looks is literally driven out of town by the sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy, ROMEO + JULIET). After refusing to be treated like a bum, Rambo is arrested and while in police custody is abused to the point where he snaps, beating up all the officers single-handedly as he escapes. This begins the cat and mouse chase pitting the survival skills of Rambo against the backwater police.

Like I said, the set-up is done well and Stallone sells the character 100%, however it’s the heavy-handed nature of the rest of the plot that brings the film to its knees. At every turn, the film strains credibility and doesn’t know if it wants to be realistic or over-the-top. Making matters worse is the silly Col. Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna, BODY HEAT) character, who serves as the “master” character one sees in comics. He made Rambo the superhero he is and is the only one who truly understands his demons.

Subtly is not this film’s strong suit. In the James Bond films, Bond is a superhero and we know that from the get-go. FIRST BLOOD wants things both ways — it wants to make a real point about the plight of vets and blow stuff up real good like. Because it was trying to be more than just another action movie, I give the film credit, but if it just went full force ahead with its superhero nature and only hinted at its more serious motives, the film would have felt more honest. As it stands, the film acts like a message movie trying to hide its action movie intentions.

As an action movie, the film works, but we don’t care a lick for its message, which is actually muddled by all the excessive violence. The opening tries to counter the Vietnam vet stereotype of the crazy homeless bum, but ends up embracing the crazy part to some degree for a good portion of the film. If one wants a blow-em-up flick, this one provides well, but filmgoers looking for films that really have something to say about the plight of Vietnam vets should check out BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY instead.