3 ms·

Interesting idea. I may have to dust off the Rambo DVD's and watch them with your theory in mind.

by beloch 11y ago

lsc 11y ago
"first blood" was a semi-serious film about the trauma one suffers in combat, even when you are the one doing the killing, and about the alienation that Vietnam vets felt when returning to a population who blamed them for the war and generally treated them like used-up human garbage. I mean, Stallone really hammed his way through in a way that wasn't really appropriate, if you ask me, for the tone that I got from David Morrel's book, but he did his best. The sequels were pure '80s action movie, and can be enjoyed (or not) on that basis... but what I'm saying is that 'first blood' stands on it's own as a (perhaps clumsy) piece of protest art; It really makes the "go usa" aspect of the third installment seem really out of place, and from an artistic perspective, the "Rambo" would be taken rather more seriously if it ended at 'first blood' I still haven't seen the fourth installment.
lsc 11y ago
Also note, first blood part 2 was "Rambo goes back to Vietnam" - essentially, the movie tries to explain why John Rambo was so screwed up and angry in the first place. "I'm coming for yoooou" - really, even rambo 2 wasn't a "go USA" film the way that Rambo 3 seemed to be. Rambo 3 is what you want if you want to watch the horse game with a dead goat. I personally can't come up with a theme tying rambo 3 back to the original Vietnam theme, other than the Taliban fucked up the Russians very much like the Vietcong fucked up the Americans. Maybe that was the point? a kind of redemption for Rambo, this time he gets to defend the people who just want to be left alone? Or maybe it was just "hey, we've got an action movie franchise, let's make an action movie!" - and it certainly can be enjoyed on that level, even though it lacks any future governors. (As another tangent, I think it's interesting to compare the minimalist "drop me into the jungle with nothing but a knife" vs. "all the gear" views of masculinity that are in constant conflict throughout the series. I... man, sometimes I wish I was in college and I could spent a week on an essay about 80's action movies and what they say about our shifting ideas of manhood.)

Interesting idea. I may have to dust off the Rambo DVD's and watch them with your theory in mind.

by beloch 11y ago

Interesting idea. I may have to dust off the Rambo DVD's and watch them with your theory in mind.

lsc 11y ago

"first blood" was a semi-serious film about the trauma one suffers in combat, even when you are the one doing the killing, and about the alienation that Vietnam vets felt when returning to a population who blamed them for the war and generally treated them like used-up human garbage. I mean, Stallone really hammed his way through in a way that wasn't really appropriate, if you ask me, for the tone that I got from David Morrel's book, but he did his best. The sequels were pure '80s action movie, and can be enjoyed (or not) on that basis... but what I'm saying is that 'first blood' stands on it's own as a (perhaps clumsy) piece of protest art; It really makes the "go usa" aspect of the third installment seem really out of place, and from an artistic perspective, the "Rambo" would be taken rather more seriously if it ended at 'first blood' I still haven't seen the fourth installment.

lsc 11y ago

Also note, first blood part 2 was "Rambo goes back to Vietnam" - essentially, the movie tries to explain why John Rambo was so screwed up and angry in the first place. "I'm coming for yoooou" - really, even rambo 2 wasn't a "go USA" film the way that Rambo 3 seemed to be. Rambo 3 is what you want if you want to watch the horse game with a dead goat. I personally can't come up with a theme tying rambo 3 back to the original Vietnam theme, other than the Taliban fucked up the Russians very much like the Vietcong fucked up the Americans. Maybe that was the point? a kind of redemption for Rambo, this time he gets to defend the people who just want to be left alone? Or maybe it was just "hey, we've got an action movie franchise, let's make an action movie!" - and it certainly can be enjoyed on that level, even though it lacks any future governors. (As another tangent, I think it's interesting to compare the minimalist "drop me into the jungle with nothing but a knife" vs. "all the gear" views of masculinity that are in constant conflict throughout the series. I... man, sometimes I wish I was in college and I could spent a week on an essay about 80's action movies and what they say about our shifting ideas of manhood.)