The Last Action Heroes have analyzed the supreme action stars of the 1980s, but what about the 1970s? From 1975 to 1985, nobody dominated the action realm like Sylvester Stallone. “No Place to Hide,” the “Rocky” series, and the first two Rambos put Stallone on a different level than his counterparts. Today, the Last Action Heroes will examine the movie that brought machine guns and grenades into the homes of small children everywhere: “First Blood.”

Joe:

“First Blood,” of course stars the one and only Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo. Rambo is simply a legendary action hero. The image of the chiseled Rambo holding a machine gun is synonymous with action. This is Stallone at his finest.

When it comes to the action realm, Sly has developed a pretty solid reputation for playing meatheads. Most of his portrayals would fit right in on the average high school football team. Judge Dread, John Spartan and even his most famous non-action character, Rocky Balboa, were hardly mental giants. I know I’m risking offending the entire city of Philadelphia by implying the fictitious boxer they worship is stupid, but when it comes to brains, Rocky is about as smart as Tom Joy is tall or Jake Leonard is organized.

Now, that’s not to say that’s necessarily a bad thing. I mean, the whole playing-morons tactic has worked out pretty swell for Jean-Claude Van Damme. I just happen to prefer the cunning warriors portrayed by Steven Seagal. But, hey, to each his own.

John Rambo, however, is different. There is a surprising amount of depth to this Stallone character. While I’m pretty certain little Johnny never won the science fair growing up, he’s not the run-of-the-mill action hero.

Derek:

The opening scene of “First Blood” is eerily similar to the scene where Forrest Gump visits the family of his fallen friend Bubba. Ironically, both Forrest and John Rambo are meeting the parents of best friends who died in the Vietnam War.

Rambo is a drifter, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and the last surviving member of his Green Beret unit. After wandering into the small backwoods community of Hope, Oreg., Rambo is confronted by Sheriff Teasle, played by Brian Dennehy. Teasle recognizes Rambo as the kind of scum that doesn’t belong in this town that might be a candidate for hosting the 2012 redneck games. Teasle tries to kick Rambo out of town, but eventually arrests him.

While in custody, Rambo has Vietnam flashbacks and goes Charles Manson on the cop shop beating down seven policemen in less than a minute and busting out of town on a stolen motorcycle. Rambo leads the cops into the woods where the balance of power tips in favor of Rambo. Simply put, John Rambo turns the forest into a weapon and brings a war of unimaginable proportions to the small community of Hope, Oregon. In a matter of one hour, Rambo goes from looking for a bite to eat to blowing up the entire city.

Joe:

What really sets “First Blood” apart from other action films is the historical context it is set in. In this classic, we encounter Rambo, the deranged Vietnam veteran struggling to fit in with society after returning home. That hits a little bit closer to home than the circumstances surrounding, say, “The Running Man.” Which is not to say other action films have not made me stop and think. For example, I thought long and hard after viewing “The Last Patrol,” starring Dolph Lundgren. That crapfest made me rethink my entire life. I said to myself, Just what am I doing? Why did I waste the last two hours of my life — two hours of my early 20s that I will never get back — on that movie? And furthermore, how does Dolph ever find people stupid enough to finance his movies? Actually, given the amount of horrible movies I have subjected myself to in preparation for these columns, any number of titles could be substituted.

Derek:

After watching a considerable number of action movies and subjecting myself to the horrors of “Walker: Texas Ranger,” I have stumbled upon an overarching law of action movies that in fact draws its origins from the television set. I would like to call this theory the MacGyver Complex. Every action hero employs some form of the MacGyver Complex. The MacGyver complex says that every action hero will have the intelligence and skill to construct some kind of weapon or massive explosion out of little more than yarn and an empty bottle of Nyquil. Rambo was able to take out an entire police unit and slip into virtual invisibility in the Oregon woods out of little more than sticks, a knife and mud.

Joe:

Finally, I leave you, the loyal readers with these lyrics from the incredibly cheesy “First Blood” theme song: “When they draw first blood / That’s just the start of it / Day and night / You’ve got to fight / Just to stay alive.”

Now, if those aren’t words to live by, I don’t know what are.

Derek:

Rambo eventually turns himself in, but only after his commanding officer from Vietnam enters the picture in an attempt to calm the situation. One-liners are fairly scarce in this movie as “First Blood” contained a rather serious message compared to other action movies of the 1980s. There is one scene where Sheriff Teasle and Colonel Trautman converse about what to do next. “You sayin’ 200 men against your guy is a no-win situation for us,” Teasle says. “If you send that many, don’t forget one thing — a good supply of body bags.”

Later in the movie when Teasle decides to take Redneck fighting tactics to a trained killer, Colonel Trautman casually tells Teasle, “You’re gonna die Teasle.” One hour later, Rambo empties an M60 cartridge into Teasle’s chest.

“First Blood” ends with the hero being arrested. It’s a strange ending in a film industry that almost always sees the hero triumphing. However, as the sequels to “First Blood” would show, Rambo makes good in the end.

On a final note, the ending of “First Blood” sees some of the finest acting ever by Stallone. The emotional breakdown in the presence of Colonel Trautman is simply beautiful and Stallone effectively communicates the hardships many Vietnam veterans had to face upon their return home.