First Blood: More of an anti-hero than an action hero? A masterpiece that's more than just violent. *Warning! Contains spoilers.

*This article touches on the ending of the story, so we recommend watching the movie before reading it.

Index

• Sylvester Stallone's career turning point
• The protagonist's image matches Stallone's image of Rocky
• What did First Blood risk his life to advocate for? (Note: Spoilers ahead)
• The sadness of John First Blood, the “human” on the eve of the action hero

Sylvester Stallone's career turning point

Sylvester Stallone has established himself as a legend in the world of action movies. In addition to the Rocky series, the First Blood series is one of his signature works. In 2024, the first three films in the series were released in theaters in 4K restored versions. In this article, we will examine the first First Blood film, which was produced in 1982. This is because this film was a turning point in Stallone's career and has a weight that goes beyond being just an action movie.

First Blood trailer

First, a quick recap of the story. Stallone plays the main character, John First Blood, a Vietnam veteran. He visits a rural town to visit a comrade, but the sheriff tries to throw him out for the unfounded reason that he "seems like he's going to cause trouble," and he's thrown into jail for defying him. This is a common occurrence in closed-off towns that are cold to outsiders. However, First Blood fights back, escapes from prison, and escapes into the mountains, where he engages in a battle with the police and state militia that are pursuing him. What the police don't know at the time is that First Blood is a member of the Gree Berets, a special unit, and a former soldier with incredible fighting ability.

The original work was the novel " One Man Army " by David Morrell, published in 1972. After its publication, it quickly gained popularity in Hollywood and the film rights were sold. However, the production was difficult as the leading actors kept changing, including Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, John Travolta, and Steve McQueen. As a result, it took 10 years for the film version starring Stallone to be released.

The protagonist's image matches Stallone's image of Rocky