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Stallone V iolentReviewed ByDespite or because of its bloody chase scenes, Ted Kotcheff’s riveting film, First Blood will probably become one of this year’s big films.The film centers on a former Green Beret and Congressional Medal of Honor winner played by Sylvester Stallone. The hero, Johnny Randall, has become a lonely drifter, attempting to seek a tie with the past as he tries to locate an Army buddy living in a hick town in the Northwest.However, his friend has died of cancer contracted presumably from Agent Orange.In despair, Stallone drifts into town where he is eventually arrested for vagrancy^ The subsequent mistreatment at the hands of redneck sheriff's deputies sets off an explosion in Stallone as he has flashbacks of the torture he endured in the jungles of Vietnam.He karate chops and kicks his way through a half dozen cops before heescapes into the mountains where he single handly battles a small army.In a weak metaphor, the beautiful timberlands of Northwest become the'First Blood'Gory But Effectivejungles of Southeast Asia. The scenery is not just background, it is an integral part of the drama. Randall uses the wilderness in his favor as the hero jumps from trees and underbush to pounce on each of the imcompetent cops. As one deputy prophetically states, “We ain’t hunt in, him, he’s huntin’us.”The initial chase scene is full of excitement and almost unbearable for the audience as they wait for Randall to pounce on his next target. He warns his last victim, the redneck sheriff who arJINXED (R) — Bette Midler, Ken Wald, Rip Toro. (Romantic comedy) Miss Midler’s fans will be disappointed by this fair-to-middlin’ screwball throwaway about gambling, murder and trailer camps. Playing an abused chanteuse (to Torn’s malicious casino hustler), Miss Midler is dealt a poor hand by a script that gives her nothing to do. Action picks up when she and Wahl conspire to rid themselves of Torn, but overall the film is an iffv eamble and a bad Bette. GRADE: B-minus.rested him, “Don’t push it or I’ll give you a war you won’t believe.”Unfortunately, the sheriff doesn’t take his advice and brings in the state police and the National Guard to track down the psychopath. However, Richard Crenna, as the Army colonel who unabashedly takes credit for turning Randall into a killer, arrives (to• *rescue both his protege and the small army,“I’ve come here to rescue you from him,” he tells the unbelieving sheriff.The embittered hero justifies his one-lt; ■man war by pointing out that “they drew first blood, not me.” For the remainder of the film, he continues to escape his foes and wreck havoc upon them.Those viewers who like fast action chase scenes and the excitement of the battle won’t be disappointed with First Blood’ The film never slows and ifr guaranteed to keep most viewer’s attention.The performances range from acceptable to excellent. Stallone’s character is strong, but considering that he had little dialogue and no motivational scenes, he’s got ah easy job. Crenna is a little too cool and clam throughout.He appears just to be walking through the film.Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle is much stronger. Dennehy is one of those good strong underrated actors who can fulfill the difficult task of mak-ing an audience sympathetic towards a hateful character.The cinematography in this film is excellent when you consider the dif-Sue Casltn■Kficulty of filming at such a location. The camera follows Stallone up and down hills and cliffs and through a particularly disturbing 3(Kfoot drop into a clump of trees in which the audience watches him hit every branch on the way down.The disturbing factor of this film is that the audience is swayed to cheer for a psychopath and the psychopath is depicted in a now familiar stereotype ~ a Vietnam War vet gone beserk.lt;U *Kotcheff’s obvious attempts to excuse his character’s actions fall short. Crenna’s colonel is an obvious putdown on a military system which trains men to kill and later dumps them back into a society where Stallone screams, “you just don’t turn it off. ”That’s too simple an answer though. The military is no more to blame than the society which for many years only deepened the scars brought back from4Vietnam.Kotcheff makes a valid attempt to portray this Vietnam vet as mis-understood and mismanaged. But I fear that this film will also serve to further an unfair stereotype of the Vietnam vet as a psychopathic mess.★ ★ ★★ Stay home★ ★ Poor, but OK for dull Satuday nights★ ★ ★ Entertaining hut not memorable*★ * ★ ★ Recommended if it if if if Don V miss
Newspaper Details
Blytheville Courier News
Blytheville, Arkansas, US
Fri, Dec 10, 1982
Page 44
Full Page
Clipped by
Jon C.
NJ, USA 14 Jan 2020
Other Publications Near Blytheville, Arkansas
Blytheville Army Air Corps News
Blytheville Courier News
