**_Action/adventure masterpiece about a one-man-army_**

Vietnam vet John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) drifts into a Rocky Mountain town looking for a war buddy, only to learn that he died due to exposure to Agent Orange the prior summer. The town's sheriff (Brian Dennehy) tries to steer Rambo out of town and winds up arresting him. Big mistake because Rambo is an ex-Green beret, a virtual one-man-army, who takes on both the police and the National Guard using jungle warfare tactics.

"First Blood" (1982) is an action/adventure of the first order. It's easy to lose sight of this in light of the two comic book sequels that made a caricature of John Rambo: "Rambo: First Blood Part II" (1985) and "Rambo III" (1988). Thankfully, the series made up for it with the outstanding "Rambo" in 2008, which is grim, gritty and deep.

The Great Northwest locations are picturesque, albeit drizzly and dreary, while Dennehy is perfect as the arrogant, pushy sheriff. He essentially plays the same role in the Western "Silverado" (1985) albeit his character in that film is even worse.

Stallone is in his physically prime here, although he's not quite as bulked-up as in the two sequels. His waist is only about 27-28 inches and his chest isn't all that big, although his arms and shoulders are certainly impressive. Anyway, one good byproduct of seeing "First Blood" is that it'll inspire guys to get back in shape or get in better shape.

Stallone is outstanding in the role of Rambo. He doesn't have many lines; most of his acting is non-verbal. At the end Rambo finally lets out all his pent-up rage by screaming out: "Over there (in Vietnam) I was in charge of million dollar equipment, over here I can't even hold a job PARKING CAAAARRRRRRSSSSS!!!"

I'm not normally into DVD commentaries and rarely blow the time to listen to them, but the one featured on the Special Edition DVD by writer David Morrell is very worthwhile. Morrell talks the entire 90-minute length of the film and offers a wealth of information, like the differences between the film and his novel, how the movie set many precedents in the action/adventure genre, the incredible way he came up with the name Rambo, the 3-Act story structure of motion pictures, etc. Make no mistake, David Morrell is a genius.

It doesn't matter how many times you've seen "First Blood." The film has such a captivating anointing you'll be spellbound from start to finish every time. If you’re a sucker for lost-in-the-woods/survival pictures "First Blood" is a must.

The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in beautiful Hope and Golden Ears Provincial Park, British Columbia.

GRADE: A