It should be remembered that Kotcheff’s “First Blood” is an incredibly somber film. In the sequels to “First Blood,” John Rambo would be mutated into a superhuman, ultra-American badass killing machine, so one might easily lose sight of the fact that Rambo started out as a sad, tragic figure. At the beginning of “First Blood,” Rambo is living on the road, seemingly homeless, only in town to visit a fellow buddy from his old army platoon in Vietnam. Everything is grey and quiet.
Rambo’s friend, he finds, has died. Another one gone, Rambo seems to think. America has discarded its Vietnam veterans, likely embarrassed and ashamed over the deceit and atrocities surrounding the Vietnam War. American disdain is personified in the form of a local sheriff played by Brian Dennehy. The sheriff berates Rambo and insists he leave town. The cops continue to chide and pester Rambo, driving him into the woods. There, he “activates,” shifting back into his wartime mentality. Cops drew first blood. Now Rambo, largely against his will, becomes a kill monster. He kills with utter capability. It’s horrible.
What Rambo does might be seen as badass on the surface — and Richard Crenna arrives in the film to explain just how dangerous John Rambo is — but the film is not a story of capability or heroism. In war, “First Blood” argues, there is no heroism. War demands we mindwipe young men to become murderers, and then do nothing when the time comes for them to re-enter everyday life.
John Rambo was discarded. Roga Danar was literally imprisoned. In both cases, their respective home countries have done everything to erase their existence. In both cases, the killing machine’s violent tendencies return.