First Blood [RAMBO: First Blood] (1982)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	DVD

(http://pyxurz.blogspot.co.uk)

White Frankensteins

Clever modern-day Western with a healthy dose of Frankenstein serving as an indictment of the deleterious psychiatric-effects of an un-winnable war on the survivors of the losing side.

Sylvester STALLONE is perfect in a largely wordless performance as the psychiatrically-disordered Vietnam War veteran whose difficulty with coming-to-terms with his tortuous experiences at the hands of Viet Minh provides this melodrama with its reason to be. All the performers are excellent, in fact, helped by a sagacious screenplay.

It is all a little contrived but very emotionally-affective for all that, as all the best Greek tragedy is because it synthesizes the issues into simple terms without ever resorting to emotionalistic oversimplifications.

The film focuses on the various degrees of failed manliness within a posse comitatus - and the inevitable conflict within this group - along with the near-impossibility of the hero readjusting to civilian life. Our loyalties are confused here in an interesting and ironic way because we support the police for dis-incentivising vagrancy while acknowledging that the vagrant here is the very product of the culture the police are sworn to protect. The real tragedy is that this tragedy needed to be told in the first place.

---

Copyright © 2012 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.