First Blood more or less kick started the "Super Soldier" genre of loner, ex-vet searching for his place in a world that doesn't want him and this hasn't been topped in my eyes since it came out. The performances by all involved was awesome and I love ever single minute of the film. I'm a huge fan of this one, but I can't say the same about the sequels. I would never watch those by themselves. But whenever I watch First Blood, I feel compelled to watch the others to complete my Rambo Marathon. What makes this one so great is that it shows John Rambo (Sly Stallone) battling not only the cops and the National Guard, but the elements as well. The way he adapts to the situation at hand is far more impressive than grabbing an M60 and just unloading on everyone, which is what the sequels are all about.

The culmination of the entire movie is boiled down to the final 10 minutes when Rambo breaks down and gets everything off his chest about how he has been treated by protesters and the nightmares he has had to endure ever since his time in 'Nam. It's a powerful and emotional scene that carry's a lot of weight without it ever sounding preachy.

I highly recommend First Blood as a Buy, which I have as part of the Embossed Metal Case Special Edition which has all 3 films. I bought the Set for this movie alone. The others were bonuses.