Rambo (film)
"Rambo" is a film series centered around the character John Rambo, created by author David Morrell in his 1972 novel "First Blood." The character gained widespread recognition through the 1982 film adaptation, starring Sylvester Stallone, which became a modest hit and led to two sequels: "Rambo: First Blood, Part II" (1985) and "Rambo III" (1988). The franchise explores themes of military service and the psychological impact of the Vietnam War on veterans, portraying Rambo as a deeply affected soldier. The films reflect the cultural and political climate of the time, particularly during the rise of conservatism in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan, who controversially referenced the films in his speeches.
While the original film presented a more nuanced view of Rambo's struggles, the sequels shifted toward a more violent and patriotic narrative. This transition sparked debate among critics and veterans about the portrayal of war and its complexities. In 2008, Stallone returned as Rambo in a fourth installment, which received mixed reviews but continued the franchise's legacy. The popularity of the character has since extended beyond the United States, leading to international adaptations, including a planned Indian remake, illustrating Rambo's global cultural impact.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Rambo (film)
Identification Fictional character
In the 1980s, America began to come to terms with the social turmoil left by the Vietnam War. Attempts were made to rehabilitate the reputations of both the Vietnam veteran and the United States military in general, and Rambo became a fictional spokesperson for these movements.
The character of John Rambo was created by David Morrell for the 1972 novel First Blood but was introduced to most Americans in a 1982 action film based on the book. With Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, the film First Blood became a modest hit and spawned two bigger sequels, Rambo: First Blood, Part 2 (1985) and Rambo III (1988). Stallone reprised his role in the sequels; Morrell wrote the novelizations. There were also Rambo video games and an animated series (1986). In 2008, a fourth installment was added to the franchise with the theatrical release of Rambo. Stallone returned to the lead role and also took on the duties of director for this iteration. Performing fairly well at the box office, the film received mixed reviews from critics.
The United States lost its first war of the modern period in Vietnam, a conflict accompanied by civil and political unrest at home and which was fought at a time of increasing liberalism in America. By the 1980s, both cultural and political liberalism had waned and a new conservatism was developing, leading to President Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980. Reagan, president until 1989, is credited with rebuilding America’s military strength and confidence after Vietnam, and it is no accident that he was called a “Rambo” by his detractors at home and abroad. The former actor even invoked the character in speeches.
Rambo died in the novel First Blood, but he survived in the film. In an emotional speech before surrendering to the authorities, Rambo vocalized feelings that many Americans had about the war and its aftermath—that American soldiers had been treated more as villains than heroes when they returned from the war and that the military could have won if it had not been shackled by political forces. The sequels reinforced these themes.
Vietnam War veterans were finally honored publicly in the 1980s by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. President Reagan addressed America’s loss of military confidence by dramatically increasing defense spending and by showing a willingness to exercise military power, as in the 1983 Grenada invasion. However, Reagan’s critics accused him of jingoism, especially after he began referencing the Rambo films in speeches directed at the Soviet Union and its Cold War allies.
While First Blood sympathetically portrayed Rambo as a psychologically scarred Vietnam War veteran, the sequels were much more violent and linked violence to patriotic themes. While the general public enjoyed the mayhem, critics and many Vietnam veterans felt that the violence was excessive and that the films oversimplified the war.
Impact
The Rambo films were both an influence on and a reflection of both the rehabilitation of the American military, and—particularly for the first two sequels—the rise in patriotic and aggressive feelings within the United States during the 1980s. By 2017, the popularity of the Rambo character had gone international, with filmmaker Siddharth Anand announcing that an Indian remake of the first Rambo film was underway.
Bibliography
Anand, Siddharth. "Indian Rambo Remake Director Q&A: He's 'Happy to Have Sylvester Stallone's Blessing'—Cannes 2017." Interview by Graham Winfrey. IndieWire, 21 May 2017, www.indiewire.com/2017/05/rambo-remake-sylvester-stallones-bollywood-cannes-2017-1201829758/. Accessed 4 August 2017.
Eberwein, Robert. The War Film. Rutgers UP, 2004.
Hutchinson, Sean. "16 Things You Might Not Know about Rambo." Mental Floss, 6 July 2016, mentalfloss.com/article/64286/16-things-you-might-not-know-about-rambo. Accessed 4 Aug. 2017.
Jeffords, Susan. Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era. Rutgers UP, 1994.
Jordan, Chris. Movies and the Reagan Presidency. Praeger, 2003.