First Blood (1982)
This time he's fighting for his life.
When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 22 October 1982 |
| Genre | Action, Thriller, Drama |
| Director | Ted Kotcheff |
| Starring | Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy |
| Runtime | 93 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 7.2/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 86% · Metacritic 61/100 · TMDB users 7.5/10 |
| Budget | $15 million |
| Box office | $125 million worldwide |
Where to watch First Blood
First Blood is streaming on Tubi in the US.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 29 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy First Blood on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch First Blood in 13 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Australia | ARD/ZDF |
| Belgium | Netflix €10.99, Prime Video €4.99 |
| Denmark | Prime Video 69 kr DKK |
| Finland | Prime Video €6.99 |
| Guernsey | Prime Video |
| Iceland | Prime Video 880 kr ISK |
| Ireland | Prime Video €6.99, Paramount+, Skygo |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Netherlands | Netflix €9.99, Prime Video €4.99 |
| Norway | Prime Video 79 kr NOK |
| Poland | Prime Video 25.99 zł |
| Sweden | Prime Video 69 kr SEK |
| United Kingdom | Prime Video £8.99 GBP, Paramount+, Skygo |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Ted Kotcheff’s 1982 thriller treats the Vietnam War not as a backdrop, but as a lingering infection. Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo is a man whose skills for survival have outpaced his ability to live in peace. The film’s hook is the terrifying competence of a man who knows exactly how to dismantle a small town with a bow and a rifle. It is a 93-minute study in escalation, where the quiet tension of the opening slowly curdles into a full-scale siege. The writing respects the horror of what the war did to him, even as the action sequences lean into the spectacle. It is a tight, kinetic piece of cinema that understands its protagonist is already broken before the first shot is fired.
What the critics said
Critics found the film mixed, though the numbers lean favorable. Rotten Tomatoes shows an 86% approval rating as of November 2022, averaging 7.2 out of 10. Metacritic lands on a 61 out of 100 as of June 2025, which it labels generally favorable. Roger Ebert gave it three stars, calling it "a very good movie" despite disliking the ending. Janet Maslin appreciated the "energy and ingenuity" of the story. Variety disagreed, calling it "a mess.
How it did with audiences
It cost $15 million and pulled in $160.3 million worldwide. That is a solid return, or at least a respectable one by studio standards. In the U.S., it took in $47 million, though the notes suggest it eventually reached $64 million. The numbers are a bit tangled, but the bottom line holds. On TMDB, users rate it 7.5 out of 10. Viewers liked the action, apparently, even if the accounting department had to do some mental gymnastics to reconcile the totals.
What came next for the cast
Stallone arrived with Rocky under his belt, a franchise he had already built twice. He left to punch things in The Expendables and Guardians of the Galaxy, a pivot that defies logic. McKinney went from Deliverance to The Green Mile, a range that suggests he simply liked playing men who suffer. Crenna stayed in the Rambo lane, returning for two sequels before drifting into Hot Shots! Part Deux. These paths do not prove the film changed their lives. They just show where they wandered after the credits rolled.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched First Blood.
Read more: Platoon
Sources
- First Blood on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q244963 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “First Blood” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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