The action movie Steven Spielberg calls “a very dangerous movie”
There’s no doubt that without the cinematic influence of Steven Spielberg, the 1980s wouldn’t have looked quite as vibrant as it was, on the silver screen at least. A unique storyteller known for his family-friendly action flicks, he’s not just a director; he’s a cultural innovator. Spielberg essentially invented the blockbuster, yet did so without losing that spark of authenticity, that wide-eyed gaze into the sublime.
From the first chords of Jaws, you knew something was different. Spielberg took a malfunctioning shark prop and turned it into a masterclass in tension and went on to do the same for aliens, archaeologists, devastated landscapes, and broken families—all employing the same light touch and beating heart. ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List—this is not filmography; it is the template for decades of screen history.
At the centre of all of this, arm in arm with the director is the great Harrison Ford, who would thrive throughout the ‘80s thanks to such work with Spielberg, rising to fame alongside a handful of other action stars like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Gibson, known for their bombastic adventures. Yet, while Spielberg’s Indiana Jones movies were very much set in an alternative reality where fantasy concepts thrive, the director feared the potential messaging of other action flicks.
Speaking about the release of Stallone’s 1982 movie First Blood, which introduced the action star Rambo to the fold, Spielberg had a very strong opinion. “I love Rambo, but I think it is potentially a very dangerous movie because it’s a this-is-the-way-it-should-have-been motion picture, which is very, very frightening,” he told Rolling Stone back in October 1985, amid the popularity of Hollywood action franchises.
Continuing, the director added: “It changes history in a frightening way. But it’s a helluva well-made picture. It winds you up inside, and when it lets you go, you spin around like a top, and the darn thing is just so much fun to watch. Even bleeding-heart liberals walk out, trying desperately to deny that they were entertained. I was entertained and angered at the same time.”
A major entertainment vehicle for Stallone, First Blood was the actor’s first big success following the cultural phenomenon of the Rocky franchise. First Blood would spark a series of its own, with two sequels being released in the 1980s, each one telling the story of Stallone’s Rambo, a veteran Green Beret who is forced to head into the mountains and become a one-man army against his pursuers.
Although Rambo: First Blood Part II was released in 1985 and Rambo III in 1988, more Rambo movies wouldn’t come until the new millennium, with a reboot being released in 2008, followed by Last Blood in 2019. Despite only five movies in the series and only the original being a critical and cultural hit, Rambo remains an iconic action hero, sitting alongside the likes of Indiana Jones, The Terminator and Han Solo.
