Former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier and Vietnam veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) wanders into a small town in the Pacific Northwest only to be harassed by the local sheriff (Brian Dennehy) and his deputies. When Rambo's flashbacks and emotional trauma take hold, he begins a one-man war against the police. Adapted from the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, the success of Rambo: First Blood would ultimately lead to a series of five films featuring Rambo/Stallone and created a sensation and star character that fueled films spanning from 1982 to 2019.