Sylvester Stallone gives a brilliant performance as John Rambo; a highly skilled and decorated army veteran of the Vietnam War. Brian Dennehy plays the typical "jerk-water" town sheriff who arrests him for the misdemeanor charges of "vagrancy" and also for having a larger than average hunting knife used primarily for survival purposes. What follows is more than the entire town is prepared to handle as Rambo escapes the controlled custody of the very mean, un-wise, overweight sheriff and his group of sadistic and stupid deputies. The pursuit is then on, as the cops (with the assistance of equally stupid, ill-equipped and under-trained pseudo-macho army weekend warrior national guardsmen types pursue Rambo deep into the woods. Rambo uses all his skills to survive their advances and shows great restraint in his struggles against these "defenders of democracy". The casualty count just keep getting larger until US Army Colonel Trotter (well played by Richard Crenna), arrives on the scene in an attempt to stop him. Things just keeping getting worse for the sheriff until the exciting climax where some of the most important points of the movie are made. This is a MUST SEE movie for the important lessons it teaches about freedom. Just stay out of "small town" America. Especially if you are a military veteran of the Vietnam era or later and don't fit into the acceptable image of a "respectable" citizen.