John Rambo on the other hand was a master of violence and mayhem that was trying to avoid doing the things he was good at, until pushed. The difference between First Blood and Rambo sequels is pretty striking in terms of the John Rambo character.

When the violence starts in First Blood it is a little more satisfying knowing John did everything he could to avoid a physical confrontation with the police, like watching a bunch idiots poke of hornets nest with a stick until the hornets jump out and kick their ass. Dirty Harry's shoot first ask question later way of dealing with bad guys is cool at first, but it is hard to develop any sympathize for Harry as a character when bad things happen to him.

All that rambling aside, First Blood was a great action film, but Dirty Harry was one of the great films of all time for me.