Ruckus

Two years before "First Blood", there's "Ruckus". A Vietnam veteran(Dirk Benedict who was fresh off from "Battlestar Galactica") arrives at a small town. He is trying to get back to civilization when the local rowdies decided to harass him. He uses his techniques from his military days to even the score. Dirk Benedict would years later play a lieutenant in the army TV show "The A-Team" where he is more of a slick than a soldier. Linda Blair plays a mother and widow of a Vietnam veteran who asked the veteran if he had known her husband. This movie is more of the comedic version of "First Blood". Not a satire. Just comedic. Yes, there's a lot of action, and a lot of slapstick. This movie is just plain funny. It has opened up a door to future entertainment. It was great fun. 3 out of 5 stars

Ruckus is movie about An sorry and troubled vietnam veteran that stumbles into A small town with even smaller thinking population. Everything and Everyone that looks or seems different is weird and rejected. Although hé doesnt do anyone any harm, they want him out by any means. Formiliar ? Yep... it Rambo. Sadly someone ( the Director) thought the story Should be a funny comedy/love story/ thriller including "funny" eh annoying banjo music on every single chase scène (just like the tv show of that age) . An director that could not see what he had. That in Essent is why first blood was a box Office hit and Ruckus wasn't. Stallone knew he had... A thriller. Like the book was an thriller. Too bad this director didnt realise which way hé should film this story, but i wonder of this director had the neccesairy experience to do what Stallone did? Lets imagine hé did and could... and Dirk benedict would have starred in Ruckus the thiller later to be named 'Rambo'. I bet he would be great! And since there arent that many movies to admire the one of A kind Dirk benedict Ruckus deserves much more admiration. You need to see this movie! Maybe not as great as Stallone but still... 'fun'

The copy of "Ruckus" that I own (an old-fashioned VHS tape ... still the best collectible) features something I've never seen before, not even in all my many years as a cult-movie fanatic. Before the opening credits, there's a message on the screen stating: "Ruckus has a similar theme as the well-known Sylvester Stallone movie, but got released more than a year before First Blood". Ha! Seems to me the distributors were sick and tired of hearing their film was nothing but a lame imitation of Rambo. It's definitely true that "Ruckus" and "First Blood" have the same basic plot, namely that of a bewildered and traumatized Vietnam veteran who isn't welcome in a sleepy little town, and where the local rednecks attempt to chase him away.

The resembling plot is where the comparison stops, though. "First Blood" is an intense and gripping action/drama, with complex characters and underlying messages, whereas "Ruckus" aims straight for slapstick and pretty much gets ruined by its combination of excessively dumb yokel characters and endless car chases to the tunes of banjo music. Dirk Benedict, in between his TV-successes "Battlestar Galactica" and "The A-Team" doesn't has to do much acting, as he's the strong silent type - mentally scarred by his experience as a POW - who likes to climb in trees and manufacture his own bow and arrows. The gorgeous Linda Blair is utterly wasted, unfortunately. The film doesn't have a few remarkable and unexpected strong points, I must admit. The two characters of which you assume they are the slimiest villains actually turn out to be completely anti-stereotypical. Richard Farnsworth (as the intelligent Sheriff) and Ben Johnson (as the town's rich industrialist) are guaranteed to surprise you.

Dick Bendict is a loner who still has trouble getting over the horrors he faced in the Vietnam war. All he wants to do is be by himself and try to move on, but a group of hoodlums take it upon themselves to terrorize him after a beautiful widow (Linda Blair) takes an interest to him.

Well, you can give this credit as being the film that First Blood ripped off. It is entertaining and Richard Fransworth is excellent as always and Linda Blair turns in a rather appealing performance capturing the right balance between being lonely yet madly in love. This is one of her better vechiles, but other then Fransworth's and Blair's good turns there really isn't anything special or praticully distinguishable about this film.

This film is okay from what I remember of it. Unfortunately, it is not all that much seeing as how it has not come on television in many years and I have never seen a DVD of it. Heck, I never even knew the title of this movie and had the hardest time finding it on this site. I remember it having a bit of humor in it so I had added comedy to part of the search criteria and that is what threw off my search for the longest. Then I looked up Dirk Benedict as I was sure he was the guy and I finally found this title. Like I said I remember this one being a bit humorous at times, but like in Rambo it is about a Vietnam vet being treated badly by a small town. Which like I have said before in my review of "First Blood" and "Tank" makes little sense to me. There may have been a hatred of veterans of wars by those on the coasts and such, but usually the small towns embrace those who serve their country. This one though has him more of a drifter and looking rather filthy so I can see it a bit more here as rednecks do tend to act stupid like the ones that started the whole mess at that restaurant. The movie is a bit one note, usually involving the local law and such trying to capture the guy then he ends up busting some heads. Nothing like what is seen in "First Blood" where traps are set and spikes get stuck in a dude's legs. Somewhat good movie, but it needed some work too.