sylvester stallone

Canadian author David Morrell invented the Green Beret "John Rambo" character. His book was later adapted by Stallone to star on screen in First Blood (1982), which also stars Richard Crenna (and Brian Dennehy). The film was a surprising film that caused controversy among audiences due of its satire on the Vietnam conflict, which was still relatively fresh within the American society's consciousness. It was a film that, despite its political views it was a huge success internationally. The sequel called Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), took place. It received much more criticism due to the storyline that claimed American MIAs were being held by the government of Vietnam. The movie's critics say that bad publicity can't be achieved. "John Rambo"'s second film generated a substantial amount of money for Stallone making him one of the most popular male actors of the 1980s. In the midst of a surge in popularity, Stallone called on old adversaries Rocky Balboa to climb back into the ring to defend American pride against an ominous Soviet threat in the form of a huge Russian boxer dubbed "Ivan Drago" as played by curt Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV (1985). The violence levels in this fourth installment being over the top, it became a source of debate with "Rocky" admirers. The level of violence was more severe than the prior Rocky films.