“There’s bound to be more out there. That kind only run in packs.”

Drake’s rating: Things go boom. Drake happy.

Drake’s review: If I mentioned to you that I’d seen an early ‘80s flick about a Vietnam veteran running into trouble in a small town and the havoc that escalates from there, your mind would probably go immediately to First Blood. And that’s fair, considering the Sylvester Stallone action-drama made a bit of a splash at the box office in 1982 and then went on to spawn four* sequels as well as an unlikely cartoon series** that lasted 65 episodes.

It also inspired horror punk icon Wednesday 13 to write the song “Rambo,” which neatly hits the high points of the first film in just 2 ½ minutes.

But even though Ruckus never had a single sequel, nor a cartoon series, it covers much of the same ground as First Blood. Dirk Benedict, in between TV gigs at the time, plays Kyle Hanson, a military veteran of the then-recent Vietnam War who wanders into a small town in the American South and finds himself attracting unwanted attention. Predictably, and because we’d have a pretty short movie otherwise, that attention soon erupts into an all-out conflict between Kyle and the locals, involving car chases and explosions that result in all manner of pyrotechnics but little in the way of actual injury.

And if that sounds like a test-run for Benedict’s future on the A-Team, Ruckus does have a certain Stephen J. Cannell feel to it.

The events here are driven by Sam Bellows (Ben Johnson, Terror Train), the local bigwig who’s interested in Kyle because he lost his son in Vietnam. Bellows is holding out hope that his son is still alive and wants to know if Kyle might have known him. It’s a long shot, of course, but Bellows’ interest is enough to get the local toughs on Kyle’s tail as well. However, their misplaced exuberance and bully tactics don’t mean much to a special forces veteran who was deep in the jungle for eight months before exiting just as the American forces were pulling out.

Complicating matters is Jenny Bellows (Linda Blair, Roller Boogie), Sam’s daughter-in-law, who finds herself drawn to the stranger. And let’s face it, they’re a downright adorable couple as they engage in that age-old courting ritual of riding dirt bikes through the back woods in a slow-motion montage. They also do less silly things like eat breakfast and go to the county fair, where Kyle rips through a carnival shooting game with almost zero effort. That little scene is enough to show that the locals are incredibly lucky that Kyle has been taking it easy on them.

Ruckus definitely hits quite a few of the same notes as First Blood, but it also adds in some unwelcome bits of ill-advised humor and backs it up with a soundtrack that veers between TV movie and zany comedy. It’s a lighter movie, to be sure, but a slightly uneven one as well which never quite finds its tone.

Still, I like this flick. It’s fun to see Dirk Benedict take on a slightly more challenging role and really lean into it. His Kyle Hanson is honestly just messed up. He’s a broken human being at the film’s beginning who regains his sense of self thanks to Jenny, the one character he comes across that’s neither chasing him, nor wants anything from him. It’s not an especially deep character, thanks to the movie sketching out Kyle and the others between chase scenes and stunt falls, but Benedict makes the most of the chance to play something a bit off of his normal path.

He still has perfect hair, though. I mean, there are limits when expanding your horizons.

The supporting cast is solid as well. Blair is all fluffy hair and sympathetic likability, having been a teen bride who lost her husband without ever getting to really know him, and Johnson’s Bellows is a solid presence who inadvertently lets the situation get wildly out of hand. The great Richard Farnsworth also makes an appearance as the local sheriff, who is quite willing to let the chaotic events run out of steam on their own, but is stuck with a lunkhead deputy who can’t help but make everything worse.

So, yeah, Ruckus is a pretty good time. Although it lacks the star power and big-screen appeal of First Blood, it’s nevertheless an entertaining little flick that packs a decent story and some nice stunt work into a tight 90-minute package.

Just know that if you’re about halfway in and thinking that Mr. T should be showing up soon, you’re definitely not alone.

*So far. Don’t be surprised if an 80-plus Stallone trots out the character one more time. Maybe he’ll have to stop nefarious contractors from bulldozing his nursing home.

**It was the ‘80s. I don’t know what else to tell you.

Intermission!

• Ruckus director Max Kleven worked primarily as a stunt man and second unit director. This is no surprise, as this is a fairly stunt-driven movie.
• Look, the man wants a raw hamburger. Let’s not get all judgey.
• Man, I hope all of those cars were insured.
• So, Jenny was a 16-year-old bride. That’s… disturbing.
• Cece, the screechy comedy relief character, really starts to grate on the nerves.
• Many things go boom in this flick. Cars, boats, docks. If it can explode, it does explode.
• Ruckus may not have four sequels, but it does have at least three alternate titles: Ruckus in Madoc County, The Loner, and Eat My Smoke.