Stallone had another major success when he played as a Vietnam veteran named John Rambo in the action adventure movie "First Blood" (1982). The first chapter of Rambo was both a critical and box office success. The critics praised Stallone's performance, saying he made Rambo seem human despite the way he is described in the book of the same name, "First Blood" and in the other movies. Two other Rambo movies "" (1985) and "Rambo III" (1988) followed (and another, Rambo, in 2008). Although box office hits, the movies were given much less critical praise than the original. He also continued his box office success with the "Rocky" franchise and wrote, directed and starred in two more movies to the series: "Rocky III" (1982) and "Rocky IV" (1985). 