"Rambo" was not Morrell's First Blood. I read the book several years before Stallone's pathetic movie and was so disappointed with what he had done with it. No one died (except the guy falling out of the helicopter) and Rambo lived to do sequels (which I never bothered watching). At the time I read it I was thinking of Ernest Borgnine as the sheriff and perhaps Timothy Bottoms as Rambo. Now I wouldn't know who would be suitable but Rambo needs to be some weedy-looking character (so I can see Tarantino's choice of Adam Driver) not buffed up like Stallone was. The original story is about two military men pitting their knowledge/tactics (Korean War vs Vietnam War) in a cat and mouse scenario. It was endless blood and gore from a man who was highly trained and just wanted to be left alone.

tautology

In any creative process many people do not start off being that creative. Having a formula or guideline as the basis is not a bad thing and most will improve with experience. They will learn that you can 'break the rules' and experiment. We all have to start somewhere and suggestions such as these will hopefully allow some filmmakers make that jump from 'bad' to 'better'.