Predator

Predator (1987)

Just in case you have been under a rock or living without electricity for the last 20 plus years I’ll give you a brief plot synopsis of Predator. The government calls on an expert team of hostage rescuers to enter a Central American jungle to pull out a government official that strayed over the border and was captured by rebels. But after they arrive on the scene they realize something isn’t right. First they find some Delta Force members strung up and skinned like animals. Then after hitting the rebel camp it becomes pretty apparent that they were fed a line of bull about why they were sent in at all. The worst is yet to come as they soon realize that there is something in the jungle that is hunting them, and it isn’t human. The rest of the movie is them getting picked off one at a time as they try and make it to the choppers waiting to pick them up.

Let me start off the review portion here by saying it just doesn’t get much better than Predator, at least when you are talking about an action movie with science fiction and horror elements. The story is very exciting and wastes little time getting the cast in the jungle and on their way. The movie starts off like a traditional action flick, but after the big fight with the rebels turns into more of a horror movie. In a lot of way this was kind of a slasher movie with the victims being pretty well armed. I love it when a movie can do that sort of transition midpoint successfully. For me, though, what really makes the movie work is how much I like the characters. The movie does such a great job establishing each of the characters as individuals that like each other and that we the audience like. So you really end up caring what happens to them.

This is of course is helped by casting such unique and recognizable faces in the roles. Of course you have your headliner Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role of Dutch. But to then add actors like Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, and Sonny Landham to the cast was just genius. When you have a physical actor like Schwarzenegger in your movie, especially an action flick, you need to have some guys that can hold their own in scenes with him. This cast was just genius if not just a bit crazy. I mean putting both Ventura and Landham in the same movie. That took guts.

Earlier I had pointed out that this reminds me of a slasher flick. So of course that being said I want to talk about the special effects and gore. Now some of the kills in Predator happen off-screen, which is a drag. I really wanted to see Billy (Landham’s character) fight it out with the Alien. Alas all we get to see is what happens to him afterwards, though that is pretty gruesome. In fact much of the gore that we get in the movie are either the Predator’s trophies or what is left after it has taken what it wants. The exceptions are a chest getting blow out, an exploding noggin’, and an arm sent flying. By the end of the movie I was satisfied with the gore. It works nicely with the rest of the movie. The really spectacular bit of effects work is saved for the Predator itself. This design by the legendary Stan Winston is one of the best creatures made for any movie ever. Not only did the man create one of the most iconic aliens ever to appear onscreen, but also the damn thing is scary as hell. I remember the first time that I saw the movie when the Predator finally takes off it’s helmet it freaked me out. Seriously the whole thing with the mandibles… Still sends a chill down my spine.

For this review I watched the new Blu-Ray that just came out. It is packed with tons of special features. The first one I wanted to talk about is called Predator: Evolutions of a Species. This is a shorter feature clocking in around 11 minutes. There are some interviews with those involved in the original, but it spends most of it’s time talking to Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal. They are the producer and director of the new Predators movie, the latest entry into the franchise. They talk a bit about how the original movie influenced them and it is cool to see that they both are fans. It gives me some hope for the Predators movie.

Also included on the disc is an older feature called If it Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of Predator. Of all the features this is my favorite. It includes interviews with all the members of the cast, including Arnold himself. It takes us from how the script was “discovered” (great story) to the casting, shooting in the jungle, and finally how the movie was received. Most of the interviews are from the set and are more than 20 years old, but they are still fun to watch. There are a few interesting stories here including them running out of money before finishing and the god awful looking creature that thankfully Stan Winston was brought into replace. My only complaint is that even at 30 minutes I wanted more!

In addition to the 2 that I’ve already mentioned there are several shorts included on the disc under the heading of Inside the Predator. These are really short running from 3 to 5 minutes long. They include Classified Action, which talks about staging the big action sequence where the rescue team hits the rebel camp. The Unseen Arnold talks a bit about

Schwarzenegger and how easy he was to work with. Apparently the guy had no ego and was a team player. The last one I wanted to mention is called Character Design and talks about how the director and actors worked very hard to create a unique personality for each character on the team. I’ve only mentioned a few of the features that are included in Inside the Predator, but they all are worth checking out.

For me the bottom line here is that we have a great movie and an even better Blu-Ray release. I wish that all my favorite movies got this kind of treatment. I highly recommend both the Blu-Ray and the movie.

4 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer