Release date: 12 June 1987
Language: English
Subtitles: Find more
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shane Black, Kevin Peter Hall, Jesse Ventura, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, R.G. Armstrong, Steve Boyum, William H. Burton and others
Genres: Action, Sci Fi, Adventure, Thriller, Horror
Language: English
Subtitles: Find more
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shane Black, Kevin Peter Hall, Jesse Ventura, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, R.G. Armstrong, Steve Boyum, William H. Burton and others
Genres: Action, Sci Fi, Adventure, Thriller, Horror
I may not have ever of seen the full Rated R version of PREDATOR before as I never saw poor Carl Weathers with his arm blown off before! I have strong memories of this movie, and of it being just a pure action movie free of gimmicks with an iconic alien hunter character and Arnold Schwarzenegger being his simple best. Some 20+ years since its release, it holds up as good, and really better, than any modern sci-fi action adventure movie, if they even exist anymore.
You can say, and I can say, how CGI has ruined movies, especially action and sci-fi movies, and it’s true. CGI has hurt movies more than it has shown us new worlds and new things possible on screen I believe. That said, PREDATOR has one of the coolest computer generated special effects in film history, the bending of light around the Predator’s suit. That is just one iconic thing about the Predator. When you add in the triangle of red dot laser targeting, the seeing only of infrared heat shots, the extendable arm swords, the clicking sound it makes, and it’s at the time totally unique looks (oft copied now), all these add up to a movie icon that is rarely established today. Showing the audience something they have not seen before, a truly rare feat.
Just eight people in a jungle being hunted. One by one. You can actually see the action and follow it easily, there is no mess of quick edits and cuts so that you have know idea what is happening but you know someone is getting hurt and/or dying.
Arnold has basically only three one liners, only one is clunky, and the last one is a classic movie cuss phrase, i.e. “You are one ugly ************.” The dialogue is actually good, and funny. ”If it bleeds, we can kill it.” Great line delivered superbly by Arnold. ”I ain’t got time to bleed,” funny in its absurdity. I ha-ed loudly.
The use of the natural environment, the use of stuntmen, the entirely plausible action sequences and fights (save maybe for the raid on the village, but that’s just human on human combat). Seeing super brave and unflappable men become as scared as a civilian when the tables turn and the enemy is brutal, stealthy, and unidentified.
I mostly re-watched PREDATOR now in preparation for PREDATORS coming out next weekend, which has some promise at least in its cast and director and premise. I will be able to compare it very well to the original, if it is at least half as good, I will be pleased.