PREDATOR (1987)

PREDATOR (1987)

Tagline:  Soon the hunt will begin.

(Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure) [R]

I ain’t got time to bleed…

In this one, a special force ops team is basically tricked into going to look for survivors of a crashed helicopter in South America. It doesn’t take long before Dutch (the leader of the special force ops team played by the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger) catches on to the fact that the reason they are there is all a lie and something is literally turning people inside out all over the place. Does this elite group of men have enough bullets and mud and Jesse Ventura to outwit and kill something from beyond the stars?

First off this movie is more known for Arnold Schwarzenegger than anyone else in the cast, but to be honest, I have always been a huge Carl Weathers fan, and seeing his performance in this brings me back to the good old days. Carl was a freakin force on the screen and even in this movie with all its star power, he’s great. In case you weren’t around back in the ’80s or are not familiar with Carl Weathers he is most famous for playing Apollo Creed in the ROCKY series. This entire case is solid overall and this is definitely one of Schwarzenegger’s better films. Another member of the special forces team that stands out is Mac played by Bill Duke. Duke is an extremely versatile actor still getting plenty of roles to this day. This is also one of Sonny Landham’s better roles. He plays Billy in the movie and he’s just awesome. 

Predator made about 6.5 times what it cost to produce which makes it no shocker they did a second movie but this one is still the go-to granddaddy of them all when it comes to the entire series. These days it’s probably too much to handle for the social justice warriors out there and just the sheer amount of testosterone involved. I am pretty sure in the 2020’s you need special government permission to even shoot a movie this manly. I am also pretty sure that there is now some sort of rule against one-liners which this movie injects into the script as smoothly as watching Gordon Ramsey filet a salmon into 10 equal pieces. 

By today’s standards the outline of the alien, when he’s cloaked looks pretty shaky, but the practical effects are realistic and wildly violent. PREDATOR is not a movie for everyone. I can imagine if you didn’t already grow up in the ’80s this movie is probably just too much, but still, to this day the score, the setting, the effects, all stand their ground. Where the movie does feel dated as I mentioned before is in some of the CGI effects. I can also say some of the dialog is also just as cringy now as it was when I was a kid. 

The final act in this movie is pretty much full-blown primal and it feels authentic. PREDATOR is not a movie I would watch over and over just because it’s brutal, but it is a full-blown classic and serves as a reminder that practical effects don’t have to be out of control expensive and still look better than most of the CGI crap we are getting now. For its unique ideas and iconic setting, I give PREDATOR a 5 out of 7, because it as never a movie I felt I needed to own as I loved this cast.
 

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