Predator (1987) 20th Century Fox/Sci-Fi-Action RT: 107 minutes Rated R (language, graphic violence and gore, frightening images, intense scenes of terror) Director: John McTiernan Screenplay: John Thomas and Jim Thomas Music: Alan Silvestri Cinematography: Donald McAlpine Release date: June 12, 1987 (US) Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, Shane Black, R.G. Armstrong, Kevin Peter Hall. Box Office: $56.5M (US)/$98.3M (World)
Rating: ****
WOW! Talk about your seriously testosterone-fuelled action movies. Predator takes the cake! It’s one of those movies where no character can be described as a wimp, not even the guy with glasses. He’s every bit as bad ass as his brothers-in-arms. It’s one of those movies where every character looks like they’ve done some serious fitness training with Hans and Franz. Surely you remember those guys (Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon) from Saturday Night Live- “Ve just vant to pump [CLAP] you up.”
I couldn’t wait to see Predator when it opened back in June ’87. My father and I (true Ah-nuld fans that we were!) caught the 1pm Saturday matinee (June 13) at the AMC Granite Run 8, the first multiplex to open in the Delaware County area. Despite some initial problems with projection, the movie turned out to be one of the coolest cinematic experiences of the summer. It has all the right components: tough guys, OTT macho dialogue, bad-ass posturing, awesome weaponry, lots of violence, lots of gore, and a seven-foot-tall alien with chameleon-like camouflage abilities! What’s not to love about Predator? It’s the perfect example of a kick-ass action flick!
Major Dutch Schaefer (Schwarzenegger) and his elite squad of commandos arrive in Guatemala for a rescue mission involving a Presidential cabinet member who’s been abducted by guerrilla forces. His team is made up of Blain (Ventura, The Running Man), Mac (Duke, Commando), Billy (Landham, 48 Hrs), Poncho (Chaves, Witness) and Hawkins (Black, screenwriter of the Lethal Weapon movies). They’re joined by Dillon (Weathers, Action Jackson), an old Army buddy of Dutch’s who now works for the CIA. They have to bring him along as per orders from the top.
A helicopter inserts the guys into the Central American jungle where expert tracker Billy immediately picks up their trail. Along the way, they find the wreckage of a downed helicopter and the skinned bodies of an Army Special Forces Unit. They finally reach the rebel camp and destroy the place only to find out Dillon lied to them about the real purpose of the mission. How did they NOT know he was lying? He’s CIA!
Dillon’s subterfuge turns out to be the least of their worries because unbeknownst to them, a nearly-invisible alien creature with thermal vision has been watching them since they arrived in the jungle. As they try to make it to the extraction point, the creature starts killing members of the unit. It soon becomes obvious that their sophisticated hardware is no match for the alien. Eventually, it comes down to Dutch facing off against his extraterrestrial adversary with the most primitive of weapons and booby traps. Come on, we’re talking about Arnold Schwarzenegger here. Did you honestly think it would end any other way?
Director John McTiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October), in his first major studio movie (he did Nomads the year before), assembles one of the biggest, baddest collections of tough guy actors since The Dirty Dozen and lets them cut loose with macho dialogue so over the top it borders on parody. A few choice nuggets include “I ain’t got time to bleed,” “If it bleeds, we can kill it,” and “You give away our position one more time, I’ll bleed ya, real quiet.” Of course, we shouldn’t overlook the classic dialogue exchange on the helicopter after everybody turns down Blain’s offer of chewing tobacco. He says, “Bunch of slack-jawed faggots around here. This stuff will make you a g**d*** sexual Tyrannosaurus, just like me.” Poncho responds to this claim by holding up a grenade launcher and saying, “Yeah, strap this on your sore ass, Blain.”
While I can’t say any of the actors turn in Oscar-worthy performances, they do exactly they’re expected to do and do it extremely well. Schwarzenegger is in top form here, kicking ass (human and alien) while delivering trademark one-liners (e.g. “Stick around!” and “Knock knock!”) destined to be quoted endlessly by fans. Just like Sylvester Stallone did in First Blood, Weathers proves there’s life after Rocky with what he brings to the table. Ventura, sporting the fiercest weapon in the movie, a modified M134 minigun he calls “Ol’ Painless”, has real screen presence. Sonny Landham rules, that’s all that needs to be said. Mexican actress Elpidia Carrillo (Salvador) adds a dose of estrogen to the proceedings as Anna, a young woman from the rebel camp who knows a lot about their otherworldly adversary (“Only in the hottest years this happens. And this year, it grows hot.”)
Like the previous year’s Aliens, Predator successfully blends action with sci-fi and horror to make a memorable moviegoing experience. It starts out as a typical ’80s action flick, but shifts into hybrid mode about 40 minutes in. Let me tell you, the Predator is one fierce and fearsome mother f***er! Designed by Stan Winston (Aliens) and played by Kevin Peter Hall (Harry and the Hendersons), he’s a warrior who hunts humans for sport and makes a bloody mess of it. Who would have ever guessed that the Central American jungle was this knee-deep in blood and organs? He has some cool alien gadgets like a pulse weapon that puts huge holes in human targets then instantly cauterizes them.
Predator has a lot of good parts. The sequence where Dutch and his men attack the rebel camp is especially well done. It’s the kind of thing action junkies like me live for. The final fight between Arnold and the seven-foot alien is awesome in its utter primitiveness; no guns, just fists, homemade spears and arrows and pure brute strength. Then there’s all the tough guy dialogue. Written by john and Jim Thomas, it’s brilliant and ludicrous at the same time. It adds a whole new level to macho.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t praise the score by Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future) and how it ratchets up the sense of excitement and anticipation. The special effects are also very good. With Predator, McTiernan raises the B-movie into the realm of A-list entertainment. It appeals to both the action junkie and the gorehound in me. It ranks right alongside of Aliens as one of the best sci-fi actioners EVER!
