Predator - A Raving Classic

People have had an odd fascination with Arnold Schwarzenegger ever since he showed up in Hollywood more than thirty years ago. We also have an obsession with Aliens - on top of that, most people love Reggae music. Add these three ingredients together and you'll get today's Raving Classic film - Predator. In 1987, we were treated to what is likely Arnold's best movie ever - a movie that asked the question - what if Aliens hunted humans the way hillbillies stalk deer? Well, maybe this Alien wasn't a hick on his world but then again maybe he was - he had a strange sense of humor and liked to collect trophies.

The main theme from Predator

Predator is one of those movies you can watch again and again and it still grips you. The storyline is fairly thin because this is a macho-action type plot. Everybody in the movie is macho, including the Alien. Even the one female lead, Elpidia Carrillo (as the sexy Sandinista), is pretty tough. The special effects were unique and memorable and the "creature design" - well, it was out of this world.

Kiss me baby !

Now if you want to watch this movie expecting some great acting - forget it. When Arnold does talk he's barely intelligible (perhaps a bit clearer than Stallone though) but then again he's there for the muscle-power and not a lot of introspective monologues. Arnold is always good in movies where you can reasonably affirm that he looks the part - like in Conan (not the talk show) and the Terminator and in this film. Arnold is a walking comic book character leading man - and he was doing that way before the comic book craze took over Hollywood. But he does it so well...

The original trailer for Predator, circa 1987

Here's a list of the rest of the things we like about the movie:

1. The premise was pretty cool.
2. The Dredlock Rastaman monster alien was exceptionally cool.
3. The jungle setting made it seem more plausible (in contrast to some of the silly sequels) 
4. The  Predator versus mercenary battle scenes were great as was the attack on the rebel camp. The personal battle between Arnold and the Predator good ole boy was awesome.
5. The humans won - at least until the next movie. 
6. The movie score was excellent - it added a lot of tension to an already suspenseful, well-paced plot. 
7. Oh, and we liked the shoulder-mounted laser. 

Believe it or not, this was state of the art in 1987

Here's some of our favorite quotes from the movie:

1. Bunch of slack-jawed faggots around here. This stuff will make you a god damned sexual Tyrannosaurus, just like me. (from Jesse Ventura early in the film)
2. This place makes Cambodia look like Kansas... you lose it out here and you're in a world of hurt. (another Jesse quote - all the more interesting given he was a real Navy Seal during the Vietnam war).
3. There's something out there waiting for us, and it ain't no man. We're all gonna die. (Billy / Sonny Landham)
4. If it bleeds, we can kill it. (Arnold)
5. We find them sometimes without their skin. Sometimes...much, much worse. Cazador de trofoes...means the demon who makes trophies of men. (Elpidia Carrillo)

The (entire) Making of Predator

Predator is not a profound movie-going experience but it is a visceral one. It isn't exactly scary but it does get your adrenaline pumping and pulls you inside the story. It's a movie-going experience that translates well to the TV screen as well (big screens are better of course).

Movie Reference	Ratings & Reviews	How to Watch
Predator on Wikipedia	Rotten Tomatoes	From Netflix
Predator on IMDB	Roger Ebert's Review	From Amazon.com

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