Predator

Dir: John McTiernan

1987

*****

Predator is no masterpiece, except it is. It was famously panned upon it’s release in 1987, it’s thin plot being the main reason given for the harsh criticism it received. It wasn’t long before the films simplicity was cited as being one of it’s strong points though and it is now regarded as one of the greatest action films of all time. It pleased fans of many different genres. It is primarily an action film but it is also a war film, a sci-fi and a horror. It feels like a b-movie done good, a neat idea that somehow turned into a cult classic, although at a cost of $15 million it was no b-movie. It’s origins are hilarious. Following the release of Rocky IV, a joke circulated in Hollywood that since Rocky Balboa had run out of earthly opponents, he would have to fight an alien if a fifth film were to be made. Screenwriters Jim and John Thomas took the inspiration from the joke and wrote a screenplay based on it. Their script for Predator was originally titled Hunter. It was picked up by 20th Century Fox in 1985, and turned over to producer Joel Silver who, based on his experience with Commando, decided to turn the science fiction pulp storyline into a big-budget film. Silver enlisted his former boss Lawrence Gordon as co-producer and John McTiernan was hired as director for his first studio film. Silver approached Arnold Schwarzenegger with the lead role straight away, he didn’t want anyone else. To play the elite band of soldiers, both Silver and co-producer John Davis, searched for other larger-than-life men of action. Carl Weathers, who had been memorable as boxer Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, was their first choice to play Dillon while professional wrestler and former Navy UDT Jesse Ventura was hired for his formidable physique as Blain. Native Americans Sonny Landham and Richard Chaves,  Shane Black and Bill Duke, who co-starred alongside Schwarzenegger in Commando, were cast soon after. Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator with the intent that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, ninja-like hunter. However, when compared to Schwarzenegger, Weathers, and Ventura - actors known for their bodybuilding regimens - it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Additionally, it was reported that Van Damme constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot and caused him to pass out. He allegedly had also repeatedly voiced reservations about only appearing on camera in the suit. Additionally, the original design for the Predator was felt to be too cumbersome and difficult to manage in the jungle and, even with a more imposing actor, did not provoke enough fear. Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the great Kevin Peter Hall who is now a cult icon. The predator was voiced (if you can call it that) by the equally great Peter Cullen. The Predator is famous for his dreadlocks and we have Aliens director James Cameron to thank for that. While on a plane ride to Fox studios, special effects man and monster-making legend Stan Winston sat next to Cameron as he sketched monster ideas. Cameron suggested he had always wanted to see a creature with mandibles, which then became part of the Predator's iconic look. The introduction is simple and mysterious, one of the best sci-fi intros ever made. A spacecraft flies near Earth and releases an object which enters the atmosphere. Some time later, in a Central American jungle, Dutch, a US Army Special Forces major, and his elite military rescue team composed of Mac, Billy, Blain, Poncho, and Hawkins, are tasked by their commander with rescuing an official held hostage by insurgents. CIA agent Dillon, a former commando and an old friend of Dutch, is assigned to supervise the team, despite Dutch's objections. The team discovers the wreckage of a helicopter and three skinned corpses, identified by Dutch as Green Berets he knew personally at Fort Bragg. Dutch's team reaches the insurgent camp and kill the insurgents, including a Soviet intelligence officer searching through valuable documents. Confronted by Dutch, Dillon admits the mission was a setup to retrieve intelligence from captured operatives and that the dead military unit disappeared weeks earlier in a failed rescue. After capturing Anna, a guerrilla fighter, the team proceeds to their extraction point, unaware that they are being tracked with thermal imaging by an unseen observer. Anna escapes and is chased by Hawkins, but they are ambushed by the creature. It spares Anna but kills Hawkins and drags his body away. Dutch organizes a manhunt, during which Blain is killed by the creature's plasma weapon. Enraged, Mac initiates a firefight in which the creature is wounded, revealing luminescent green blood. The unit regroups and realizes that something in the jungle is stalking them. Dillon believes more guerrillas are responsible, but Billy is adamant that the perpetrator is not human, an assertion that is met with skepticism. The team makes camp for the night, setting traps in all directions. That night the traps are set off, and Mac kills a wild pig, mistaking it for the creature. In the confusion, the creature steals Blain's body and Dutch realizes that their enemy uses the trees to travel. An attempt to trap the creature fails, leaving Poncho injured. Mac and Dillon pursue the alien, but it outmaneuvers and kills them. The Predator catches up with the others, killing Billy and Poncho and wounding Dutch. Realizing the creature does not target unarmed prey because there is "no sport", Dutch sends Anna to the helicopter unarmed. The creature pursues Dutch into a river and its cloaking device malfunctions. The creature, now visible, gets within a few feet of a mud-covered Dutch. His thermal signature reduced, Dutch remains unseen by the Predator and the Predator moves on. Dutch realizes he can use mud as camouflage. While the creature collects trophies from the bodies, Dutch crafts traps and weapons and lures the creature with a war cry and fire. Dutch disables the Predator's cloaking device and inflicts minor injuries but becomes cornered. Acknowledging Dutch as a worthy foe, the creature discards its mask and plasma weapon and engages him in hand-to-hand combat. Dutch is almost beaten, but crushes the creature under a trap's counterweight. As the creature lies dying, Dutch asks, "What the hell are you?" The alien repeats the question in garbled English before activating a self-destruct device while laughing maniacally. Dutch takes cover just before the device explodes, resulting in a mushroom cloud. He is later picked up by his commander and Anna in the helicopter. The shoot was grueling and most of the cast and crew suffered from chronic diarrhea since the Mexican hotel in which they were living had problems with its water purification, but as a viewer watching it in the comfort of my own home, their suffering was well worth it. It is a bonafide classic.