Predator (1987) Review (Favourite Films Series)

Predator (1987) Review (Favourite Films Series)

“If it bleeds, we can kill it.”

This is just one memorable quote from a slew of one-liners and quotable dialogue, in what many call one of the greatest action movies of all-time: Predator. To simply label Predator as an action movie and nothing more is a mistake. It’s one of those multi-genre movies; an action movie, but also a science fiction movie, and, a horror-thriller. This is one of the reasons I was so drawn to it when I first heard the concept. I have seen Predator more times than I can remember, but it never gets old. It’s a timeless, perfectly constructed film; certainly one of my all-time favourites. 

When Predator first came out, it was a huge success with audiences, but critically, it wasn’t as loved. The main gripe everyone had? The thin story. And I won’t disagree: the strength of Predator does not reside in a multi-layered, innovative, ground-breaking screenplay. A bunch of soldiers in a jungle are stalked by an extraterrestrial hunter. It really is that simple. But then why is it so good? I would cite three main reasons: 1) the characters, 2) the overall believability, and 3) the creature. 

When I think of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie as a concept, I think of a certain kind of movie. Fun, cheesy action—Conan the Barbarian, Commando, Total Recall—but also action-comedy—Kindergarten Cop, True Lies, and Jingle All the Way, to name a few. But then there are Schwarzenegger movies outside of this frame of mind. The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Predator. I’m speaking of my own mind frame; I’m sure many others view the latter three movies simply the way I do with most other Schwarzenegger headliners. But when I think of Predator, I don’t instantly think of Arnie, though he certainly is a key component of what makes it so great. Does he deliver an exceptional performance? No. Is some of his line delivery bad? Yeah. But when it comes to the action, he nails it.

I can count all of the major characters in Predator on both hands. There’s Schwarzenegger’s character, Dutch, as the leader of the military rescue team leader, his old friend Dillon (Carl Weathers), Dutch’s five men, the hostage, Anna, and you might as well count The Predator himself as a character. That’s…eight? Two of which are left alive by the end. It’s a perfect cast of characters, played by the perfect cast of actors. Jesse Ventura as Blaine, wielding that massive mini gun, spurting instant-classic lines like “Son of a bitch is dug in like an Alabama tick” and “I ain’t got time to bleed”.  Everyone, really, has at least one great line (the dialogue is so quotable, there are lines printed all over the packaging of the collector’s edition DVD) but even though you have huge personalities like Schwarzenegger and Ventura and Weathers, they all come off as believable. You absolutely buy them as a real military unit.  

Any good monster movie takes its time to set up interesting characters, so when they inevitably start getting killed off, it’s more impactful, and ultimately more entertaining to watch. Director John McTiernan (who also directed another classic action film, Die Hard) uses the same techniques Steven Spielberg used when he made Jaws. We get to know the characters, get to like them, we don’t see the monster very often, and we frequently see from the monster’s POV. But, McTiernan takes certain techniques to another level. Long before we get a glimpse of the titular hunter, we see Dutch and his team through a grainy blue-and-red filter with distorted audio, and quickly realize this is how the predator sees them. He sees their heat signature, and this heat vision has become so iconic and synonymous, it’s impossible to not think of Predator when you think of thermal imaging. 

When I say Predator has an overall believability, that doesn’t mean I think it’s a realistic movie. It’s exaggerated and often very improbable. Why would Blaine have a mini gun? Even Shane Black, who plays Hawkins (and wrote/directed the newest Predator film, more on that later) acknowledges how absurd it is in the DVD bonus features. As cool as it is when they all stand together and fire a million rounds at the trees in hopes of killing whatever is stalking them, there’s no way a trained military group would really do that, and how are they able to carry that much ammo with them, especially after having used so much back at the raid on the guerilla camp? These are not flaws, though, as far as I’m concerned, because it never takes me out of the movie. The realism I’m referring to is making what is really just a B-movie premise look and feel like an A-movie.

Let’s talk about the creature. Imagine this movie, exactly the way it is, except for one major change: the predator is a bulky, reptilian alien with a gun fused to its hand, a hunched back, and a dog-like head that wobbles every time it turns quickly. It would have instantly degraded the film to sci-fi silliness…and it almost happened. During production, the filmmakers realized the creature wasn’t working, so they hired Stan Winston to create a new design, thus we ended up getting one of the most recognizable extraterrestrial creatures in all of cinema. Though it’s very humanoid in appearance, the mask, the weapons, and the face (“You’re one…*ugly* motherfucker”) are otherworldly, and terrifying. Huge credit to actor Kevin Peter Hall, too, for giving the creature personality, even with the brief screen time it gets—personality that would radiate through every subsequent sequel. 

Predator is remembered fondly for its action, and rightfully so. The attack on the guerilla camp is expertly paced, exciting, visually impressive, and just plain fun to watch. But that’s the main action scene, and it happens before the halfway mark of the film. What I remember most fondly are all the moments of tension and horror throughout—particularly when Dutch and the remainder of his team try to trap the predator, and when Dutch and the predator are stalking each other in the final act. 

I could talk about Predator all day. It’s a simple premise, executed perfectly, with entertaining heroes and an equally entertaining (and iconic, and scary) villain. It’s well-directed, the music by Alan Silvestri enhances every scene in which it’s used, the visual effects hold up pretty well, and of course it was destined to be a big franchise, because as satisfying as it is from beginning to end, in many ways, it’s just a drop in the bucket of vast potential that was sure to be milked.