People in the Movie: Arnold
Director: John McTiernan
Pigeonhole: Action / “Sci-Fi”
The Basics: An elite Special Forces squad led by Major “Dutch” Schaefer (Schwarzenegger) is sent to Central/South America by CIA operative Dillon (Weathers) to assist in the rescue of a cabinet member who has been kidnapped by a guerilla force. They quickly learn the rescue operation was a ruse, and that “something” is in the jungle stalking and hunting them all.
Recommendation: This is a testosterone driven, guns and explosions fest, with some Academy Award nominated special effects. When you have Schwarzenegger in the lead and McTiernan directing you know what you are in for: a well paced action movie that should be checked out. “R” rating is for violence and language.
My Take: The plot is fairly straightforward: the Special Forces unit takes out the guerilla army only to discover a single humanoid-like extraterrestrial is stalking and killing humans in the same jungle. We also learn that the Predator hunts when it is especially hot in the jungle, and that he has been there before or for some extended amount of time. I also especially like Jesse Ventura and Bill Duke as supporting actors in this on the Special Forces squad. They are portrayed as buddies going to back the Vietnam War, and both bring that “badass factor” to the screen.
**spoiler alert** While I usually root for the “good guys” in big time action films, I found myself drawn to the Predator (Hall) character the most in this movie. McTiernan took his time building up suspense before revealing the Predator in full visage. The audience sees first person the Predator viewing his prey in infrared vision (an excellent visual effect), somehow recording and voice mimicking men from the squad, then finally we see him strike (although he is still in stealth mode, which is also an awesome effect).
The Predator is hunting for trophies, although there does not seem to be an apparent pattern as to whose skulls he collects versus who he skins and suspends upside down in the trees of the jungle. Nor is there any pattern to which soldiers he shoots with his shoulder mounted plasma gun, versus whom he impales with his wrist blades. I like these elements; it keeps the movement of the film less predictable, and it is also clear there is no way to reason with an antagonist such as this one. It is a pure struggle to overcome a superior fighter with better weapons.
I did not really think the final hand to hand fight between Dutch and the Predator was all that great, but it almost seemed as if the film would end no other way.
Final Thought/Extras/For Fun: The original working title of this film was “Hunter”… Kevin Peter Hall, who was 7 foot 2 by the way, could not see well out of his mask, so the final fight was very difficult to shoot… Two of the actors in this film went on to become governors: Schwarzenegger in CA, and Ventura
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