Harry Situation’s Countdown Reviews: Predator

I ain’t got time to bleed!

Predator is the 1986 classic science fiction action horror movie starring the Terminator himself Arnold Schwartzeneggar and directed by Die Hard director John McTiernan. The Predator will hit theaters in September of this year, and now that I’ve gone over the Alien films last year in my first Countdown Reviews, it’s time that I go over my thoughts on the Predator films as well. And yes, I will be adding the two AVP movies to the countdown because there aren’t enough movies featuring the Predator.

Arnold Schwartzeneggar is Major “Dutch” Schaefer, the leader of an elite commando team sent to recover two American CIA hostages in Central America. Along the way the team is picked off one by one by a mysterious opponent, the intergalactic big game hunter himself, the Predator. Dutch and his team must find a way to out hunt this menace before they become part of its trophy collection. The film also stars Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, and former Minnesota Governor (and nutcase) Jesse Ventura as members of Arnold’s commando team.

I don’t think there’s much to say other than I love this movie. This is another one of my all-time favorites. Predator is that perfect blend of science fiction action and suspenseful thriller all in an hour and a half movie.

Arnold is just a badass in this movie, as he is in most of his movies. He’s popping out his guns, and I’m not talking about muscles, and he’s blowing shit up. He’s got the one-liners, he’s got the skills to fight the Predator, he’s Arnold fucking Schwartzeneggar.

The Predator is also a really awesome baddie too. This extraterrestrial has stapled itself in cinema history for being one of the most iconic creatures, next to the xenomorph in the Alien series. Now unlike the xenomorph, the Predator is an advanced lifeform that utilizes various tools to hunt its prey. These range from a cloaking device, a bio-mask with thermal vision, wrist blades, and a plasma shoulder cannon. What also makes the Predator unique is its design. He’s decked out in body armor, he’s got dreadlocks, and his bio-mask looks sweet. And when he takes off that bio-mask, I think Arnold said it best: “You’re one ugly motherfucker.” I also liked how little special effects were used for the Predator. There only reserved for when the Predator is cloaked and when it’s firing the shoulder cannon. Yet when it is used, they surprisingly still hold up very well after all these years.

I should note that action star Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast to play the titular alien baddie. However, the design for the original costume was very different from the iconic look. I’m not sure how to describe it. It looked like some praying mantis/human hybrid that looked silly. In fact, if you google pictures of it you’ll see how ridiculous it looked. Even Van Damme thought so too, which led him to quitting during production, so filmmakers hired the late stuntman Kevin Peter Hall to play the creature instead and revamped the suit, which worked for the better.

One of things that is often overlooked is the film’s score. This film easily has one of the best scores ever conducted. When we think of film score composers we often think of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, and the late James Horner. But the most underrated and underappreciated is Alan Silvestri. The guy’s developed brilliant scores for films like Van Helsing, Beowulf, and the Back to the Future Trilogy. But in my opinion, Predator is definitely his best one. If you don’t believe me, go to YouTube and give it a listen. Your ears will orgasm.

And what’s an action film without some awesome action scenes? And trust me, there’s plenty of action in this film. That scene where the commandos are annihilating an entire forest with their machine guns, in hopes that they’ll hit the Predator, was epic. But my favorite part is where Arnold is battling against the Predator one on one. At first it starts out as a game of cat-and-mouse with the two opponents trying get a hit at each other, then it moves on to a fist fight between them. Fucking awesome!

And now for the negatives about this movie. Hm... I can’t think of any. Oh well.

Maybe because there are none. This movie rocks! I love this movie and any amount of nitpicks people can think of are not enough to sway my opinion on this film. Predator is just an awesome action flick everyone should check out. And if you don’t like it, I’ll hunt you down and rip out your spinal cord. Haha, just kidding. Or am I? I could be cloaked behind you right now as you’re reading this. You’ll never know.

Over here, over here. Turn around, turn around. HAAHAHAHA! Any time.

But in all seriousness, Predator is definitely a film you should watch.

GET TO DA GRADING SCALE!

Positives:

-Arnold is badass

-Predator is awesome

-Kickass action

-Awesome score

-Great special effects

-Instant classic

Negatives:

-None

Final Grade: A+

So that’s my thoughts on Predator, one of my favorites. If you’ve enjoyed this review, stay tuned for more as we countdown to the premiere of The Predator. And as usual please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews by me here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Dutch: “RUUUN! GOOOO! GET TO THE CHOPPA!”

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