Predator Collector’s Edition

By: Erik Swift

DVD Features Video:1.85:1 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono Disc 1 Audio Commentary By John McTiernan and Text Commentary With Film Historian Inside Look Alien Vs. Predator Trailer Alien Vs. Predator and I, Robot Sneak Peek Disc 2 Deleted Scene: “Arnold Schwarzenegger Fleeing Predator” Documentary: If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It Inside The Predator: Seven Featurettes Three Outtakes Three Predator “Red Suit” Special Effects Two Predator Camouflage Tests Still Gallery Predator Profile: Six Static Pages Trailers: Alien Quadrilogy Trailer Easter Eggs: Jesse’s Ultimate Dream, Stan Winston Practical Joker, Don’t Drink The Water  Theatrical release:6/12/1987 DVD released on 8/10/2004 by 20th Century Fox Running time of 106  minutes Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers Director: John McTiernan Plot: Arnold Schwarzenegger wages an all-out war against an unseen enemy, a force more powerful and deadly than any on Earth – because the Predator is not of this Earth.

As someone who has gone out of the way to avoid “Predator 2” for the last fourteen years, viewing the original film is comparable to encountering an old friend. The first of two 1987 productions that featured future governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura (the other being Paul Michael Glaser’s “The Running Man”), “Predator” has long been regarded as a hybrid of 1985’s “Rambo: First Blood Part II” and 1986’s “Aliens.” However, along with “Robocop,” “The Lost Boys,” “Lethal Weapon,” “The Living Daylights” and the Oscar-winning “The Untouchables,” John McTiernan’s “Predator” was a big part of what made 1987 the best collective year ever for the action film. 20th Century Fox’s recent Collector’s Edition double-DVD release makes for a must-own.

“Predator” starts stealthily, as Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Schaeffer leads an elite group of mercenaries (are there any other kind?) into the jungle on a typically top-secret mission to rescue hostages from Central American guerillas. The veteran crew – Ventura, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves & Shane Black – reluctantly add the desk jockey Dillon (Carl Weathers), a former cohort of Dutch, to the operation. Despite locating and eliminating their target in an epic gun battle, someone, or something, is stalking the seven men. Fleeting glimpses of a shape-shifting object make it obvious to the rapidly shrinking team that whatever is hunting them is not of this earth. Quickly, the battle involves more brain than brawn to survive.

What starts as a routine Arnie outing is unexpectedly turned upside down into a whacked-out sci-fi twist on “Ten Little Indians.” It works for three reasons: its outstanding cast, a witty script and some truly balls-out ass-kicking action. “Predator” was the first Schwarzenegger flick to have supporting players that occasionally steal the film, and after the dreadful spotlight-hogging “Commando” and “Raw Deal” debacles, this is a good thing. Similar to the generic band of soldiers in “Saving Private Ryan”, the men under Schwarzenegger each has their own quirky characteristic or nationality to set them apart from the others (Black’s raunchy jokester Hawkins or Landham’s token American Indian Billy).
A pre-“Action Jackson” Weathers, having finally exited the dying “Rocky” series but getting offered nothing but TV junk like “Fortune Dane” and “Braker”, is decent as Dillon but Ventura’s tobacco-spitting Blain is the real deal. The Body, in his film debut, is a knockout as the tough-as-nails Blain, a self-described “sexual tyrannosaurus” who totes a portable Gatling gun and spews more catchy lines than Yogi Berra after a six-pack of Red Bull. Most of the memorable quotes are his “Payback time,” and especially “I ain’t got time to bleed”.
With all the good-natured brotherly ribbing, it’s not surprising “Predator” was penned by siblings Jim & John Thomas. Too bad the final third of the movie is mostly all Ah-nuld. From there, the screenplay devolves into typical mediocrity but getting there is pure fun. The shootout is just gnarly, too – everything is mowed down. Everything. Watching this movie should be Action 101 for wankers like Vin Diesel. Wanna make an action flick? Start here.

The success of “Predator” was huge for McTiernan – it gave him the clout to helm “Die Hard” and “The Hunt For Red October.” As he was turning into a big-budget blockbuster director, Murphy’s Law (rule #1 on movie sets) did not avoid him during the making of “Predator.” It’s intriguing to hear McTiernan reveal that the production was actually shut down and what made it happen. The Easter eggs are pretty funny finds, mostly about practical jokes and a cast-wide case of the runs, while the original Predator design clearly leaves a lot to be desired.
The low point: easily the quality of the deleted scenes and the occasional lapse into silence that occurs during them. There are hilarious reminisces during the extras from everyone from Stan Winston to cast members Weathers, Duke and “Lethal Weapon” author Black. Most of the bonus material is from 2001, allegedly from a British DVD release, so don’t look for any comments about the job California’s new governor is doing. Despite blatantly arriving to coincide with the premiere of “Alien vs. Predator,” more than an hour of bonus features on the second disc make this worth checking out again. Given the deluxe treatment here, “Predator” remains one of those action movies that are a guilty pleasure – and it’s still just as much damn fun now.

Reviewer’s Opinion: BUY IT!!