Movie #4 - Predator

Let's face it... this movie can now be used for political campaigns as there are two govenors in this one.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is not at his best here... not as many one liners in this one as in his other classics like Commando or The Running Man. There was only 1 that I caught throughout this movie, and that's one too little if you ask me. He's famous for those... even in his current tenure as the Govenor of California...

Jesse the "Body" Ventura is briefly in this movie, but after watching this movie again... I dig the MTV t-shirt he is sporting underneath the army fatigues. Cool gun he is carrying around too...

One of my favourite bad guys is here in this movie playing a platoon mate of Arnold... its Bill Duke. He's an ominous black actor... famous for his shaved head and piercing eyes. He's usually playing a mercenary or hitman in movies... so his special forces role here is not a stretch. I just liked his cameo here for he is completely weird... after his buddies begin to be poached by the Predator, Duke slowly becomes mad. I like how he prepares for battle too, by shaving his face with a blunt razor. Guess the director gave each of them the opportunity to think of ways to get ready... this was Duke's. His death was probably the most gruesome too... considering this movie was considered very violent for 1987.

As for Arnold... he gets outmatched here by the sheer size of the Predator. The actor cast in this role would probably have to be 6"9 at the very least to look towering over Arnold. Not to mention the gigantic head created by Stan Winston's special effects to complete the look of the creature from outer space.

As the movie progresses, although there are bloody scenes of death, I would've like to see more. The death of Carl Weathers was awesome, but yet, he always gives a good death in his movies. It didn't help that I watched a cut version of this movie on Spike TV, but I would've liked to see the death of Sonny Landham (Billy). Not only does Landham do a fantastic prep for his death... throwing his gun away, cutting his chest open with his 1.5" blade, but he even waits for the Predator on a gladiator-esque log on top of a waterfall. This would be a great scene had it been shown... instead, an eerie scream was put in its place. I believe more could be done here.

The final battle scenes with Schwarzenegger and the Predator are somewhat tacked on in comparison with his culmination battles of his other films. But I am biased towards his roles in the Terminator movies myself. By far, this is still the better Predator film of the bunch... but that doesn't say much!

2M's.