For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Sci-Fi, here’s a review of Predator (1987) by Drew of Drew’s Movie Reviews
Thanks again to Natasha of Life of This City Girl for choosing this month’s genre.
Next month’s Genre has been chosen by Dan of Slipthrough Movies We will be reviewing our favorite Crime Movies.
Please get me your submissions by the 25th of February by sending them to criminaldan@movierob.net Try to think out of the box! Great choice Dan!
Let’s see what Drew thought of this movie:
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Synopsis
An elite team lead by Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) gets sent into the Central American jungle to locate and rescue an official who is being held hostage by insurgents. They soon realize that someone, or something, is hunting them.
Review
Predator is as simple as an action movie gets. The plot is all explained within the first ten minutes before the team jumps into a helicopter and gets dropped off into the jungle. No time wasted setting up the characters; Just immediately to the action. The movie knows we aren’t here for the characters, we’re here to see the titular creature. And the film takes its time revealing it to us. There is no hint about who the creature is, or that the team is even being hunted, until thirty minutes in. Then the creature doesn’t make it’s full appearance for nearly another forty-five minutes. It was a very Alien-like reveal that worked tremendously well. I really liked that the jungle was used as the environment to show the Predator hunting. It gave the film the chance to show how the creature stalks its prey, much like a great cat. Plus with all the foliage, not only couldn’t the characters see very well, but neither could the audience, creating tension. Since the plot was so simple, the majority of the film was spent on the action. The film could have been about ten or fifteen shorter without a major impact.
I thought Predator was GOOD :-). The simple plot allowed for as much action as possible. However, this also means the film could have been shortened a little without affecting the overall film. The Predator is one of cinema’s greatest creatures and this film shows that a simple action movie can still be a blast.
Trivia
The original concept for this film originated as a joke. Someone said that the only person Rocky Balboa of the Rocky (1976) series of films had yet to fight was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). (From IMDB)
Trailer
Cast & Crew
John McTiernan – Director
Jim Thomas – Writer
John Thomas – Writer
Alen Silvestri – Composer
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Dutch
Carl Weathers – Dillon
Elpidia Carrillo – Anna
Bill Duke – Mac
Jesse Ventura – Blain
Sonny Landham – Billy
Richard Chaves – Poncho
RG Armstrong – Gen. Phillips
Shane Black – Hawkins
Kevin Peter Hall – The Predator
One of my favorite action movie
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Good review, Drew. Predator is one of my fav action movies ever. The pacing is perfect. Once it starts it doesn’t stop. I like how you mention the staging, like not seeing the monster until half way through the movie. They don’t do it anymore in Hollywood. It’s more instant gratification. The audience wants a setup, even if they don’t know it 😉 Thanks for reminding us what good scifi action is, and sharing this cult classic with a new generation.
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Thanks, Dan. I agree, the slow reveal worked great. Some movies today try to do the slow reveal, like the Godzilla from a few years ago, but like you said, people don’t like to wait anymore. You’re welcome. 🙂
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Yeah I actually liked that Godzilla remake. It’s part of why I’m so looking forward to Star Wars: Rogue One. Staging is so important. Think of Jurassic Park and those ripples in the glass of water.
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Reblogged this on Drew's Movie Reviews and commented:
To get in an 80s mood, I reviewed one of the great sci-fi action films from the decade: Predator. Thanks for letting me join in, Rob!
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