☆ ☆ ☆
Predator
(1987) – J. McTiernan
There’s something odd about watching
Predator 30 years after its release (for the first time). The soundtrack feels wrong – it is all
symphonic, an old-school Hollywood score (by Alan Silvestri) – no rock music or
blaring guitars or screeching crashing exploding “percussion”. This somehow makes Predator a bit dreamier
and more unworldly than your modern action film. It also feels a lot more “low budget” –
although in reality the special effects probably cost millions more than today’s
digital contributions. A lot of things
blow up. The plot is simple: Arnold and his band of commandos are dropped
off in the jungle (Mexico playing South America) to rescue some hostages but
instead meet a virtually indestructible, nearly invisible, humanoid alien with
high tech weaponry hell-bent on destroying (and eating?) them. By the end, it is Arnold vs. Predator mano a mano
as you knew it would be. Arnold has his
schtick down pat by this point in his career, letting one-liners rip and giving
a surprisingly thoughtful performance (as far as he could). His super-stardom and comedic turns were just
a year or two away. In the end, Predator
didn’t exactly wow me but it held together fine. ImDB proudly announces that this is one of a
few films with two future US Governors (Jesse Ventura is the other) – how’s
them apples?
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