Studio execs were impressed by Nomads, a non studio film that felt bigger than it actually was, in 1986. Directed by first timer John McTiernan, it showed promise, skill and an attention to detail that some directors seem to lack. So when a script called Hunter was greenlit at Twentieth Century Fox the producers offered it to McTiernan, which he gladly accepted. The title Hunter was changed to Predator and on the 12th of June, 1987 John McTiernan's first studio picture was released to the world.
My memories of Predator have always been good ones. It was always my favorite Arnold movie and whenever it comes on television I can't help but stop and watch until the closing credits roll. It is an action and science fiction and horror movie all rolled into one. It is fun, exciting, tense and in one word: fun. It made Arnold an even bigger star and made McTiernan a director to contend with. So how does Predator hold up?
Having just watched it in all it's widescreen glory I can say that Predator has held up remarkably well after 25 years. And yes, it is still my favorite Arnold movie, bar none. I love this film! The story concerns a group of Special Ops American Military men on a mission to rescue prisoner's in a South American Jungle. Suffice to say things don't go as planned and they end up being hunted by an alien we know as the predator.
From the opening shot to the final cut, McTiernan keeps the action going. He doesn't allow for the audience to breath for more than a second before more action is thrown at you. For the first 30 minutes he plays Predator like a straight up action slash war film. The action is epic and just plain awesome. The village invasion has to be one of the greatest staged action sequences of all time.
Once the predator comes into play, the film becomes more science fiction than war, with fantastic gore and amazing special effects. The predator design has become legendary and it's easy to see why. Even in 2012 its design looks like it was designed yesterday. In fact the whole movie feels modern and really hasn't dated a day.
As I said, McTiernan keeps the action going continually throughout the film. In my opinion, he has created the near perfect film. Amazing cinematography from first shot to last, amazing editing, a pitch perfect cast and amazing one liners from the whole cast, not just Arnold. When Richard Chaves says to Jesse Ventura 'You're bleeding', ventura says 'I ain't got time to bleed". Chaves' dumbstruck reaction is priceless. Arnold nails a guy to the wall and says 'Stick Around', priceless.
As I said the editing in Predator is perfect. No bad cuts, no mismatched shots and a perfect running time. McTiernan, along with his cinematographer, have created some truly stunning visuals here. When Carl Weathers jumps out of the helicopter we follow him down and through the twists and turns of the jungle all in one take. A shot of Arnold walking through the jungle has him pass the camera which then pans up and up and up and even further to reveal a dead body high up in the trees.
When it comes to the violence, McTiernan doesn't hold back here; arms blown off, skinned bodies, countless deaths, blood, guts, spines, skulls and gunfire galore. Predator gets a hard R rating and really makes the film better in doing so. If Predator was made today I can guarantee that it would be rated PG-13.
Arnold is amazing in this movie too. Under McTiernan's skillful direction it feels plausible that by the movies end that Arnold would be the only person who could go face to face with the predator. (On a side note, having watched this again I now see even more how Predators paid homage and respected this movie).
The music, by Alan Silvestri, is pitch perfect too. Not a bad cue to be heard. It is pulse pounding and action packed from second one to the end of the credit roll. Like the predator himself, the music has become classic and is almost a template on how to achieve perfection in composing a soundtrack.
When Predator was released it didn't do very well with the critics, but since then it has garnered more praise than negativity. In my opinion, like a few other classics of the cinema, this stems from Predator being ahead of it's time. Had it come out a few years later it would of scored much better. The reason it is so well received today is because of how well it holds up. Modern action films are still copying its templete. Like I said earlier, Predator feels like it could of been released within the last year (something wich could not be said about Nomads).
There have been four movies since Predator that feature the predator but none have been as good as this one. This is a testamant to the skill of John McTiernan. With his second feature under his belt, and the first for a major hollywood studio, McTiernan looked to have a promising future ahead of him. And so it was that in 1988 his stature grew even more as his next picture went on to redefine the action movie as we know it...
Film Rating: 93%
Breakdown (How Predator scored 93%):
Production Design: 10 out of 10
Cinematography: 9 out of 10
Re-playability: 10 out of 10
Originality: 8 out of 10
Costumes: 9 out of 10
Directing: 10 out of 10
Editing: 10 out of 10
Acting: 8 out of 10
Music: 10 out of 10
Script: 9 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment