Retro Film Review: Predator (1987)

For the outside observers, last U.S. elections didn't look like a historical event of epic proportions - the results, although somewhat surprising were anything but spectacular. However, small but perhaps significant exception happened in the race for the governorship of Minnesota. Former pro-wrestler and part-time Hollywood actor Jesse Ventura, running on the third party ticket, won the post and thus shocked the two party establishment, professional pollsters and, finally the media who had him written off like an outsider. The lack of foresight among the media was quickly compensated with the barrage of exposes and news stories about new governor; his movie career was almost always illustrated with the clips from Predator, 1987 science fiction movie that had featured Jesse Ventura as one of the leads. Ironically, before last week, very few people had thought about Predator as anything but a typical Schwarzenegger movie. Now, and especially if the political future remains bright for the Minnesota governor, Predator would be widely known as the "Jesse Ventura movie". Because of that very few people would actually think about Predator as one very good piece of science fiction cinema.

Obviously influenced by the last battles of the Cold War, and partly by the developing Iran-Contra saga, Predator begins like a standard Rambo-esque action set in an unnamed Central American country. The helicopter carrying important government minister wandered into the wrong side of the border and crashed into the territory controlled by Communist guerrillas. Since CIA and other U.S. agencies involved in dirty little proxy war between the superpowers don't want to leave their best ally in the hands of the enemy, they call the small but elite search and rescue team, led by Major "Dutch" Shaeffer (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger). The task of the team, accompanied by CIA agent Dillon (played by Carl Weathers) is to go into the jungle, locate the minister and bring him back to safety. Soon after finding minister's helicopter, they discover the savagely mutilated remains of another U.S. Special Forces team. Dutch's suspicions about true nature of the mission become justified after his team successfully storms guerrilla base; "government minister" was nothing more by a CIA operative, and entire rescue story was nothing but cover for the more prosaic covert action. Dutch doesn't have time to argue with Dillon about ethics, because his team suddenly becomes the target of new, mysterious, deadly and apparently invisible enemy. That enemy happens to be space alien who likes to hunt humans for sport, and the elite commandos looks like an the ideal prey.

Predator, the movie that launched its director John McTiernan into Hollywood's orbit, owes a lot to the previous year's masterpiece Aliens. Both movies try to mix science fiction and horror with the action genre; both movies also could be seen as some kind of commentary on the political trends of the Reagan era; finally, both movies feature strong and memorable characters involved in spectacular non-stop action; both movies also end in an spectacular mano-a-mano showdown. However, Predator, despite many similarities, remains original piece of cinema, and mostly because of its realism. The setting is Central American jungle, part of the real world, yet not less claustrophobic than Scott's and Cameron's spaceships of the future; the movie protagonists are people that actually could be found in Central American jungles at the time, same as the intelligence intrigues and covert actions ring frightening similarity with some sinister yet very actual events. But, the screenplay by Jim and John Thomas isn't intended to bother the viewer with contemporary politics. The realistic setting is here only to help viewer in suspending disbelief for the action scenes.

Characters are here also only to help the action. Unlike Aliens, they don't have a lot of time to develop, yet they manage to stay in memory like a special personalities. Ironically, the main protagonist, Dutch, is the least memorable of all; Schwarzenegger didn't bother much in displaying his acting abilities, except for his trademark one- liners. Only at the end, when Dutch gets alone and when he decides to fight the superior enemy by using most primitive methods, we have an opportunity to see Schwarzenegger acting. But, that doesn't matter much, because he was needed as an action star capable for breath-taking stunts (or able to convince the audience that his character can survive them). The other actors, who play members of his team who don't have to survive the movie, are more impressive. Among them the best job was done by Bill Duke whose portrayal of trusted Sergeant sliding into psychosis is a chilling yet effective performance in minor role. That role is enhanced by the good interaction with Jesse Ventura as his best friend. We also have an opportunity to judge acting abilities by Shane Black, one of Hollywood's most popular screenwriters, here ironically cast as an soldier unable to tell jokes. Elpidia Carillo as the sole surviving guerrilla was cast probably as a token woman in this ultra-macho story (the biggest flaw in the entire film), yet she worked very hard to make her character serious.

Despite having good actors in side roles, and charismatic personality as lead, the real strength of Predator lies in tight script and superb direction. John McTiernan obviously here perfected the same skills that would serve him very well in his action masterpiece DIE HARD a year later. The editing and pacing is flawless - after the slow beginning, the action intensifies in a shortening intervals until it explodes in the finale. The jungle setting (shot in now troubled Mexican state of Chiapas) with the inescapable tones of green is perfect way for McTiernan to induce the feelings of anxiety, fear, decay and claustrophobia. But, most of all, McTiernan knows how to use combination of pyrotechnic, stunts, editing and special effects to create the impressive action scenes. He was also helped by Stan Winston's imagination; the alien creature is alien enough to be frighteningly superior to humans, and in the same time humanoid enough to have flaws and allows puny humans fair chance in conflict. And such creature can serve as a realistic opponent in battle scenes, even in hand-to- hand combat; mostly due to the work of late Kevin Peter Hall, man in the suit who succeeded in his attempts to make alien's moves seem really alien.

Probably shadowed by Aliens, its great and to this day unmatched predecessor, as well as its own disappointing sequel, Predator didn't manage to develop its own cult. Yet its gradual fall into oblivion is definitely undeserved, because Hollywood rarely produced such flawless, engaging and entertaining product of action cinema.
RATING: 9/10 (++++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on November 13th 1998)

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