My tribute to Schwarzenegger's Predator 1987

"Get to the choppa!"

An unforgettable line from an amazing film which had all the hallmark qualities of a 'Shakespearean' play.

It is a tale of subterfuge, betrayal, warfare, comradery, masculinity, sacrifice and redemption. The overcoming of the ultimate adversity, in an environment where mere survival is no guarantee.

Set in the dense Val Verde jungles of South America, an elite military search and rescue team are tasked by the CIA with an official mission of rescuing an embassy official being held by rebel insurgents.

Under the cover of darkness the team descends via military choppers into enemy territory. It is in this scene that we see the first signs of tension arise between team outsider CIA liaison, 'Colonel Dillon', and the unit members - all the while 'Long Tall Sally' plays on radio and gunner 'Blaine Copper' captivates his comrades with 'chewing tobacco' and claims of sexual prowess and stature.

After abseiling to ground and posing for a few more 'bicep and gun' shots , the team stumble upon a chopper wreckage with 3 skinned corpses inside. Team leader 'Dutch' identifies the bodies as US Army Special Forces. Unbeknownst to the team, they are now being tracked with 'thermal imaging' by an unseen observer!

Onward to the insurgent village -

Dutch conceives a cunning plan to distract the enemy!

Allowing Blaine Copper and the rest of the team time to blow the rebels to smithereens!

"I ain't got time to bleed"

Tensions rise when Dutch confronts Dillon, who admits the mission was a setup to retrieve intelligence, after the previous team he had sent failed.

With an insurgent named Anna as a captive the team must now make their way to the extraction point through jungle few would dare risk.

"You lose it here, you're in a world of hurt." whispers Blaine Copper to medic Mac Elliot.

When Anna escapes and is chased by radio operator Rick Hawkins - they are ambushed by an invisible creature. It spares Anna but kills Hawkins and drags his body away. Anna would later reveal to the team "It changed colours, like a chameleon, it use the jungle".

In a hunt for Hawkins body, Blaine is killed by the creature's 'plasma' weapon. An enraged Mac startles the creature initiates a fire fight, but the creature escapes.

However, the gun fight revealed a green luminescent blood...

()

Leading to one of the greatest cinematic epiphanies of all times.

"If it bleeds... we can kill it!" - Dutch.

With a newfound understanding that the films antagonist is a 'hunter' the team set a series of traps using themselves as bait. And whilst these traps fail, Mac is able to track this demon into the jungle with the view to avenge the death of his close friend. In an emotional moment of redemption and forgiveness Dillon aids Mac in the suicidal pursuit.

Meanwhile as the four remaining survivors attempt a dash to the extraction choppers, tracker Billy Sole loses hope and sacrifices himself to the creature to bide time for the others.

Billy's last stand!

Undeterred the camouflaged creature continues its pursuit of the the remaining team members - killing the injured explosives expert Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez. And as Anna turns to to pick up his weapon, Dutch, realising that the creature does not attack 'unarmed prey', kicks it out of hand ordering her to "go... get to the choppa"

Dutch evades the creature by throwing himself down a waterfall.

The creature pursues Dutch into the water but in doing so its cloaking suit short circuits - revealing an alien being, the Predator.

Dutch discovers that the creature cannot locate his heat signature when he is covered with mud. With this new advantage, Dutch crafts a bow, explosive arrows and traps, then lures the Predator with a war cry.

A David v Goliath battle is initiated and damage is inflicted on both sides, however Dutch is eventually trapped.

In a moment of manly emotion, the Predator acknowledges that Dutch is a worthy adversary and discards its mask and weapon - engaging Dutch in hand-to-hand combat to the death.

Almost beaten, Dutch lures the Predator into a trap - dropping a massive counterweight on the alien.

As the Predator lays dying, Dutch asks "What the hell are you?", but it simply repeats the question in garbled English before activating a self-destruct device, echoing Billy's laughter as the countdown begins.

Dutch runs and leaps for cover just as the self-destruct device explodes in a mushroom cloud.

The film ends as Dutch is picked up by his commander, General Phillips, and Anna in the chopper.

And this my friends, ends my tribute to Arnold Schwarzenegger's - Predator - one of my many favourite movies.

I am... SirKnight