Predator (1987) Review

Predator (1987) Review

Next month the next installment in the Predator franchise, Predator: Badlands hits theaters. That means I’m reviewing all of the films in the Predator franchise. This is week #1 That means I’m talking about a 1987 sci-fi action classic with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Let’s talk about it!

The Good

If you know anything about Predator then you know it’s an ‘80s action classic. This is only the second time I’ve seen this film and I think this is one of the best ‘80s action movies, it’s one of the best sci-fi action movies, and it’s one of the best action movies of all time. It’s a film that’s so simple and straight forward, there’s not much that really happens in it but it tells the story to perfection and creates this awesome action that is quotable, memorable, and filled with great action. Every single action sequence is different from what came before. The first action sequence is about 20 minutes into the film and it’s a big shoot out. You get smaller combat with some of the soldiers. Then of course you get the big finale of Arnold vs the Predator and it’s awesome. It’s not repeating what came before and I appreciate that about the film. It’s this interesting film because on the one hand it plays very seriously, there’s jokes in the film but it’s not an all out action comedy it’s a ridiculous film that has the ‘80s cheese to it and it blends all of it perfectly to create a classic that’s been around for almost 40 years. 

Unpacking what works about the film, you of course have to talk about the action. John McTiernan was a master of action in the ‘80s and ‘90s with this film, Die Hard, and Die Hard With A Vengeance. All of them are fantastic action movies that I thoroughly enjoy from beginning to end. In this film he creates these big action set pieces involving all of these characters and all of them are super exciting and thrilling. Like I said, the first big action scene is the shootout when the soldiers first arrive at the island. It’s handled very well, it’s a very exciting and thrilling sequence that shows the scope of it. What’s interesting about the sequence is that you view it differently when you watch it a second time. You get the sequence and it shows these soldiers being so confident and mowing these enemies down without hesitation and without any struggle. There’s this confidence and this cockiness to them that they can do anything but then they can get to the Predator and they lose. They don’t have the cockiness because they realize that they can’t win against the Predator. That’s when you have great action when it’s exciting and thrilling but it also has deeper meanings to it beyond what’s presented at face value. When you move into the third act and you get the final showdown between the Predator and Arnold, it feels different because it’s not a fistfight between these two but rather Arnold’s character, Dutch learning all of the Predator’s weaknesses and using them to defeat him. When Prey came out there was a lot of controversy surrounding it because people were like “if Arnold struggled beating him, there’s no way a woman can beat him.” I found that argument to be very stupid because if you watched the film, Dutch defeats him because he’s smart not because he’s built like Arnold.  

Speaking of Arnold, this is one of Arnold’s most iconic films and it’s one of his best films. YouTube film critic Sean Chandler loves Arnold and loves this film and says one of the best things about the film is that it doesn’t feel like an Arnold film. In his explanation he said this “I think the most impressive thing about this movie for me is that of course this is a classic Arnold Schwarzenegger film, but I don’t think of this as an Arnold movie. Every other Arnold movie, even The Terminator films I think of as Arnold films. But with Predator, the fact that it’s a Predator film is that much more important to the film. Where Arnold serves the film rather than being so much of the face of the film…” I’ve always found that to be an interesting interpretation of the film and I think I agree with it. All of Arnold’s other classic films from The Terminator to True Lies rely on Arnold and her persona. When you watch Predator, it relies more on the Predator. We go to these movies to see the Predator do his thing. Beyond that, this is another classic Carl Weathers role. Him and Arnold play off of each other so well. They have this bromance between them that have a history of fighting in missions of the past. All of the other soldiers in the film have a fun personality about them. When there’s no action in the film and it’s focused on the characters they do a really nice job of making the film entertaining. You have Bill Duke as one of the soldiers, Shane Black actually acts in the film which is something that most people forget about. 

Another thing that works so well about this film is its score. I sort of forgot just how good of a score this film has. It’s not the flashiest or one of the best scores of all time. For it being this macho military action sci-fi thriller it fits it nicely. The score is from Alan Silvestri, who of course is now composing a legend that’s been composing films for 40+ years now. This was his first big film after Back to the Future, so it was continuing him on the top of the world. Since Predator he’s done countless great scores and this is probably his most underappreciated because Predator isn’t a film that you expect to have a great score. It’s one of the aspects that best fleshes out the film, it fills in the gaps and makes the sequence more exciting and thrilling. I’ve happened to watch a lot of films this year that have been composed by Silvestri, watching all of them you realize just how versatile he is as a composer. He can back big bombastic scores like Back to the Future, thrilling scores like Predator, quieter scores like Forrest Gump, and heroic scores like The Avengers. 

Finally, looking back on this film when it’s almost 40 years old I found it refreshing to see just how simple and straightforward this film is. From what I’ve gathered, none of the Predator films have super complex plots. But even the upcoming film, Predator: Badlands which seems very straightforward but has this extra twist of telling the story from the perspective of the Predator in this dystopian future adds more complexities over the entire thing. When you watch Predator, you get a film that’s just about a group of soldiers going to an island to fight whatever threat is out there. That’s the whole plot of the film, there’s no extra subplots, lore, or backstory about the Predator and I find that refreshing. 

The Bad

Honestly, there’s not much about the film that I didn’t enjoy as this is a fantastic film. The first thing that comes to mind is the Predator’s voice and laugh in the third act is pretty distracting. They created this very menacing and threatening villain but when he’s defeated he’s given the most cliche villain laugh of all time, it’s distracting and pulls me out of the film. I wish when they got that scene they did something different and didn’t have him laugh but do something that’s terrifying and fits more with the character that’s already established.

Also, given the inherent nature of the film I don’t think any of the characters are particularly members. I don’t really remember their names, I just remember one thing they do and that’s about it. Since they eventually all get killed off by the end of the film it’s not a super big deal but it’s something that I hold it back. Even our two leads with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers I think they can even be replaced with any movie star from this time period. You can see Sylvester Stallone in this role and the idea for the film actually originated from Rocky IV. Arnold is great in the film and of course this is one of his action classics but given the inherent nature of the film and the characters, he could be swapped out with any actor and it’d be fine. 

Final Thoughts: Predator (1987) is an absolute action classic that delivers the excitement and thrills from beginning to end. This film delivers a lot of very fun and exciting action that’s entertaining upon first viewing but has more meanings and layers to it upon rewatch. The Predator is a great villain, I love the design of him so much. Everything that everybody else would say about this film I’d agree with. This is just a fantastic film that’s one of Arnold’s best. 

The Score: 9.2/10 (A-)