I love Predator (1987) but watching it now the attack on the compound is amateurish at best.
The kill zone is the entire village. With the M134 Minigun an L shaped ambush would be the best way to go. No way Arnolds team would walk aouta there after a straight on firefight.
Some dislike that scene but I love it. Classic action scene.
shareYesterday was the anniversary date of its release (June 12, 1987). There was a thread on Twitter that provided some interesting stories about what went on during filming, such as how the cast got ready for the film, ideas that went into it, and even how Jean Claude van Damme was fired as an actor after only a few days.
shareWeakest part of a great film!
share?
the attack on enemy base camp is one of the highlights of 80s action cinema golden age. 5 mins of manly perfection that have woketards and vegans running for cover when they view this.
Geez, I should have known it was you, BO, after I read your post and thought it good! Hahaha.
You really get around on this site. And I wholeheartedly agree with you. The attack on the rebel basecamp gives us definitive proof how very good and deadly Dutch and his elite team are. They wipe out everyone in ten minutes or less. The one poor soul was even told to stick around. And we even got a Dutch knock knock joke, although I don't think the soon to be ex-rebels thought it that funny.
I'd write more but like Blaine i haven't time to post, nor bleed!
hahahaha thank you pitt i take that compliment
yes the film set up these elite special forces units at beginning. first you get to dutch and his history in mission briefing room & you get to know the team on the chopper ride into jungle
... this perfect intro then pay off when you get to see there power unleashed in 10 min of total badassery. mini guns, m60s, rocket/grenade launchers, satchel charges etc etc. dutch even uses truck as moving claymore. they blow these commie rebels to kingdom come.
then the ultimate hunters get hunted by the ultimate hunter - movie perfections
Good synopsis there. Yeah, things really get going into high gear when the hunters become the hunted in that bush that makes Cambodia look like Kansas.
The rebels got caught completely by surprise and could do nothing whatsover to mount any sort of collective reaction or counterattack. They got mowed right down to the ground. No doubt the predator watched the whole thing and had to be impressed at the special ops team that Dutch lead. He was likely very excited to take them on.
One question I need to pose----Was the Green Beret officer Jim Harper or Jim Hopper? I always assumed his name was Jim Harper but Dutch said it as Hopper with his accent. Which do you prefer?
yes exactly putt, the predator observe them and see they are worthy prey. you cant get better hunt than elite us special forces. i think the 1980s have ingenious ideas. very talented and creative peoples think up these great storys and film.
hahaha jim harper. yes i know what you mean. i always think he say jim hoppah. arnold's accent very strong. he come from rural town in austria and rural towns i read always have stronger accent. but yes he is jim hopper. i think you can just make out his name on dog tags that dutch pick up.
Okay, Hopper. I have heard a lot of people say that. I just always assumed Harper and Arnie said it as Hopper. Go figure.
One other question people have on this film is when Blaine gets killed (which was quite smart of the predator to take out the biggest and strongest man first and the one who has arguably the deadliest weapon with the mini-gun) we see blood splatter him after he sees the animal. Some have suggest the predator hit the animal first with his laser while others contend that the predator threw some sort of spear of some edged object first at Blaine before the laser blast.
Any thoughts about this scene? I'm not sure what I think there.
yes great point pitt, this is true. good strategys from predator to take out biggest threat first (just 2 mins after coke bottle hawkins) and also guy with minigun. i never think of this before. it is true.
yes when blain is shot, it is confusing scene. my personal thought is i think the first shot either miss blaine, or is meant to distract blain, or stun him, before final blow
i do some research on nerdlinger sites and find this explanation:
"Following the destruction of the camp, Hawkins was killed by the Jungle Hunter as the team moved towards the extraction point. The others subsequently spread out to search for Hawkins' missing body and Blain became the hunter's next victim. After initially missing with its Speargun, grazing Blain's shoulder, the Predator finished him off with its Plasmacaster, blowing a hole clean through Blain's chest. The Predator then attempted to drag Blain's corpse away, but was thwarted by Mac, who fired upon the hunter and forced it to flee."
Okay, that might make sense that he was killed by the original predator in that manner. I'm sure the predator had other weapons beside the laser and hand blade thingy. He probably also made mistakes and didn't always hit every shot. It looks like we see something come in on Blain initially and he looks a bit stunned. Then the coup de grace. the old laser bolt through the torso.
Okay, I forgot that Hawkins bought it first. You are correct. I was thinking Blain was the first. The predator no doubt was concerned with that big gun that Blain carried with him. Mac wounded the predator with it as he fled the scene. Unfortunately they used up all the ammo. But what a good way to clear jungle brush out of the way.
Had i been the predator my first targets would have been 1. Blain (mini-gun) 2. Dutch (leadership) 3. Poncho (grenade launcher) 4. Billy (tracker and good insticnts).
The one thing I didn't get is why they did not question the girl more about what she saw. I mean she saw it firsthand and then they break off the intergation almost immediately. And that original hunter was awful. i would have been more afraid of Barney the Dinosaur. Kevin Peter Hall of Pittsburgh played the predator. Sadly he died of AIDS after a blood transfusion after a car wreck. Sad.
i think you were still kind of right pitt, blain was more or less kill first along with hawkins. they kill pretty much at same time, like mac and dillon. pred kills in pairs.
i think pred might target blain first, but he go for hawkins because he run away from his position deep into jungle to chase the POW. it was too good an opportunity for pred to miss - he get to kill and remove body before anyone else get there.
in pred 1 i always think the pred has only 2 weapons. in predator 2 they give him an arsenal. i agree with your targets - i would go for minigun and dutch first.
i think the first thing they do is question girl after hawkins is killed and she say to them "jungle came alive and take him". dillon and co have tunnel visions, they are convinced they are just being follow by a group of sappers playing with their minds. so they dismiss her as being too shook up by seeing hawkins kill. only when dutch figure out more, they really question her.
Yes, you do make some very good points there, BO. Dutch did come back to the girl to question her. I love Anna's speech of how in the past they find their men butchered. This apparently was not the predator's first rodeo in balmy South America. Or was it Central America?
Hawkins understably chased after the pow but exposed himself too much from the safety net that the group provided. The predator was right to take advantage of that. It was an extremely easy kill for him and he subtracted the group's numbers by one. He was smart to do it.
I always wondered how the predator so effortlessly could jump from tree to tree when he must have weighed what? Well over 300 pounds, probably close to 400 likely. Did he have some sort of anti-gravity thing that he relied on for this. One would be inclined to believe that his size and weight would often break off the tree tops that he liked to hide in. But of course they had a completely different technology.
yes i agree pitt. anna's speech is highlight of movie. "the demon who make trophys of man". when you add alan silvestri's great score to this part, it makes it such powerful scene, gives depth and real mystery to film!
yeah i remember it say predator is set in central american jungle on promo material i once read. i think pred is set in fictional country val verde which was reuse by other action movie from 80s and 90s like commando and die hard 2, although in trivia section it say the map they are looking at in beginning is of flat land in Brazil haha.
yes great point pitt. things would be falling down all around predator when thing of his size is hiding in branches (he may have had special device to make him lighter, but i would have to consult the wikia nerdlinger pages to find out)
throughout the whole movie, even from earliest scene when they first land in jungle, it show every member of team looking up into trees all the time. so they hear the predator, just cannot see him, while billy can feel his presence.
that is why dutch is able to put clues together at end and solve what is happening - knew he was being tracked/watched whole time
Good thoughts. Okay, I need to rewatch that to see them looking up in the trees. I did not catch that to be honest. But yeah, something that freakin big is going to make a lot of noise and have stuff falling off the trees and likely break a few limbs and branches that he is on. He was huge. He had to have some sort of device to make him really light to move around the treetops like that.
The predator was pretty much a total male appendage in this. Not very sporting like the one in the movie Predators who fought the asian guy with the sword on his own terms even when he got cut up pretty bad. Course, we do see the predator in this one remove his laser gun and protective helmet for a mano a mano fight to the finish with Dutch. But not very sporting how after Dutch beat him he tries to blast him and everything for 20 country miles to kingdom come. Maybe that was written into the predator handbook to not leave any trace of your body or tech if you could help it. Go figure.
yes pitt i agree the jungle hunter aka "anytime" would be making real ruckus up there! birds would be shitting themselfs flying away and also tree lizard, spider, snakes - everything would be scared at 8 foot alien walking around there trees all the time and all these thing would start falling down on dutch all the time hahahah. i think at least the film makers show dutch's team always looking up and hearing something.
yes i have seen many discussion saying the preds are not sporting or honorable. the pred know he stand no chance against special forces team so he sucker punch them with cloak and shoulder cannon. in the pred spaceship in predator 2 you see mostly big monsters - so preds must be scared of peoples who can shoot back. they take no chances - except when dutch is unarmed, then he take on mano a mano. but they are still kind of pussys for this.
yes pitt, the preds like to rage quit when they lose hunt which is why they set off wrist nuke. at least "anytime" did it in empty jungle - city hunter wanted to take out whole of LA hahah. but yes sore losers, dutch beat him and could not take it.
in fairness to pred, in predator 2 (the goat of underrated action sequels) the city hunter spared young boy who have toy gun. he did not have to scan his weapon to make sure, but he know this is not fully grown human so he had to check first to see if he was threat. if pred was unsporting he would just kill this boy and not taking time to see if he really threat. i like this part, and add much mythos to this great character.
That is a good observation about the city predator and the little boy. I think the predator did scan to see the gun was a toy or something to that effect. It was a moment of humaness at least.
Here's the thing----If I am hunting people like the predator is for sport, I need to at least make it an even playing field. I was raised to have some honor. My code is i do not harm animals, old people, children, women, much lesser men for no real reason. These are just things that I do not do.
I kind of view most of the predators as cowards for how they go about things. Number one we don't know they exist. We can't see them most of the time. We don't have their caliber of weaponry and nothing to counter them with. We don't have their size and strength. We also don't have their technology. Add all of that up and it is a pretty unfair playing field.
The only predator that I saw engage in a fair fight was Falconer in Predators when he took on the Asian guy in a sword fight. He removed his cloaking device and did not use his laser gun. He was badly wounded in the fight and yet continued with it without trying to save himself with his higher tech. He was at least honorable. More than I would say for most of them.
yes and another moment of humaness is when city predator lift up an armed woman cop into the air and spare her because he scans her and finds she pregnant. iam not sure but i think hunters spare pregnant game irl?
i like these little thing they add to predator mythos. many peoples claim they are not honorable but if you follow code then that count to some level even if they are wuss in general.
i was speaking to other nice person on this board about predator being cowards and he make a good point. he say that blains minigun alone would shred pred in seconds. he is correct, that is why they hide. they stand no chance with special forces teams who can see them. there only option is cloak and wuss tactics but they dont seem to be formidable warriors when on a loan hunt. maybe they should hunt in packs if they are scared?
what is strange is that predator take on dutch one on one at end of this movie, no weapons just fists, and predator pulverized dutch in fair fist fight! no match whatsoever! and like you say the samurai who have duel in predators gets a few hits in before he takes fatal shot and he takes predator out (tbh i found this scene not very believable as i grow up with predator 1 and 2 and i thought pred would beat samurai easily).
Regarding the sword battle in Predators I just started a thread on it several days ago. I don't think anyone responded. Maybe head over there and we can talk about that scene. I mention how Kanzo changes up his tactics in the fight very quickly when he sees how big and strong the predator is.
Yes, yet another great observation about the predator sparing the pregnant woman. I had forgotten that scene. At least he did do some decent stuff and many of those he killed were scum drug dealers and gang members.
Yeah, Blain's mini-gun would be a real problem. Nasty weapon. Mac uses it and wounds the predator. Mac says he hit it really good. I figured that he may have just nicked him as he was running away. Certainly it was a good wound that the predator had to take time to fix. But I don't think Mac hit him quite the way he thought. Fast moving targets are hard to hit.
I was trying to think what Dutch's squad should have done. And my best answer is to do what they did. Hunker down with a secure perimeter. But the problem there was the predator came in through the tree tops which they did not think they needed to worry about. He only took Blain's body IIRC. The ambush/trap later on was good as well. they could not simply keep moving and get picked off. Their best bet was to hunker down and hope for back ups to come and help out. Maybe a good bombardment before they landed. But they were over the border.
i think mac hits "anytime" with his M60, but blows an entire pack of M134 ammo on just trees hahah. couldve used that weapon for the pred hunt, although blain had probably used up most of it on compound assault
yes absolutely pitt. dutch & co have no choice but to take stand in jungle. wise tactics from dutch. good point about them not knowing at first that he use trees to move when "anytime" takes blaines body. it means he have to figure predator out step by step.
it also mean by the end when dutch takes stand by himself, he has learn enough to make fire to attract "anytime", and a great trap of camouflaged spikes above a tree log. dutch is great soldier. always using skills to adapt and defeat beast.
did you see this film in cinema pitt? i bet it make you think of all those traps you build in woods in your hometown hahaha
Yeah, it was too bad Mac used all the ammo for the mini-gun. It would have been nice to have later on. Agree that Blain likely used the bulk of the ammo for it.
I see this movie came out on June 12, 1987. As luck would have it I had a date with a cheerleader that night and we headed to the movies at the local mall. But we didn't see it unfortunately as she wanted to see Harry and the Hendersons. Gag! Pretty awful movie.
I only wished I would have had the predator's cloaking device during the booby trap days. I would have zapped those guys right in the azz with a good cattle prod!
By the time this film came out we were pretty much all driving and the fun stuff of dirt bikes and fooling around in the woods was sadly behind us. Life moves you in different directions. It was never as good when you are young!
well pitt, cheerleader & bigfoot > hamplanet & predator. i consider that good trade offs.
hhahaha yes i think that pred cloak device would come in handy during your ambushes in the forest with that nerdlinger. just as well your nemesis never have this technologys either hahah
yes i understand pitt. you grow up and things change. you were very lucky to grow up in 70s and 80s. this is my favorite times in film and tv culture. i wish i grow up in this time too, very special time it seem when cools things happen so much. now its all social media retards.
To tell you the truth, if I had to do it over again I would: A. Go to the movies by myself and leave the cheerleader to her own devices. B. I would see Predator. C. I would have lots of popcorn and Pepsi to wash it down with. D. I would never have given her another thought.
Absolutely the 1970s and 1980s were very good times to grow up and be around. I am so glad that my buddies and I wasted not one second of our youth on social media. I also wish we could have stayed around 15 or 16 as well. All the fun times we had. All the football and basketball games we played. And being a young boy in the 1970s was magical to say the least. Good times indeed. I miss them. Times were so different then. People spent time with one another and cared about one another instead of being aloof and jealous of everyone else. Sundays things stopped and it was a day of rest for everyone. I think the world could really use that.
The nerdlinger would be worthy of a movie to be honest. It would be a crazy thing to recount that guy. He was unreal. His dad as well. They lived close to a mile away and I recall they had this noisy hatchback when they started it up I could hear as plain as day from my place. I would run to the garden and grab a rotten tomato or two and nail them when they drove by. His dad would honk the horn. The one time the nerdlinger said they were dressed up to go somewhere and I nailed them and a bunch of tomato juice and guts came into the car as the window was down. His dad said "I'm going to kill that damn kid." Things like that just don't happen anymore. Life then truly was like an '80s movie. People laughed and had fun. They didn't get shot or hate one another. It was all good and crazy as heck.
What year were you born BO, if you don't mind my asking?
hi pitt sorry to hear you miss out on great movie because of this cheerleaders but you are not to know this at the time haha. are you saying she not that special or that no woman compare to predator? hahah. did you rent on vhs later on? wow i would love to see predator in movie theatre! you are lucky you live in this time as you get to see so many other classic film.
that is good to know you did not waste youth pitt. you sound like you live in perfect place to take advantage of youth with lots of things to do in trees and countryside. better than hanging out with all the vegan political wuss on social medias who are doxxing peoples instead of doing something with life. i agree so much negative things in world now. i think 60-80s was best time, great time, great music and vibe. now its dystopia hahahaah
i know you are steelers and panthers fan, do you have fav baseball, hockey and nba team?
hahahahahaha you nail that nerdlingers car!!! hahah!! this is so great! i would love to see this! and they knew it was you! you must tell me anymore pranks you pull on these nerdlinger father and son, i must know! you must be scourge of these nerds haha. i think you are not living youth properly unless you do these kinds of things! great stuff.
i was born in 1994 which was shit year pitt and 90s and 00s were boring time but luckily i come from non philistine family who love western cultures and as my father work with americans in embassy, he like them a lot and like there film and music, i get to listen and watch and live 60s-80s through this great film and music.
You are a young fella, BO. Yeah, 1994 was a tough year for a lot of us. I personally started the year out right by getting into a big drunken fight at a party that new year's and rolled my car over shortly after. At least it was only about a half mile to the police station so they did not have far to come out. Haha. Bad judgement on my part. Made the needed corrections.
Sounds like your family maybe ought to consider coming out to the US if you would like it. Watch out for the rouge politics and the constant worry about being shot no matter where you go. I meant to tell you that I saw on the news that Pittsburgh has a new state of the art vision clinic for those with eye issues. Thought I would tell you about that.
The cheerleader thing was a disappointment but I guess it is live and learn. As you say---I had no way of knowing what would be then. I had to live certain experiences to learn I guess.
I remember the time the engineer guy and I got the nerdlinger and his dad good around Halloween 1985. We put a firecracker on their window sill and lit it. It was dark and we could see someone reading the paper in there and they jumped about five feet out of the chair. His dad was out in the yard with the shotgun and flashlight while the nerdlinger was in the house shining a light out the window. Okay, stupid now but we were LOL our arses off.
Steelers. Pitt football and hoops. Former Lakers fan when Magic was there. I don't really follow hockey or baseball too much but I was excited to see the Pirates draft Paul Skenes the Pitcher. Could be a generational talent.
wow you are lucky man pitt! that sound like bad incident with drunk and car. i am really glad you survive. one thing i admire about you american is that you always live life to extremes. you are just like in the movies hahahhaha
nah pitt too late to come to america but like i say i prefer my own peoples and i think you american have enough diversity already, i want to be in usa not mini iran. plus your society becoming consume by woketards obsessed with genders. my cousin go to europe as migrant and he just complain all the time, i hate to be this way
how come you mention eye clinics pitt? did i say i have eye problem? i cannot remember haha
hahahahah fire cracker on window! genius pitt!! and nerdlinger sr. jumped up and was armed! you were lucky you dont get shot hahahah. was this nerdlinger jr. & sr. asshole to you or where they just asshole in general to neighborhoods? when you are young you must target assholes, it is fun to prank them. this sound like great times pitt, just like a film haha. you could write movie script from this! anymore storys?
ok, nfl and college is your fav. yes whenever i see baseball game i see there is always empty seats or just too slow. they to speed game up but at least it is better than cricket
what films did you see in 80s that stand out for you most, pitt? i would have love to have see these movies when they are release. you are so lucky to live through this time
Regarding the crash, I turned the car over and it came down on top of big stump along the road. I remember I was wearing a white shirt and was covered in blood. But oddly I really didn't get hurt at all. You could not even sit in the driver seat as it was indented in. When the tow truck driver retrieved the car later he was in shock that I was still alive. My father said around Christmas this year that he thought I was always very lucky. In truth I probably could have been killed a number of times but always somehow came out without a scratch on me. But he was tough and very lucky himself. Got shot. totalled a motorcyle and truck. Got hit by 13,000 volts and beat cancer twice. Go figure.
I thought you said that you had some vision issues? Maybe I was thinking of someone else?
We were all pals and buddies in the old neighborhood. We just liked to pull stupid pranks on each other. The nerdlinger was always asking for it with that mouth of his. I remember the time he ran his mouth on the bus since he knew he was getting off. Me and the engineer guy got off with him and kicked his azz. LOL. I also remember people stopping at my house to get directions to the nerdlinger's house to go beat his azz. The one time the engineer guy and I led an expediton of three other guys who wanted us to take them down there to get him. He hid like a coward in the house and would not come out.
As for 80s films in the theater I saw---Star Wars movies multiple times. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Red Dawn. Top Gun. Rambo. Footloose. Jaws 3. Platoon. I did not see Predator until summer of 88 on satellite. Yeah, I needed to see that one then.
wow that is nasty pitt - covered all in blood. and this man think you are dead? sound like a hell of a crash. i think an angel was on your shoulders on that day. you are one of the good guys and its good you survive - too many assholes who live forever while good guys get wiped out young, so this is victory for good guys haha. was your father shot in war or was he shot in civilian life? he sound like tough hombres. men from early to mid twentieth century made from steel.
i think i remember what you mean pitt. some guy on here ask me was i combat veteran and i say that i was not because i was legally blind after looking directly at keelai. this was joke haha. keelai aka keelai the hutt is a butt fugly beast who dwell on this site for eternity bashing males because she weigh 2000 pounds, so i joke that looking at this hideous specimen would turn me blind.
hahahaha fantastic you get off school bus with nerdlinger and dont let him get away! this nerdlinger just run his mouth and he deserve a beating. we all know peoples like this. getting ass kicked is the only way they learn. and if others feel the same them it sound like this nerdlinger enjoys winding everyone up and making them angry. hopefully he learn lesson and he different know. do you see nerdlinger on facebook?
wow you are so lucky to see those. most of those film are my favorite 80s films. red dawn must of been big favorite for you pitt because you relate to this film - american teenagers in rural america doing ambush, traps and playing war haha. jaws 3 - great monster film. top gun - amazing. i wish i live in this times.
Thanks, BO, for the kind words. I do appreciate them. I probably was protected by something I am sure. I was very fortunate as was my father. His uncle the same way survived the Great Depression World War II, and a terrible mine accident. My father got shot in the leg on a camping or fishing trip. I believe he did it himself accidently as he was re-holstering his pistol.
Glad to hear that your vision is good. I guess I must have misunderstood. 20/20 vision?
I did see the nerdlinger was on facebook awhile back. He was a nice enough guy and fun to hang out with. Just really out there. i remember the time in 1984 I was hanging out in his room with him and the engineer guy. I accidentally stepped on his can of snuff on the floor and apoligized to him for it. He had a fit. He grabs a bat and came at me. I shoved him and he fell down. I ran out. The engineer guy was laughing and then the nerd came at him with it. He ran out. We got into his basement and were laughing as he threw a fit upstairs. He was looking for the f'ing meat cleaver he shouted down. We ran out and were hiding in the wood pile yelling stuff and he started shooting arrows at us. Me and the engineer guy were still laughing and he walked around the house and I hear a shot and he came running and said the nerd had a gun. Then he blasted the ground with it as we got away to a safe distance. Crazy!
no problem pitt. respect to your father and uncles, america won ww2 (and not the russkies as woketards claim) thanks to these tough generation.
wow hahah he got gun and fired!! no wonder you kick this nerds ass, pitt. he overreact and blow up over smallest things haha. but its good you on good terms. no hard feelings from this time. interesting friendships you have, you do these things but always hang out. its good you have peace with this nerd.
that nerd and his pa seem like real funny characters. just thinking of these two dorks make me laugh when you describe them hahahahah. it is funny when you experience these funny things and people at the time you do not think much about them, they are just part of life at the time, but when you look back through times, i bet it just seem crazy hahah
I love how Arnold surprises two baddies in the straw hut who don’t hear WW3 outside
Knock knock
It was really poorly done by today's standards. And much like other areas of experience, such as cops watching police procedurals or doctors watching medical procedurals, it's instantly eyerolling to anyone who's ever been in a firefight.
It's been a while, but I seem to remember one guy firing full auto from the hip with a 30 round magazine, all while swinging his rifle back and forth like a monkey. That would be about as effective as throwing sticks. Ugh.
Yeah but that part where the 2 dudes get blown off the ridge and go flying directly over the camera into the water was rad.
Plus you gotta love when they blow up the chopper as they try to escape.
Slow up til that point, that scene definitely encouraged the audience to “stick around”.