The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Gems: Predator (1987)

How do you choose what to watch on all those streaming services you have access to? There are so many options that it is just overwhelming. These services constantly release new content and overshadow all the great films from the past that are already there and ready to watch. Now there is The Wasteland Gems! Here is a great film on streaming right now that you should check out this weekend:

Predator (1987)

What franchise is absolutely soaring with some of its best work in decades? Predator. Dan Trachtenberg has breathed so much life into this action/horror/science fiction franchise with Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Predator: Badlands. These films have taken the franchise into new periods of time as well as new worlds as they expand the world-building of this amazing series. But this franchise all started with one of the greatest genre-bending action flicks of the 1980’s with John McTiernan’s Predator.

What makes this film such a fascinating feat? The genre-bending that McTiernan is able to execute is quite fascinating. First off, the action elements are big, bold, and brash. In the first act of the film, we are treated to big guns, big explosions, and big biceps. The first leg of this film is top tier 80s action with bombastic sound design, plenty of bullets flying, and bedlam in the jungle. But McTiernan slowly begins to build the tension and horror. We start seeing through those heat vision POV shots. We witness a bunch of large, muscular, and masculine men slowly starting to lose their cool. The haunting and lingering shots of the jungle with “something there” heights the horror and thrills. Then you have all the science fiction elements. This is a terrifying and intense alien invasion tale with a man-alien-army coming down with impressive high-tech weaponry. The character and technology design is quite impressive for sure.

What is the most iconic part of this film? The alien creature of course! The design of this thing is so inspiring, which makes for quite the intimidating antagonist for the film. The battle armor (including the face mask) is so sleek and unknown, giving the Predator (the Yautja) such a mysterious feeling. The deadlock-like hair and the giant clawed hands help give the Yautja their distinct look. This alien is almost massive in size and makes some of these action movie heroes feel tiny. When that mask comes off though…those mandibles on the face with the fangs are a vibe for sure. The cloaking technology (along with the other gadgets) makes this one dangerous entity for the protagonists to face. One of the coolest monsters in monster movies.

What makes this film stand out amongst action flicks from the time? This is quite the clever subversion of the “80s action film”. The first act hits all the beats you expect. There are plenty of hilariously cheesy one liners thrown around. The whole platoon is filled with all these 80s action archetypes. The action is big, bold, and bombastic as they just plow through the men they are sent in to take out. But then McTiernan rips the rug out from under young and these big, masculine, and cool characters are killed off one-by-one like a bunch of teenagers in 80s slasher movie style. Yes…a creature feature/slasher flick wrapped in the macho 80s action movie casing. Few films pull off such clever and impressive genre shifts like this, but McTiernan was certainly at his creative peak at the time.

What is that added ingredient that just puts this over the edge? The cast. Arnold Schwarzenegger is in his 80s action movie mode as he delivers plenty of iconic line deliveries while also selling the physicality and vulnerability as the “last girl” of the film. Carl Weathers gets the opportunity to inject his charisma into this equation and a tinge of nefarious purpose as well. Bill Duke is calm, cool, and intense for sure and witnessing him slowly crack is one of the most dynamic elements of the film. Jesse Ventura is a giant, walking cliché and he leans into it with 100% effort. His dialogue and line deliveries are iconic. There are a few other solid turns with Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, and Shane Black filling out the team.

How great is this movie? This is unabashedly one of the best films of the 1980s. McTiernan directs this film with impressive style. The score, creature design, and visuals are iconic. The whole cast is ready to bring this all to life. This launched one of the coolest genre franchises of all time. This is a killer action/horror/science fiction film that holds up perfectly.

Predator is streaming on Hulu.