Has it really been that long since the first PREDATOR movie was released? You might not think so but when you check the date you’ll realize the film was released in 1987, over 23 years ago. More amazing is that when watching it, you don’t feel the film is dated in the least with the exception of its stars looking a bit older these days.
For those who don’t know the premise here you go. An elite team of commandos is brought in by the CIA to rescue a diplomat held captive by rebels in a Central American country. The head CIA op in charge is Dillon (Carl Weathers) who has a good history with the team’s leader, Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger). With the situation described, Dillon insists on going along and the team head out via helicopter.
As they trek through the jungle to their location, the team comes across a deadly sight. The bodies of three men hanging from the trees, their skin removed. A quick look and they find the dog tags of the group, its leader an old friend of Dutch’s. This was the first team sent in for the rescue and one they hadn’t been informed of. Thus begins a layer of distrust between the team and Dillon.
The team finds the camp where the rebels are holed up and witness the killing of one of the hostages. With no time to lose, they formulate a plan and hit the camp with everything they’ve got, sparing no one and attempting to rescue the last hostage. Instead they discover him dead as well as the real reason for this mission. The Russians had sent advisors in to help the rebels and the CIA was trying to put a stop to their plans as well as retrieve information on hand.
As they get ready to leave, they find one person alive, a young woman they take captive. Their attack alerted the rest of the rebel army and their site is now a hot zone. To be lifted out they need to get to a safe zone and taken out. But that safe zone is miles away through the jungle.
As they team make their way through the jungle, lead scout Billy (Sonny Landham) senses something isn’t right, that someone is watching them. Little does he know how true this is when all hell breaks lose and the team find themselves under attack. As the film progresses, we discover that the team is systematically being tracked and hunted by an alien, a predator, who views them not as living beings but as game. And the team must rely on everything they know to get out alive.
Okay, so most of you already know the story or what happens. But for those that don’t, don’t give it away. Instead let them see the story of the Predator as it was meant to be and not the lackluster way it’s been presented in sequels.
So what makes this movie so special now? The film is just being released in a special blu-ray edition and claims to be the ultimate edition. And it seems as if it lives to its claim. There are all sorts of extras from voice over commentaries to making of featurettes. But that’s not what makes the DVD special.
What makes it special is the pristine look that the blu-ray quality gives to it. Even after all these years, the quality of the movie is crisp and clear as if you’d never seen it before. This is a movie that you could put into your blu-ray player and demonstrate to your friends just what the difference in quality is.
But it offers something else as well. As I said at the start the movie holds up amazingly well. It doesn’t seem dated in the least. You watch some movies and the clothing screams 70s or the hairstyles scream 80s. None of that is on display here so they don’t date the film.
But it’s the quality of the movie that shows how well it holds up. It looks like it was fresh out of the can yesterday. Even the effects don’t seem dated. And the make up effects by Stan Winston on the Predator itself still remain some of the best ever conceived and executed.
I’ve seen a lot of movies released on both standard and blu-ray format and wondered why anyone would want to pay the extra for the blu-ray edition. Many just don’t warrant the extra costs involved. But this movie, this edition, is well worth the extra expense.
couldn't disagree with you more. This film had it's film grain erased for this Blu Ray edition and everyone looks like wax dummy versions of the characters we remember. The grain is part of the film because it was shot on grainy film in the first place. Now we are insulted with this "technician's version" of what the movie should be. It's as bad as the ridiculous new version of Walter Hill's "The Warriors". Don't support DNR (digital noise reduction) -- Fox is a huge violator of this technology. Don't buy "Patton" either until they re-release with the film grain. "Predator" is crap without every single part of it's original glory. If you don't agree with me then watch "The Godfather" Blu-Ray editions and see how lovely film grain really should be. Grain is good!
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