Schwarzenegger Week: Predator

Howdy folks and welcome back to Schwarzenegger Week as we view an action/sci-fi hybrid taking the best of both genres and directed by veteran action guru (John McTiernan of Nomads, Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, The 13th Warrior, The Thomas Crown Affair remake and Rollerball remake) who brings his experience and expertise to the table.  This is Predator.

Told you it wasn't a gopher!

Poncho: You're bleeding, man.
Blain: I ain't got time to bleed.
Poncho: Oh... Okay...
Poncho: You got time to spoil?



An elite special ops team lead by Major Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger of The Jayne Mansfield Story, Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando, Twins, True Lies, Eraser and End of Days) assigned by a Major General character actor/mentor/path provider with a joint CIA mission to get a presidential cabinet member free from guerrilla forces.

Dutch's team consist of Sgt Mac Elliot (Bill Duke of American Gigolo, Palmerstown, U.S.A., Commando, No Man's Land, Action Jackson, Bird on a Wire, Payback, The Limey and Exit Wounds) Blain Cooper (Governor Jesse Ventura of WrestleMania III, The Running Man, Thunderground, Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, Ricochet and Major League II) Billy Sole (Sonny Landham of Blood Bath, The Warriors, 48 Hrs., Firewalker, Action Jackson, Maximum Force and Lock Up) Poncho (Richard Chaves of Witness, Ohara, War of the Worlds, Night Eyes II, Night Realm and Dark House)  and Hawkins (writer/actor Shane Black of Night of the Creeps, Dead Heat, Robocop 3, Night Realm, As Good as It Gets, Monkeys and Any Day).  Working with CIA contact in Central America is Dutch's old buddy Dillon (Carl Weathers of Rocky,  Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Force 10 From Navarone, Rocky II, Rocky III, Action Jackson, Tour of Duty and In the Heat of the Night) who is in charge of the mission.

It's got Betty Davis Eyes!

No sooner does the crew hoof it through the jungle they find a downed helicopter with the skinned remains of an Army Special Forces team lead by Dutch's friend Hopper.  Dillon clams up on it and claims they should have never been out here.  They hit a rebel encampment hard, smoking these poor schmucks like a pack of Marlboros spraying the  camp with enough lead to block Superman's peepers.

Dutch finally confronts Dillon over the inconsistencies to his story and Dillon tells them their were CIA Agents nabbed by guerrillas.  the spec ops team went in to find and rescue and well we know how well that went.  

Back on the move, the team can almost feel eyes on them.  Hawkins is watching the prisoner the team picked up when something appears out of the jungle and runs Hawkins through leaving the female prisoner unharmed.   What else is out there?  Is it another guerrilla they missed or has another chess piece been added to the board?

A few comments and trivia about the film now.  Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast to play the Predator but was dropped by McTierran due to his relentless complaining.  Such the diva our Van Damme.  After Dutch skewers a bad guy against the post with his machete, Arnold drops his one-liner "Stick around" purely by improv.

 Between rough terrain, humidity, snakes, leeches and freezing cold night shoots, the actors almost threw in the towel.  Schwarzenegger especially with the cold mud smeared over his face, arms and torso.  Schnapps kept him warmer but also got him a wee bit hammered.  Who says you can't drink on the job?

Be vewy, vewy quiet.