PREDATOR - DVD review

First off, let me throw a few numbers at you. To begin with, this film marked the original appearance of the Predator creature in a starring role, the creature design, makeup, and special effects by Stan Winston, Marilyn Vance-Straker, Steve Wang, Laurencio Cordero, Al Di Sarro, and a host of others. Additionally, this was the thirteenth appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a motion picture, his design unknown, although early CGI may have been involved. The biceps perhaps. Moreover, this is the only film to feature two bodybuilders who would soon become State Governors, Big Arnold of California and Jesse Ventura of Minnesota. And, finally, it should be noted that this is the third appearance of the film itself on DVD.

It's this last item, the film's third incarnation on disc, this time in a special, two-disc "Collector's Edition," that prompts the current review. That the new edition appeared almost simultaneously with Fox's theatrical release of "Alien Vs. Predator" is no doubt purely coincidental. Heaven forbid a studio should capitalize on a good thing. Anyway, the new edition may or may not be worth your while if you've already got the enhanced second edition. But read on.

Insofar as Schwarzenegger films go, 1987's "Predator" is in my book among the upper third of his output, just behind the "Terminator" flicks, "True Lies," and "Total Recall." It's derivative of "Rambo II," "Alien," and the old short story "The Most Dangerous Game," yet it presents a few unique twists on all three tales. What it lacks, however, is the warmth of the father-son relationship in "Terminator II" or the husband-and-wife relationship in "True Lies." Instead, "Predator" is a straightforward, old-fashioned action romp, devoid of much interior feeling, humor, or characterization whatever; but it's a pretty good action romp, so who cares.

The Predator creature is not just big and mean; it's clever, sportsmanlike in a diabolical way, and close to invisible when it chooses to be. And Big Arnold is more vulnerable here than in almost any of his previous action movies, forced to use his brains as much as his brawn. All told, "Predator" may not go down as one of the all-time great dramatic thrillers, but it's got enough excitement, suspense, and special effects to keep most viewers strongly engaged for the film's duration. Furthermore, the jungle photography is spectacularly lifelike, making the whole production all that much more attractive.

This time out Schwarzenegger plays "Dutch," the leader of an elite group of U.S. Special Forces who are called upon to rescue people of importance from dire circumstances. In this case, some diplomats have been kidnapped by a bunch of Central American guerrilla fighters, and Dutch and his crew are sent in to get them out. But Dutch and company find more than guerrillas in these jungles. They find another team sent in before them hanging from the trees, skinned alive. Who or what could have done such a horrendous deed?

Following their encounter with the guerrillas, their job is to get out; but there's something that doesn't want them to leave--an unearthly thing, a being from another world, hunting in the rain forests for years and able to camouflage itself better than a chameleon. It even enjoys giving its victims a bit of a sporting chance by only going after those who are armed. After some initial swaggering as the characters are introduced, the movie gets down to some fairly exciting adventure, especially in its second half when the humans begin to realize just what they're up against.

Then it becomes a grim cat-and-mouse game, with Schwarzenegger the resourceful mouse, turning the tables on the Predator and making the hunter the hunted. "If it bleeds, we can kill it," says Dutch. Director John McTiernan ("Die Hard," "The Hunt for Red October") keeps the pace zipping along, with few real surprises but plenty of movement. Assisting Arnold on his team of roughnecks are Carl Weathers (of "Rocky" fame), Bill Duke, Shane Black, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, R.G. Armstrong, Elpidea Carillo, and Jesse "Formerly-the-Body-But-Eventually-the-Governor-like-Arnold" Ventura. Kevin Peter Hall, at 7'2", plays the Predator.

As a trivia note, look for Kevin Peter Hall as a member of the helicopter rescue team in the movie's closing sequence. The director felt that after the actor's being hidden by a ton of makeup all story long, he deserved to have his face seen at least once.

Video:
The bad news first. The movie appears to be virtually the same transfer as the previous edition, so viewers expecting some additional audiovisual delights will be disappointed. The anamorphic widescreen ratio still measures approximately 1.74:1 across my television, and the picture still contains a modicum of grain, making it slightly gritty but still quite pleasing to look at. If anything, the bit rate measures slightly lower on my DVD player's bit-rate meter, but I saw no differences in the image on screen. Visually, Donald McAlpine's cinematography is among most stunningly beautiful ever filmed for an action adventure, and the colors are outstanding, with the greens of the Mexican rain forest especially vivid.

Audio:
For its previous edition on DVD, Fox provided three audio choices: Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 for English and Dolby Stereo Surround for French. This remains the case for the English and French tracks, but a mono Spanish track has now been added. Otherwise, like the video the audio is pretty much the same. In DD 5.1 the sound is as dynamic and weighty as anything around, perhaps not as discrete in the surrounds as newer DD 5.1 soundtracks but clearly defined and robust, nevertheless.

Extras:
Here's the reason why a person who already owns the second edition of "Predator" might want to consider the new set. Fact is, the first two editions of the movie contained almost nothing in the way of extras, and this "Collector's Edition" is loaded with them. Disc one contains the widescreen presentation of the film; the accompanying soundtracks; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; English and Spanish subtitles; an audio commentary with director John McTiernan; a subtitled text commentary with film historian Eric Lichenfield and all-new interviews with various of the movie's filmmakers; an "Inside Look" at Fox's "Alien Vs. Predator" and "I, Robot"; and twenty-five scene selections.

Disc two contains even more bonus stuff, of course. Here you'll find, first, a twenty-eight-minute documentary, "If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It," made in 2001 and containing both recent interviews and footage made during the time of the film's production. Some of it is informative; some of it is typically promotional and self-congratulatory. Next is "Inside The Predator," a series of seven featurettes ranging in length from three to five minutes and covering things like the film's action sequences, Arnold's role in the film, character design, camouflage, etc. I could not find a way to play all seven items at once, however, so a good deal of clicking is in order. After that are some Predator "red suit" special effects and camouflage tests; followed by one deleted scene, "Arnold Schwarzenegger Fleeing the Predator"; and three outtakes, "Chameleon," "Building a Trap," and "Sliding Downhill." The last things are a "Predator Profile," six pages of text and pictures; a stills gallery; a fullscreen trailer for the "Alien Quadrilogy"; and, I'm told but did not have time to access, three Easter eggs: "Jesse's Ultimate Dream," "Stan Winston, Practical Joker," and "Don't Drink The Water."

The two discs are housed in a foldout cardboard-and-plastic container held in a cardboard slipcase. I found no chapter insert included in my package, although there is an empty sleeve in the box for just such an item.

Parting Thoughts:
"Predator" contains its fair share of bloodshed and profanity, and deserves its R rating. But I'm sure the action-movie fan would have it no other way. If you're not into violence, then just admire the excellence of the location shots and the technical wizardry of Stan Winston's creature effects. Along with the abundance of bonus items on the two discs, there's enough here to satisfy almost everyone.