Rumble in the Jungle

It's been quite some time since I originally saw Predator, long enough that I had only the dimmest recollections of the movie. My memories were corroded enough that in a recent conversation I had with a friend about the quality of the movie (it's one of his favorites), I couldn't rightfully say where I'd place the film. I decided to give it a fresh viewing.

Filmed during the very core of Arnold Schwarzengger's 80s action domination, Predator is a movie that literally began as a joke. According to multiple sources I read, there was a joke going around Hollywood after the film Rocky IV was released, which basically went that for Stallone to up the ante for yet another Rocky film, he'd have to fight an alien. A few intrepid screenwriters took the idea seriously, banged out a script, and voila -- Predator.

If anything, my problem with the finished product might be that it actually tried to be a bit more than that. The second and third acts of the movie, in which the Predator starts picking off an elite forces team and ultimately goes one-on-one with Schwarzenegger, is fairly entertaining stuff. But the opening act strains to put a logic to why this elite team is in the South American jungle to begin with. And so we have to sit through 40 minutes of the detailing of a covert mission, an air drop into the jungle, the carrying out of said mission, the taking of a hostage during said mission... and with only an occasional Predator POV shot to indicate you're watching anything other than a conventional war movie. It's paper thin, and almost boring because the audience knows none of it actually matters.

But, as I said, once the real action starts, it's pretty entertaining. Although some of the characters sometimes behave in questionable ways, it at least always yields an entertaining set piece. And though none of the actors here will ever win an Oscar, they're well suited to this kind of movie; in addition to Schwarzenegger, there's Carl Weathers (there's another Rocky connection), Jesse Ventura, and Bill Duke, among others.

The real star of the movie, though, is the music. Alan Silvestri, not too long after his epic Back to the Future score, turned up the military influence and delivered a fantastic soundtrack for Predator. The final third of the movie, with virtually no dialogue, is carried by his tense strings, pounding percussion, and blaring horns. It's bombastic, energetic music, the sonic equal of the no-apologies action unfolding on the screen.

Ultimately, there are plenty of action movies I'd rank higher myself, but Predator is one worth seeing if you never have. I rate it a B-.