No consensus: the slaughter run, jungle gunfire, Dutch–Predator finale, and wardrobe arrival all received strong support.
In the discussion (12)
- Dutch and Dillon’s arm-wrestling greeting was nominated.
- The discovery of the skinned bodies was nominated.
- The compound rescue was nominated.
- Billy sensing that something is wrong in the jungle was nominated.
- Blaine’s death was nominated.
- Mac’s grief response after Blaine dies was nominated.
- The team’s indiscriminate sustained gunfire into the jungle was nominated.
- Dutch discovering that mud hides him from the Predator was nominated.
- The helicopter-arrival wardrobe breakdown was introduced as a “Zapruder scene.”
- The slasher-style sequence where the team is hunted one by one was nominated.
- Dutch’s final one-on-one trap sequence against the Predator was nominated.
- One host chose the jungle firing; another chose Dutch versus Predator; another chose the slasher section.
Arnold’s iconography and battle cry, Old Painless, one-liners, production mythology, Sunny Landham, Jesse Ventura, Poncho, the creature fix, structure, score, and heat vision were praised.
In the discussion (16)
- Arnold’s first cigar shot remains effective action-star iconography.
- Dutch’s battle cry remains effective.
- Old Painless remains an iconic action-movie weapon.
- The movie’s compact one-liners remain effective.
- Arnold plays the escalating threat with unusual seriousness.
- The cold, wet jungle shoot became durable production mythology.
- Van Damme’s firing from the original creature role became durable production mythology.
- The cast’s dawn workouts and physical competition became durable production mythology.
- The reshot final third created a cleaner creature confrontation.
- Sunny Landham was praised as a uniquely authentic and unpredictable screen presence.
- Jesse Ventura’s wrestling persona translated into an unusually memorable supporting action role.
- Poncho’s reactions and supporting presence were praised.
- Stan Winston’s replacement creature design was treated as essential to the film’s success.
- The shift from ensemble combat movie to slasher and then one-on-one duel was praised.
- Alan Silvestri’s score was praised.
- The thermal-vision effect was praised as both legible and durable.
The mud-disguise continuity, Anna’s thinly explained role, and contrived cleavage were the main concerns; Predator 2 was also dismissed.
In the discussion (4)
- The amount of mud covering Arnold changes implausibly between shots.
- Anna’s political or guerrilla role is never clearly explained.
- Anna’s survival function never fully coheres, though her fear exposition was defended.
- Her costume loses buttons without story justification.
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s failed Predator casting dominated; the much shorter original suit and contradictory firing accounts were preserved.
In the discussion (2)
- Van Damme was reportedly too short for the creature concept and may also have passed out or objected to the suit.
- The finished Predator actor Kevin Peter Hall also appears as the helicopter pilot.
R. G. Armstrong was the consensus-style choice over Richard Chaves and Elpidia Carrillo.
In the discussion (2)
- Armstrong’s long character-actor résumé and weathered face made him the quintessential choice.
- Richard Chaves and Elpidia Carrillo were alternatives.
Bill Duke won for Mac’s grief-fueled “I’m gonna have me some fun” turn.
In the discussion (1)
- Duke’s escalation after Blaine’s death was the decisive example.
Anna/the hostage won for seeming to occupy a different movie from the commandos.
In the discussion (1)
- The hostage was compared to a character who could have been moved into Proof of Life.
Carl Weathers won after debate with Sunny Landham and Jesse Ventura.
In the discussion (4)
- Carl Weathers was praised for playing an unfamiliar compromised, physically vulnerable version of his Apollo persona.
- Sunny Landham was the passionate early pick.
- Jesse Ventura fit the classic low-minute heat-check definition.
- The group’s final spoken choice was Carl Weathers.
Ideas included Apollonia or Elisabeth Shue as Anna and Bill Paxton, Damon Wayans, or an early Chris Rock as Hawkins.
In the discussion (5)
- Apollonia was proposed for the hostage role.
- Elisabeth Shue was proposed for the hostage role.
- Bill Paxton was the most enthusiastic Hawkins proposal.
- Damon Wayans was proposed for a sharper wisecracking Hawkins.
- An early Chris Rock was proposed for a sharper wisecracking Hawkins.
Research covered the miserable jungle shoot, arm-size prank, Predator blood/sound, Sunny Landham’s required bodyguard, screen time, Seiko watch, and Kevin Peter Hall’s death.
In the discussion (8)
- The cold, wet, leech-filled shoot and weightlifting culture were described.
- The cast staged an arm-size prank at Jesse Ventura’s expense.
- Predator blood used Mountain Dew, glow sticks, and lubricant.
- The Predator’s vocal sound imitated a dying horseshoe crab.
- Insurers required a bodyguard to protect other people from Sunny Landham.
- The Predator appears on screen for roughly eight minutes.
- Arnold’s Seiko watch became a collector model nicknamed for the film.
- Kevin Peter Hall died at 35 after contracting HIV through a blood transfusion.
Predator was called the apex Arnold movie though not Arnold’s personal apex; Carl Weathers, Ventura, Landham, helicopter drops, jungle aliens, body butter, death scenes, self-sacrifice, Alabama ticks, and closing-credit smiles were assessed.
In the discussion (11)
- Predator was distinguished as the apex of Arnold’s films, while Terminator 2 remained his personal apex.
- Carl Weathers was assessed separately as an apex case.
- Jesse Ventura was assessed as an apex case for his movie career.
- Sunny Landham was assessed as an apex case.
- Helicopter insertions were assessed as an apex action-movie device.
- Aliens in jungles were assessed as an apex premise.
- Body butter on action stars was assessed as an apex styling choice.
- Rocky IV beat Predator for Carl Weathers’s apex death scene.
- Alabama ticks were jokingly declared an apex.
- Billy’s final stand and Bruce Willis in Armageddon were compared as self-sacrifice peaks.
- The smiling character-credit sequence was celebrated as an apex closing-credit device.
Dutch’s name, the missing team dinner, mud thermodynamics, absent extraction, restored bodies, Arnold’s durability, and Old Painless’s stealth value were questioned.
In the discussion (9)
- The origin and full form of Dutch’s name were unclear.
- Sunny Landham’s character could simply have been named Sunny rather than Billy.
- The film could have used a pre-mission team dinner to deepen the ensemble.
- MythBusters reportedly found that mud would not conceal body heat.
- The lack of extraction effort for an elite team was questioned.
- Mac’s destroyed head later appears restored.
- The same weapon that removes Dillon’s arm barely harms Dutch.
- A galaxy-traveling alien failing to understand mud camouflage seemed implausible.
- Old Painless seems poorly suited to stealth extraction.
A ten-episode remake was rejected.
In the discussion (1)
- The panel did not want the simple premise expanded into a series.
Questions covered Billy’s perception, Predator biology, the Rock’s missing equivalent, the Predator’s mission, the opening spaceship, the creature’s perspective, and a Sunny Landham documentary/life story.
In the discussion (19)
- Did Billy have supernatural perception or only elite tracking skill?
- How did the Predator handle bodily functions?
- Is Predator the movie the Rock most wishes he had made?
- Was the Predator on a hunting trip?
- Was the Predator on an exploration mission?
- Did the Predator have a larger plan for humanity or the jungle?
- Did the opening spaceship shot reveal too much?
- Was the Predator’s echoed “what the hell are you?” evidence that humans were equally alien to it?
- Did the invisible-Predator effects arrive at exactly the right point in visual-effects history?
- Would a documentary about Sunny Landham’s volatile life be compelling?
- What position did Sunny Landham play during his year at the University of Georgia?
- Landham played football for one year at the University of Georgia.
- Landham served in the Army and later worked in an oil field.
- Landham worked as an ordained Baptist minister and model and appeared in adult films and Playgirl.
- His cited film run included The Warriors, 48 Hrs., Predator, Action Jackson, and Lock Up.
- Landham later ran for governor of Kentucky.
- The discussion reported five marriages and a federal conviction for threatening phone calls to his wife.
- A four-car crash badly injured Landham before his death at 76.
- How should the darker parts of Landham’s political and personal record affect the documentary?
Choices were Old Painless, Mac’s razor or flask, and the Predator mask; the mask was the emphatic final suggestion.
In the discussion (3)
- Old Painless was the first choice.
- Mac’s razor and flask were personal alternatives.
- The Predator mask was argued as the obvious iconic object.
The panel split between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Duke/Mac.
In the discussion (2)
- Arnold was the opening and conventional answer.
- Bill Duke was argued as the actor viewers would discuss afterward and the soul of the movie.
Most Rewatchable Scene
