The filming of “The Predator” is directly related to the release of Stallone’s “Rocky IV” in 1985.
Stallone created the image of a super-strong man, so Hollywood executives joked that the hero portrayed in the series has defeated all opponents on earth, and if a sequel is to be made, he should fight aliens.
It was this sentence that awakened screenwriters Jim Thomas and John Thomas. They felt that the joke concept proposed by Hollywood executives had great potential, so they quickly wrote an original script and named it “hunter”, which was not changed until later. into “predator”.
At that time, the script did not depict just one species of predator, but there were many different aliens coming to earth to hunt. Later, it was revised and finally determined to be only predator.
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So the question is, such a powerful alien creature, what kind of species is qualified to be hunted by them?
Combined with the “Rocky IV” joke just now, it must be the most dangerous species on earth, the most powerful species. What is the most dangerous species on earth?
Not all animals and plants but people with tools in their hands, and what is the most powerful and dangerous human being?
That is the soldier who fights, so the target of the iron-blooded hunt in the film is defined as the special forces of the Dutch team.
The Thomas brothers, who were just starting to write the script, had no reputation in Hollywood, and what they wrote didn’t get much attention.
It wasn’t until later that the script went to the producers of 20th Century Fox, which made it possible to make the script into a movie.
The second point is about the location of the filming location. I chose Central America because there was a military operation there at the time.
During the second week of April 1986, filming began in the jungles of Palenque, Mexico. The place is quite dangerous, and venomous snakes often enter the camp, so there are also close-up shots of snakes in the movie.
The third is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role in it. After the script was finalized, Joel Silver and Lawrence Gordon served as co-producers, and they approached Arnold Schwarzenegger to read the script. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a good review after reading it, so he took it up.
In the early predator’s setting, not the image we see in the movie, the appearance designed by the studio resembles a clumsy creature with a duck-like head.
Later, there was a problem in the studio and the project was closed, and the main creative team began to look for another studio to redesign the predator.
That’s when Schwarzenegger gave a suggestion for the production team to talk to his friend Stan Winston, who worked with Schwarzenegger and James Cameron on the 1984 Terminator project.
At Cameron’s suggestion, Stan Winston made some tweaks to the conceived predator, which were the spider-like upper and lower fangs, a classic change that became part of the predator’s signature look.
The achievements of the 4th “Predator”, and the evaluation received.
Released on June 12, 1987, “Predator” ranked No. 1 at the box office of about $12 million in its first weekend, and finally achieved a global box office of $98 million.
Audiences at the time had mixed reviews for the film.
Some viewers said “Predator” was scary and boring, with no surprises and no suspense. Others said the film’s plot was weak, while others said it was empty and boring.
On the positive side, some say the “Predator” has excellent location shots and special effects.
Of course, some people have also raised questions. Why did such a high-end advanced species come to the earth to hunt?
Why would they throw away their weapons and fight him unarmed when they could use shoulder cannons to deal with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In fact, as a senior movie fan, these questions do not need to be explained at all. We have been able to judge ourselves from the subsequent updates.
In 2007, the film was brought up again.
Some media commented it as the 22nd greatest action movie and the 14th best rock movie.
At present, “Predator” has a positive rating of about 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.
As the pioneering work of the series, I personally think that the overall production level of this film, in terms of plot and atmosphere, is remarkable.
Although the shooting age is older, the picture quality is not as clear and the technology is not as high.
But it is undeniable that it is like a mountain in front of the follow-up iron-blooded works, and it is always insurmountable.
It was Arnold Schwarzenegger who used his own charm to perform a story of the strongest human beings against alien creatures, so that in the later casting, many fans thought that such an ordinary person, how could he compare to Dutch, and how could he solve the predator Woolen cloth?
It seems that the predator has been weakened, so many fans did not give a higher evaluation in this regard.
Among other ardent fans, they really liked the Predator One.
The popularity of the movie once gave birth to novels, comics, video games and toys, peripherals and other derivatives, which also directly led to the birth of subsequent sequels.
The influence of the 5th “Predator” on subsequent films and the original setting, several classic elements that appeared in the film, have been used in most of the subsequent works.
- When the predator took off the mask, Dutch said something, you are really ugly.
This phrase appears in “Predator 2”, “The Predator” and “AVP: Alien vs. Predator”.
- The final outcome is that the protagonist uses the original tool to fight against Jagged Blood.
Dutch did it, Mike in Part 2 did the same, Royce in Part 4 did the same.
- The Predator uses a medical box to treat the wound.
In the follow-up “Predator 2” and “AVPR: Aliens vs Predator – Requiem”, one such scene is also included.
- Mud camouflage.
Both Dutch and Royce were coated in mud to dissipate their own heat, making it undetectable by Jagged’s infrared devices.
- The explosion when the protagonist escapes.
Dutch sprints away from the explosion on foot, and Mike sprints away from the ship on foot, both covered in dirt.
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