The Predator:
4 Film Collection
review by Bobby Blakey
Since the original Predator film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger hit theaters in 1987 the now iconic creature has spawned numerous films, comics and merchandise. This year saw the Predator returning to theaters with the film aptly titled The Predator. Now in celebration of its release on Blu-ray and DVD they are also bringing it together along with the previous 3 features with The Predator 4 Film Collection.
The original film has become an iconic action / sci-fi flick featuring a great cast outside of Schwarzenegger including Bill Duke, Carl Weathers, Shane Black and Jesse Ventura. I remember seeing this film in theaters and being fully immersed in the insanity of the action and instantly fell in love with the Predator character. Not sure it really needs a review because there are not too many people that haven’t seen it and don’t already love it, but it still holds up to perfection today. The action, the one liners, the predator, Schwarzenegger and the amount of flexed muscles in this first entry cemented it as a classic and one of my favorite films of all time.
In 1990 the Predator returned to Earth for a hunt, but this time in the big city. Sadly Arnold was not around this time around, but it still sports a great cast including Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, Maria Conchito Alsonso, Bill Paxton and Anthony Peter Hall returning as the Predator from the first film. This one is one that didn’t work for a lot of people and still doesn’t to this day, but I love it. Is it the first movie? Of course not and that is part of what makes it so great. They did some ridiculous things here but also offered up some great kills and visuals that were a ton of fun. The biggest take away from this film is not only getting to see the Predator do something other than just kill in a great sequence of him tending to his own wounds. In addition getting to get on the ship and see even more Predators reminded the audience that there is a lot bigger universe for these characters should they decide to explore even more.
After taking a new direction in the franchise with the Alien vs Predator films they returned to the solo outings with 2010s Predators starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Danny Trejo, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne and Walton Goggins. Once again I loved this chapter as it took things back to the original format of sorts and kept and aura of mystery to the story as it unfolded. Here we are introduced to what appears to be the look of a Predator in the style of the original film, but even more so a bigger more menacing version as well. These others were not only great designs and cool to watch in action, it also did a cool thing establishing issues within the race as well which helps you connect with them all the more.
I was really hoping we would get a continuation from Predators or finally something that took us back to the original direction should we ever get a new film and finally this year we got that sort of. With the latest chapter The Predator it brought along one of the original stars Shane Black as writer and director as well as a good cast including Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey, and Yvonne Strahovski. This chapter brings in some elements that connect the film directly to the first two chapters making it part of continuity instead of just another random chapter. There are both great moments and some that don’t work all that great, but was yet another fun chapter that I had a blast with. You can check out my full review for The Predator here.
Bring the entire collection of hunts from the iconic Predator with this 4 Film Collection when it hits Blu-ray on December 18th. In addition you can grab your copy of The Predator available now on digital and then also on 4K Ultra, Blu-ray and DVD on December 18th from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.