Kevin Lazzari | Special to the 51暗网
鈥淕et to the choppa!鈥� If you know the line, you know the movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger had already been the Terminator, and it seemed like a natural progression for him to fight an alien from outer space. Audiences around the world could now pronounce Arnold鈥檚 last name, and they could not get enough of his movies. I was one of those individuals that could not wait for Arnold鈥檚 next film. I remember living in Red Deer, and a new video store had just opened up. I reserved the 鈥淧redator鈥� movie, because I knew there would be a high demand for this classic sci-fi. My roommate and I rented a VCR, because we were on a mission to view the hyped-up, over-the-top Schwarzenegger action flick.
After watching 鈥淧redator鈥� and reliving five minutes of the 鈥�80s, I realized a few things have changed. There are certain things that would work in a movie done in 1987 that would not work today. In the movie 鈥淭he Terminator,鈥� Arnold had 16 lines of dialogue. I would venture to guess in 鈥淧redator鈥� he probably came close to the same number. In the 鈥�80s we did not go to a Schwarzenegger movie to hear him talk. The viewer wanted to see bigger-than-life characters that were beyond their imagination. The average height for Arnold and his crew was between 6鈥�2鈥� to 6鈥�5鈥�. Kevin Peter Hall who played the Predator was in reality 7鈥�2鈥欌��. Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally slated to play the Predator, but being 5鈥�9鈥欌�� did not seem to work for the character.
鈥淧redator鈥� is still one of my favorite 鈥�80s films, and Arnold does the film justice. Step back in time, and check out this classic sci-fi with Arnie doing what he does best.
Kevin Lazzari, owner of Video Stop, is reviewing movies for the 51暗网. 鈥淧redator鈥� (1987) is available on DVD, Blu-ray and for digital streaming and download.
