# Predator (1987): a masterpiece of testosterone **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253 "2009-10-09T23:19:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/101 "2018-05-18T14:04:05Z")
I’d like to know how Arnie managed to get himself to the bottom of that log when the Predator surprises him, and why the Predator didn’t see or hear him. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/102 "2018-05-18T14:37:05Z")
I used to like this movie. I woke up. Why don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/103 "2018-05-18T14:43:34Z")
So what exactly is a “sexual tyrannosaurus”? Some big ugly lumbering oaf with small…hands? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/104 "2018-05-18T14:55:41Z")
We take for granted that we are the Alpha Predator on this planet, totally superior to even the fiercest of creatures. Suddenly, in Predator, there is a new and terrifying Alpha Predator. We learn the helplessness of being totally outclassed in pretty much every respect. We learn what it is like to be mercilessly hunted, brutally eliminated, and strung up like trophies. I consider hunting for any reason outside of survival to be nothing more than a legalized form of “thrill killing”. Mostly men go out and murder magnificent creatures, proudly pose by their corpses, and hang their heads on their walls. I would consider something like Predator poetic justice. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/105 "2018-05-18T17:57:43Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > We take for granted that we are the Alpha Predator on this planet, totally superior to even the fiercest of creatures. Suddenly, in Predator, there is a new and terrifying Alpha Predator. We learn the helplessness of being totally outclassed in pretty much every respect. We learn what it is like to be mercilessly hunted, brutally eliminated, and strung up like trophies. > > I consider hunting for any reason outside of survival to be nothing more than a legalized form of “thrill killing”. Mostly men go out and murder magnificent creatures, proudly pose by their corpses, and hang their heads on their walls. I would consider something like Predator poetic justice. It’s similar to Alien in that way: a group of rough individuals is isolated in a strange hostile environment with a predator more dangerous than humans who kills them one by one. None of the characters, even Arnold, are particularly sympathetic. They’re competent and funny but none can be called kind. They all choose to be mercenaries who go on Don’t-ask-too-many-questions covert missions, they play a song whose lyrics are “Having me some fun tonight” on their way to a gunfight, the music which plays when the Predator is attacking the squad is also playing when the squad is attacking the camp, Jesse Ventura’s character calls himself a “sexual tyrannosaurus” which refers both to an apex predator and a sexual predator. If the situation were reversed and they had the upper hand, they’d love to hunt the Predator. They all want to be “top dog” and apparently, there was that vibe among the actors, especially between Arnold S. and Jesse Ventura. They weren’t the best actors but they were the right actors. I’m wondering about something: The Predator doesn’t go after the female prisoner. Arnold says that it’s because she’s not armed. In which case, couldn’t they have saved themselves by dropping their own weapons? In Predator 2 (written by the same people), does the Predator kill anyone who is both unarmed and unwilling to fight? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/106 "2018-05-18T18:47:02Z")
Predator: the Musical [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qlicWUDf5MM/hqdefault.jpg "Predator: The Musical (Arnold Schwarzenegger)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlicWUDf5MM) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/107 "2018-05-18T18:55:42Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > It’s similar to Alien in that way: a group of rough individuals is isolated in a strange hostile environment with a predator more dangerous than humans who kills them one by one. > > None of the characters, even Arnold, are particularly sympathetic. They’re competent and funny but none can be called kind. They all choose to be mercenaries who go on Don’t-ask-too-many-questions covert missions, they play a song whose lyrics are “Having me some fun tonight” on their way to a gunfight, the music which plays when the Predator is attacking the squad is also playing when the squad is attacking the camp, Jesse Ventura’s character calls himself a “sexual tyrannosaurus” which refers both to an apex predator and a sexual predator. If the situation were reversed and they had the upper hand, they’d love to hunt the Predator. They all want to be “top dog” and apparently, there was that vibe among the actors, especially between Arnold S. and Jesse Ventura. They weren’t the best actors but they were the right actors. > > I’m wondering about something: The Predator doesn’t go after the female prisoner. Arnold says that it’s because she’s not armed. In which case, couldn’t they have saved themselves by dropping their own weapons? In Predator 2 (written by the same people), does the Predator kill anyone who is both unarmed and unwilling to fight? IIRC not hunting unarmed people, or at least disarming to be more sporting, is a very important plot point in the sequel. Further, in the sequel the predator spares a pregnant woman, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/108 "2018-05-18T19:37:35Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I’m wondering about something: The Predator doesn’t go after the female prisoner. Arnold says that it’s because she’s not armed. In which case, couldn’t they have saved themselves by dropping their own weapons? In Predator 2 (written by the same people), does the Predator kill anyone who is both unarmed and unwilling to fight? I think it’s not sporting to kill unarmed humans. No honor, or whatever their species lives by. It was never implied or stated in the movies, I don’t believe, but if the team threw down their weapons and walked away, the Predator would still kill them, because that was their choice. They’d already starting fighting, they can’t quit in mid fight. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/109 "2018-05-19T02:10:02Z")
[quote=“iiandyiiii, post:106, topic:513253”] Predator: the Musical [/QUOTE] Thumbs up. “Stop shaving you don’t have a beard!” ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/110 "2018-05-19T03:16:24Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I’m wondering about something: The Predator doesn’t go after the female prisoner. Arnold says that it’s because she’s not armed. In which case, couldn’t they have saved themselves by dropping their own weapons? In Predator 2 (written by the same people), does the Predator kill anyone who is both unarmed and unwilling to fight? [How Predator Should Have Ended](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp9DHzgr758) ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/111 "2018-05-19T11:25:35Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I consider hunting for any reason outside of survival to be nothing more than a legalized form of “thrill killing”. Mostly men go out and murder magnificent creatures, proudly pose by their corpses, and hang their heads on their walls. I would consider something like Predator poetic justice. I just remembered that the original title for _Predator_ was _Hunter_. With his superior stealth and weapons, the Predator is to humans what humans are to deer. > [@Patch](#): > > [How Predator Should Have Ended](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp9DHzgr758) Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/112 "2018-05-19T11:57:45Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > IIRC not hunting unarmed people, or at least disarming to be more sporting, is a very important plot point in the sequel. Further, in the sequel the predator spares a pregnant woman, I think. And the thing was, she was an armed police officer. But it could detect the presence of the fetus and so spared her. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/113 "2018-05-20T19:31:25Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I used to like this movie. I woke up. Why don’t you? What does this even mean? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/114 "2018-05-20T20:10:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What does this even mean? Dutch does rescue missions, not hit jobs, but Dillon lies to him. When Dutch confronts him and says ‘what happened to you? You used to be someone I could trust.’ He responds ‘I woke up, why don’t you.’ ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/115 "2018-05-21T19:50:38Z")
This thread just makes me more disappointed that I forgot a local cinema was re-showing it last month. That’s Tron and T2 caught again, but not Blade Runner and Predator. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/116 "2018-05-21T20:25:55Z")
when seeing Deadpool 2 - they showed previews for the upcoming [Predator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z861NN5ZB_s)movie ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/117 "2018-05-21T21:18:30Z")
> [@simster](#): > > when seeing Deadpool 2 - they showed previews for the upcoming [Predator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z861NN5ZB_s)movie Also the writer for Lethal Weapon and writer/director for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. Hopefully there will be more jokes which straddle the line of poor taste, corniness and so-bad-it’s-good just right like the echo joke. As for McTiernan, after a sorry saga, the world might have largely lost his talent but in the last few years he made a nice trailer for a video game which combines suspense, action and humor: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK07wbqQcys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK07wbqQcys) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/118 "2018-05-21T21:55:14Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Also the writer for Lethal Weapon and writer/director for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. Hopefully there will be more jokes which straddle the line of poor taste, corniness and so-bad-it’s-good just right like the echo joke. He also acted in the original Predator. The trailer looks mediocre but I’m hopeful as I like most of Black’s stuff. KK,BB is peak Robert Downey Jr., and the script works with him well. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/119 "2018-05-21T22:02:42Z")
Sorry, I left out a part: The director of the upcoming Predator is the “Geez you got a big pussy” guy with the glasses in the original. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253/120 "2018-05-21T23:31:09Z")
Maria Conchita Alonso! Shane Black! Geez! Were you young’uns even alive in the 80’s? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-1987-a-masterpiece-of-testosterone/513253.md?page=7)