False Facts About The Predator That Everyone Believes
There's no shortage of theories and questions concerning the incredibly popular predator films from the aliens true nature to the future of the franchise.
Here are facts about the predator series that aren't really facts at all to begin with one thing to know about predators is that they're not really predators it sounds confusing but it's true it's even pointed out directly by the biologist casey brackett played by olivia munn in the predator it hunts people for sport technically that's not a it's not a predator it's like kind of thank you after all while predator is a great name for a movie about an alien who comes to earth just to kill people that doesn't mean it's technically accurate as a label for the creature in the natural world a predator is a creature that kills another organism for food that last bit is important predators as in actual earth animals in nature kill because they need to eat in contrast to predators who appear in the sci-fi franchise of the same name kill for sport or to prove their own prowess as hunters something that appears to be highly valued in their culture their predators don't eat their kills they just skin them hang them upside down and sometimes remove their skulls and spines to wave around triumphantly they don't want meat.
They want trophies by definition they're not predators that said for the sake of clarity we're still going to call them predators if you haven't seen the predator movies or if you just haven't paid that much attention it makes sense to believe that there's one primary predator throughout the franchise after all the titles for every film except one 2010's predators are singular there's a predator and in 2018 he was the predator of course none of that is true the main predator when there is one dies in literally every movie the title creature of 1987's predator blows himself up with a self-destruct device after being grievously wounded by dutch schaefer played by arnold schwarzenegger the urban hunter of predator 2 is killed in battle with mike harrigan played by danny glover all of the predators and predators are taken down by their intended prey and the oversized genetically hybridized creature at the center of the predator is taken down by that movie's central characters as well the thing about predators of course is that there are always more of them furthermore it's pretty clear at this point that's hunting humans presumably alongside other sentient creatures from around the galaxy is a cherished tradition on their planet.
They're just going to keep doing it no matter how many die trying particularly with the first and most beloved film in the series some of the franchise's most iconic imagery comes from the predator's point of view showing schwarzenegger and other cast members in bright colours that represent the intensity of their body heat as the creature hunts them through the dense jungle this has led some viewers to mistakenly think that the predator species has actually evolved to see with thermal imaging if you pay attention however it becomes pretty clear that this infrared imaging is technological and contained in the lenses of the predator's masks in predator 2 the extraterrestrial hunter has multiple vision modes he can switch between and while we never see that happen in the original film it's hard to deny that the other worldly villain here must have other forms of vision as well for example how could he so easily avoid all the traps set for him by the commandos if all he can see is he's plus in the fantastic scene where he first takes his mask off we watch as his vision completely changes with the infrared disappearing from sight it's not just the predators who die and are replaced for every movie of the six predator movies released to date the two avp movies not a single installment features a returning human character from a previous movie after more than three decades of that same formula it starts to look like none of the movies are really connected at all the two most recent installments in particular seem to bear the hallmarks of franchise reboots predators spoiler alert moves the action from earth to an alien planet while the predator has a new military base story and a title distinguished from the first movie only by the article the of course this isn't the case for either sci-fi flick aside from the more complicated avp installments each predator movie establishes that the previous films did indeed happen even if the events have been classified so that most people don't know about them in predator 2 government agent peter keys played by gary busey discusses the events of the first movie in predators the characters of isabel played by alice braga recognizes the predators from a description of the events of the original predator in the predator the events of the first two movies are discussed and further confirmed as real by the presence of sean keys the son of peter keys from predator 2 who's played by gary busey's actual son jake whatever character he's playing arnold schwarzenegger tends to be regarded as the ultimate badass and not without reason his godlike physique and apparent strength have placed him on a level above other action heroes especially in the 1980s it was a time.
when superhero physiques weren't as widespread in movies as they've become in the era of cinema today so it makes perfect sense when schwarzenegger's dutch survives the deaths of his teammates in predator and has a final showdown with the alien creature all on his own he's basically earth's champion in that moment and he's fighting for us all but contrary to what you might think he's not the only human to defeat a predator in single combat in predator 2 dany glovers mike harrigan single-handedly takes down a predator of his own and his win might have been even more impressive the other predators certainly seem to think so you don't know what you're dealing with after the death of peter keys who thought he had the predator's number and was quickly proven wrong harrigan and the titular alien are left on their own however harrigan manages to sever one of the creature's arms robbing it of its self-destruct mechanism he then follows the predator into an underground spaceship and defeats it with its own blade other predators appear and carry off the dead body and the leader then honors harrigan's prowess by giving him an anti-gun that it had apparently taken on a previous hunt few sequels are as commonly maligned as predator 2. it came in fourth at the box office on its opening weekend was critically panned and later instalments in the franchise were celebrated for ignoring it it's not a classic like its predecessor and there's a good chance you haven't even seen it if that's the case go watch predator 2 and decide for yourself because it actually has a lot going for it it's a clear and deliberate departure from the first movie but that's a better choice in trying to duplicate the original predator had jungle action pretty well covered so predator 2 brought its titular alien hunter to the streets of downtown los angeles what's more it's the near future los angeles in which gangs rule the city cops barely stand a chance and everybody's guns still shoot bullets but they're weirdly big and chunky looking the aforementioned dany glover is the hero as different from arnold schwarzenegger as an action star could be in fact it's ultimately glover's performance as a detective who simply won't quit no matter what he's up against that makes predator 2 something of an underrated gem in predator the captured rebel anna played by el padilla carrillo is the only survivor besides schwarzenegger's dutch in predator 2 the hunter corners detective leona cantrell and then decides not to kill her it also spares an unnamed woman at the site of a massacre in a drug lord's penthouse in alien vs predator the central predator actually befriends lex woods played by sinar lathan and works with her to defeat the aliens isabel survives predators and casey brackett survives the predator so what's the deal do predators not kill women the truth is that in theory they might but these movies don't really have enough women for them to kill predators don't necessarily care about gender they just don't kill unarmed people it also seems that they don't kill pregnant people which is why detective cantrell is spared the drug lord's girlfriend also falls under the unarmed rule there's also very few female action heroes in these movies so it would have been a bummer for audiences to see them slaughtered anna and isabelle are literally the only female characters in their respective films and cantrell is just about the only woman in predator 2 who's not a drug lord's unclothed girlfriend so killing them would have just seemed really dark at the end of the day what also keeps the predators from killing women is the narrative choices of these movies as part of the gadget-filled techno armor they prefer to wear when hunting humans each predator has a metal face mask that they generally don't lose until the final showdown when it's time to give the heroes and the audience a good look at that creepy man-dibbled face because predators show up to earth wearing this mask and don't usually take it off until shortly before they die a lot of people assume that the mask is what enables them to breathe in earth's atmosphere if you pay attention however that's clearly not the case the first predator does without a mask for a long time while fighting dutch in the jungle and he seems to breathe just fine in predator 2 the creature is seen breathing through another device after losing his mask but we don't know exactly why maybe los angeles famous smog is too much for him this same movie establishes that predators breathe the same air as humans however because harrigan can breathe inside their spaceship even when interacting with an unmasked extraterrestrial the same thing is true of the alien planet in predators the humans can breathe there just fine and so can the unmasked hunters there's no doubt the mask provides copious tools to aid a predator's survival starting with that famous thermal vision but a breathing apparatus is not one of them released in 2018 the predator was only a midling's success at the box office and it was widely panned by critics these days however it takes a lot more than a bad installment or two to kill a sci-fi action franchise like the predators themselves the franchise just keeps getting up and coming for its prey in this case moviegoers in fact the next movie is already in production it's currently being called skulls but it's likely to be re-titled something with the word predator in it before release the upcoming installment will star amber mid thunder of legion as a comanche woman who wants to be a warrior and eventually encounters a predator in the 19th century 10 cloverfield lane director dan trachtenberg is helming the movie so it should at least be interesting and if it doesn't work that will be disappointing but it wouldn't likely be the end surely the predators will keep returning to their favorites hunting ground earth's movie screens.
