Comments on: Taste Test: First Blood (1982) vs. Predator (1987)

By: Louis

Louis — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:06:26 +0000

I remember being 13 years old, trooping through the forest and river surrounding my neighborhood to a friend living about 3 kilometres from me. He had just put in the movie Predator and asked if a could postpone my further bushwacking to watch the movie with him.
Can you imagine me walking back through the forest that evening- Predator has eversince been engraved in my mind.

By: Joe Valdez

Joe Valdez — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:14:45 +0000

Amanda: Thanks! This is the first of what might be many Taste Tests to come. As far as action films, I don't think anything with the Predator would really be your cup of tea, if you're sour on the genre. First Blood is obviously a movie I love and think you might really enjoy. J.D.: Trying to decide which movie is best -- Predator or Predator 2 -- may be above my pay grade. There were things I liked better in the sequel and things I missed. The bottom line is that Jim & John Thomas are hack writers that don't have much to stand on except a neat concept. Thanks for commenting! Jim: I think I had pretty much the same reaction to Predator that you did. As for First Blood, after all the generic action movies that followed, watching it again in its original aspect ratio is like a sip of ice water in the desert. I hope you enjoy it. Patrick: I had a difficult time finding screenshots of Predator I thought looked interesting enough to even post. Maybe the DVD video transfer is to blame, but I am just not a fan of the way that movie looks at all. You are absolutely correct in that you can jump right into the middle of these flicks and be entertained, which is the bottom line for most moviegoers. Thanks for commenting! Megan: It was a close call on casting. Hard to believe that Brian Dennehy went from a fluffy bartender in 10 to a Sheriff Teasle, but that's what a great character actor does. He's one of the best. Yes, many more Taste Tests are on the way. You can submit your suggestions here in Comments. I'm curious to see what you have in mind.

By: Megan

Megan — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:55:51 +0000

I agree with you on giving the casting edge to Predator, in spite of Dennehy’s great job as the sheriff. (I love that man!)

Funny about the music. I can’t remember the music from First Blood at all at the moment, but the Predator theme came right into my head. Maybe because of the sequels?

I don’t know that I ever would have thought of comparing these two films in this way, but you’ve done an excellent job. I hope there are more of these. Do you accept suggestions?

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:40:27 +0000

I think Predator was a better movie than you are giving it credit for, the first definitely better than the second, which had a somewhat cliched story line, with the whole secretive conspiratorial goverment angle. Also, the first entry in a series always has that newness thing going for it, while sequels have to come up with some sort of spin on an already familiar idea.

Visually I thought Predator had some very impressive scenes in the jungle, mainly the night scenes where the Predator guy is firing off some rockets (whatever they were) from a tree limb.

I like both movies, they are the sort of movies I can just jump into the middle of whenever they show up on tv. I probably lean a little to the Predator in a comparison.

By: Moviezzz

Moviezzz — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:06:13 +0000

Great post!

I will have to rewatch them both now. I just got the RAMBO box set on Blu-Ray. Haven’t seen FIRST BLOOD in 25 years so I’ve been waiting for a moment to watch it again.

As for PREDATOR, I saw it opening night in the theatres with a group of friends, and all I remember about it was I was the only one of us who didn’t love it. I haven’t seen it since, even though I think I have a copy in an Arnold DVD box set somewhere.

I never saw PREDATOR 2.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:25:50 +0000

I like both films a lot but I would have to disagree with you on the point of PREDATOR 2 being better than the original. The cast of characters in the sequel are largely forgettable and the direction pedestrian. And don’t even get me started on the screenplay. It’s too bad that they couldn’t coax Arnold back for the film because Dark Horse comics actually penned a fantastic sequel over four issues. And even though it feature Dutch’s brother, they could’ve tweaked it. Anyways, the sequel was a wasted opportunity, IMO.

What I also like about the first PREDATOR film is that it is probably the only Arnold film where I felt that his character might actually die. In everything else he’s done (COMMANDO, RAW DEAL, etc.) there is little to no threat and you pretty much know that Arnold’s gonna take everyone out but in PREDATOR he spends most of the movie being chased and getting the crap kicked out of him by the much superior opponent. It’s only at the very end that Arnold prevails but is almost blown up for his troubles.

By: AR

AR — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:43:57 +0000

Cool idea!

It’s been so longer since I’ve seen either film that I don’t feel really qualified to weigh in. My stepfather is a big action movie fan, so I remember watching both films on cable growing up, but at some point in my teens, I grew incredibly sick of the genre. I’ve been considering revisiting both films, especially First Blood, as I hear it has somewhat more depth than is usually assumed.