Get It On Blu-Ray? :: Predator
Some people still don’t understand what the big deal is about Blu-ray. Well at this point I can’t help them. But what I can do is write about discs I’ve checked out and recommend whether or not it’s worth your extra cash to pick up the Blu-ray disc or stick with the standard DVD version and put that extra scratch toward some beer or medical bills or whatever you see fit.
This…is ‘Get It On Blu-Ray?’
Like so many of my impulse purchases, a few weeks back my wallet fell victim to another careless addition to my home video library. Yes, I picked up the Arnold Schwarzenegger jungle classic, Predator. There it was, just sitting on the shelf basically begging me to pick it up and toss it in the cart. My own selfless Christmas shopping be damned, I took this sweet temptress home with me that very afternoon.I honestly should’ve been asking myself if I really needed Predator in my library at all, let alone on Blu-ray. But you never know, one day I could wake up and decide I really need to watch a movie that has lots of explosions and where a former Minnesota governor calls a group of men “slack-jawed faggots” for turning down his offer to try chewing tobacco. In which case if I didn’t own Predator I’d probably be shit out of luck.
MOVIE ITSELF: 4.5/5
For those of you who aren’t familiar, quick plot summary: Arnold leads a team of mercenaries–consisting of, but not limited to, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, the dude who wrote Lethal Weapon (Shane Black) & Carl “You got yo ‘self a stew, Baby!” Weathers–into the South American jungle on a mission to find some missing politician or something. But thanks to some filthy deception by Mr. Weathers, the team is lead into a deadly trap as they are hunted down one by one by a mysterious invisible creature. This is, of course, the Predator. Predator is an alien who crash landed on earth a while back and has been totally fucking things up in this jungle ever since. So of course it’s up to Arnold to save the day and kick some serious alien ass.
HOW IT LOOKS: 2.5/5
The Predator transfer, unfortunately, is no great shakes. It’s essentially the same MPEG standard DVD video transfer. When put on Blu-ray and enhanced up to 1080p, it comes out look incredibly grainy most of the time. There are a few shots of choppers and ‘splosions that look a little better, but for the last quarter of the film especially–it takes place at night–the grain really comes out in the blacks and other dark colors. Physically the transfer appears at least cleaned up a bit, but this isn’t The Godfather; no one is spending thousands of hours restoring every frame. It’s not bad, but nothing to drool over.
HOW IT SOUNDS: 4/5
The audio is cleaned up pretty well. This movie should be watched with the volume cranked on the home surround or whatever you have. The explosions are a bit louder and all the gun fire and what not really comes through. There really is no better way to here such great lines as, “This shit’ll make you a sexual tyran-o-saur” or “You son. of. a. bitch”. Fans of this film know exactly what I’m talking about. “Get to the CHOPPA!”
WHAT IT COMES WITH: 1/5
Absolutely nothing. A shitty high-definition trailer. Thanks for nothing, Fox!
GET IT ON BLU-RAY?
Absolutely not. The only reason I picked this up was because it was for ten bucks at Target. I’ll put it this way, if you can find it cheap and you don’t already own it, pick it up. But don’t go out there thinking you need to replace your cherished Predator DVD just because Blu-ray is amazing. Believe me, there are better titles you can add to your library.
