Predator (1987) - 13 questions

Question: When Arnold is on the shore face down in the mud, the predator then hits the water. Shortly afterward it looks like his cloaking protection is short-circuiting when he is walking to shore. If it did, how could it use the cloaking device again later to cloak itself?

Answer: Well, we don't know exactly what's going on. It may simply be that the cloaking device, for whatever reason, can't cope with water, so it cuts out. When it dries off again, normal function may simply return. Or, if it does actually short out, as opposed to simply shutting down, then some sort of auto-repair mechanism may come into play to restore the cloaking device back to a functional state. Either way it's a reasonable explanation as to why it still works.

Question: Why didn't Arnold and the rest of the commandos take thermal goggles or sensitive listening devices with them on the mission; wasn't the technology available?

Answer: It's the jungle: thermal goggles would have too much interference due to the high ambient temperature and sensitive listening devices would have picked up too much ambient noise from the wildlife. When filming the movie they had to hose the area down with ice water just to cool it off enough to get the footage for the Predator's heat vision. Presumably, his technology is more advanced than our own, so the high jungle temps didn't interfere. Plus of course, their original mission was meant to be very straightforward, with no need for high-tech equipment.

Question: What exactly is that stuff that Blane is chewing in the chopper when they're on their way to be dropped which he claims will make him a "sexual Tyrannosaurus"?

Answer: My guess is that it's chewing tobacco, which is ideal when you can't smoke cigarettes for whatever reason. It's either that or a very unpleasant snack.

Question: What hits Jesse Ventura in the face/side of the neck right before the Predator blasts the giant hole in his torso? For a second or two after he sees the skunk, something wet appears to hit him in the face and daze him. I always wondered what that was supposed to be.

Answer: Originally it was actually a different weapon the Predator used against Blaine, but the effect didn't look very good in post production, so it was abandoned and you're just meant to assume it was another shot from the plasma caster.

Question: Why does the Predator use a cloaking device? As revealed in the film, it's huge and physically superior to humans, so, why hide?

Answer: The same reason human hunters wear camouflage and hide in blinds: If they just stood out in the open with their weapons out, the prey would run away before they get a good shot.

Question: In the scene where Billy is looking up into the trees just before he finds the skinned bodies, is it just me or is the cloaked predator standing just to the left of those trees?

Answer: He is there. There are several scenes in the movie where the predator is in the shot but the other characters (and often the audience) are unaware of it.

Question: Could Hawkins have become a commando (or even a marine) in real life, considering he wore glasses which would have limited him during any battle?

Answer: As long as your uncorrected vision is at least 20/400 (-6.0 diopters), you can qualify for most forms of military service except flying.

Question: What was the true sole purpose of the Predator killing people? Was it for sport, some kind of training, or was he sent to earth to do it? Most of all, at the end of the movie, why did he kill himself. He still had some weapons on him so why didn't he use one of them to kill Dutch instead of using his self-destruct device to take them both out?

Answer: Predators appear to be drawn to conflict (as well as heat, which is why it's in a Jungle in the first film and during a heatwave in the second), and they seek out the most challenging prey. Obviously to a predator, a lion or something isn't going to be much trouble, but a heavily armed group of highly trained commandos is a hunt worthy of honour. They are honourable hunters, not just bloodthirsty killers, which is shown when it actively avoids the woman because she is unarmed (and is also shown in Predator 2 ignoring a woman as she is pregnant). It kills itself at the end because it's dying, and it can't do anything else, so go out with a bang, basically. If he had used another weapon to kill Dutch, he'd have died eventually anyway.

Question: Before the last battle between the Predator and Dutch you see them both preparing for themselves and their equipment for battle. Why does the Predator shine his laser on his knives which makes them glow red? What's this supposed to do?

Answer: He's sharpening them.

Question: What's up with the predator's eyes glowing for a second while it's invisible, and does anyone know why the predators in the other movies don't do this?

Answer: The Predator's eyes don't glow, the eye covering on the mask does. While we are unsure why it "flashes", essentially all Predators may have different masks and they may all function differently. Just because we don't see the other Predator's do it, it doesn't mean they don't "flash" too.

Question: What was the total worldwide gross of Predator 1, and then Predator 2? Sorry but imdb doesn't have worldwide takings for either.

Answer: Worldwide Gross for Predator 1 is $190,534,137, and Worldwide Gross for Predator 2 is $57,169,413.

Question: What's the name of the song Dutch and co. are listening to in the chopper?

Answer: Long Tall Sally by Little Richard.

Question: Was the minigun used by Jesse Ventura in Predator the same one (as in the same physical prop, not just the same model and/or configuration) later used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2?

Answer: Check out http://www.montysminiguns.com/MoviePage.htm. This site confirms that the same minigun is used in both movies, and is (or was) on display at the Allegheny Arms and Armor Museum in Smethport, Pennsylvania.