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Initially, Predator (1987) looked like it was just another obnoxious army recruitment ad disguised as an action flick, but along comes the titular movie monster and starts turning the Gung-ho musclemen cast into vulnerable victims. It’s not perfect, of course; but it’s easier to appreciate now more than ever, especially since the subtexts have all surfaced. And in the spirit of appreciation, here are some of the most memorable lines from Predator (1987).
8 “Dillon! You Son Of A B***h.”
Sure enough, one of the earliest lines in the movie that sticks to memories whether voluntary or not is Dutch’s legendary handshake with Dillon. It helped a lot that both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers were at their prime and in the tip-top shape of their lives during this iconic movie moment.
Never has there been a manlier greeting in the history of film and one probably didn’t expect such a thing from a horror movie. Dutch’s enthusiasm here also helped establish the relationship between the two veteran friends, eliminating the need for more backstory. These two army men go way back. All that can be inferred from a simple casual greeting and handshake.
7 “What’s The Matter? The CIA Got You Pushing Too Many Pencils? Huh? Had Enough?”
The Dillon handshake doesn’t end abruptly, however. It’s a multiple-staged introductory sequence that provides enough assumed backstory for these two men. They turned a handshake into a mid-air arm wrestling bout. This immediately portrays a strong sense of competition between the two and implies that their friendship has a hint of bitterness and adversity.
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That, or they probably just wanted to arm-wrestle without much meaning. But Dutch’s line about Dillon’s CIA involvement and his new line of work told a long story and saved the film some flashback scenes as to why Dillon had to play dice with the devil. The perfect backdrop for that supposed story, of course, is a shot of Carl Weathers’ and Arnold’s biceps exploding in a flex.
6 “There’s Something Out There Waiting For Us, And It Ain’t No Man. We’re All Gonna Die.”
Everything was going well for Dutch’s elite squad until the Predator began mocking them with a kill. One kill traumatized the whole team and revealed the nature of Dillon’s mission. The whole setup was an inadvertent meatgrinder where there’s only one enemy, the Predator itself.
Even some of the hardiest soldiers in Dutch’s retinue were convinced that they had no chance against such an enigmatic and efficient adversary. As such, that line above was blurted out by Billy (the keenest soldier in the squad). Even with his acute nose and other senses, the Predator still spooked him.
5 “We’re A Rescue Team. Not Assassins.”
Speaking of Dillon’s true mission, the film doesn’t disguise how it views the CIA’s shady dealings as ethically bankrupt and destructive. The film established fairly early that Dillon was indeed working for the CIA and that he outright lied to Dutch about a highly-classified suicide mission against unknown opposition.
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Dutch’s reaction to Dillon’s deception seemed like the filmmaker’s opinion and take on the CIA’s operations. It was very much an anti-war and anti-military stance in hindsight, especially with all the recorded atrocities committed by intelligence agencies all over the globe. Hence, this line uttered by Dutch carried quite a lot of weight outside of the film’s context.
4 “I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed.”
That testosterone-filled line is brought to the audience by Blain a.k.a. the Sexual Tyrannosaurus. Blain’s actor was actually a real army veteran and he served in the Vietnam War. The scene where Blain and Poncho were also assaulting the Soviet-funded guerilla camp had some casual acting and that’s where the quote above came from.
Blain’s visible bleeding is no cause for concern in the face of the chaos and fire in front of them. This definitely helped fortify the fact that these elite guys weren’t just all talk, they can also walk, and that their egos and boastfulness are well-earned. That made the Predator’s skill and cleverness at killing them all the more dramatic — all that training and combat they had were still no match for the galaxy’s apex hunter.
3 “If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It.”
With that said, turns out the Predator is also a living creature and not the urban legend the squad has been chasing throughout the film. The quote came from Dutch himself who recently found some drops of strange fluids, presumably the Predator’s blood. Such a discovery was not just important for the plot but also for portraying the protagonists (or victims) as mere humans.
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They’re still a superstitious bunch and wouldn’t hesitate to associate something they don’t understand with supernatural or metaphysical forces. Arguably, this makes them more relatable as characters. At the same time, it also gives out a sliver of hope for the squad; they just found out that they have a fighting chance and that the Predator has time to bleed.
2 “Get To The Chopper!”
Or as voiced out in Arnold’s signature Austrian accent, “gettuda choppa!” It’s one of the most oft-repeated and memed lines in the film but it doesn’t exactly hold any significance to the plot by way of subtext or exposition. It’s just the way Arnold says it that makes it so unforgettable.
The line was his most desperate dialogue in the film and it wasn’t even about saving himself, but someone else. At the very least, it portrays Dutch as a sympathetic and still morally upright and brave mercenary. A soldier through and through, he chose to fight the Predator head-on to the death without begging for help.
1 “What The Hell Are You?”
When Dutch did manage to defeat the Predator out of homecourt advantage and competence, the payoff was worth it. It’s one of the few moments in the film where the shrouded movie monster’s face and personality was finally revealed. And Dutch’s reaction was probably the same as the audience’s; sheer confusion and bewilderment at the sight of the alien.
The Predator asked him back the same question. For some, this can be interpreted as a similar degree of confusion from the Predator. It considered itself the more superior being but it was bested by a mere hairless ape from another planet. That warranted the rhetorical question. Regardless, the film as a whole is a deconstruction of the macho hero culture of the 1980s. Arnold did win, but barely; and there was no pandering to his overt masculinity here unlike with other action hero films, for he merely survived the fight against the Predator.
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