Quote:
Originally Posted by Collectorcol
Exactly, blasting or slicing Dutch in a faceoff would be too easy. Predators like the 'sport', it's what they train for.
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Well, when I said "too easy," I didn't mean too easy for the Predator. I mean too easy for Dutch - like torture vs a quick death for example (I do see what you are saying though). Indeed, I like the word you use here - 'sport.' I think yeah you right - this might sound weird, but it's like a bass fisherman using live bait vs artificial stuff. Using artificial lures is considered more 'sporty.' Perhaps...yeah...same concept here - like giving him a sporting chance.
Of course this still does not change the fact that the damaged gauntlet is important otherwise it would not have been featured in the film at all. In storytelling (and films), things have purpose and happen for a reason whether it is to set a mood, advance the plot or change a character. Sorry if this message ends up being long - just want to clarify why it unfolds the way it does (to try and support my claim).
Stories and films are at the basic level made of setups and payoffs - cause and effect. If something is not setup, it can come off as jarring to an audience. For instance, had we not seen Dutch setting traps, we the audience would have been like "wait, what, where did that come from" when the log falls on the Predator's head. Now some filmmakers (great ones) can toy and experiment with this convention. Christopher Nolan for example did the opposite in 'Memento' - he showed us the end of the movie in the beginning - the first half of the film is a series of payoffs to which we see the setups later (brilliant!) and it works and only good filmmakers can pull something like this off. Even in Tenet, the Protagonist, when catching an inverted bullet says, "but cause comes before effect" to which the Dr. replies "No, that's just the way we see time" - he is literally telling us that he is going to mess with storytelling conventions.
Anyway, In Predator, it is pretty conventional. It is setup for example that there might be some shady dealings going on when Dillon says he's joining Dutch on the rescue mission - right, Dutch looks at him suspiciously and says "General, my team always works alone, you know that." The payoff comes much later when it is revealed, yeah, it wasn't a rescue mission at all - they were just used as assassins and to dig up some dirt and Dillon used them.
The setup for the wrist gauntlet is that it controls the Predator's camouflaging ability - when he emerges out of the water. Now, I'll just go from when the scene and climax begins but the whole movie can be broken down into a series of cause and effect (setups and payoffs). Because Dutch yells the most glorious of yells, the Predator goes after him. Because the Predator is unable to see him (since it was setup earlier that mud camouflages a person from a Predator), the Predator goes right past him and approaches near the raging fire below. Because Dutch shoots at those explosives, the wrist gauntlet controlling camouflage gets damaged (to which we get a close up - basically the filmmaker, John McTiernan, saying pay attention, this is important - and because it is damaged, the tables have turned and Dutch is playing the Predator's game since he can see the Predator but the Predator cannot see him since he (Dutch) is camouflaged and now the Predator is shooting wildly and blindly just like Mac earlier in the movie when he uses the mini-gun (old-painless). There is of course more, but I'll stop here.
It really seems the Predator would have killed him if he had the chance - he approached with his camouflage on, he was not planning on a face to face with him. This face to face only happened because of the events that transpired earlier - such as the gauntlet getting damaged.
I'm really just trying to focus here, this is all I am saying - it is important. If it wasn't, the filmmakers and studio would not have wasted time, money, film, and effort on showing a damaged gauntlet.
Having said all this, again, I do like the "sport" aspect. That does sound good and it makes sense, but it would not have happened without the gauntlet getting damaged which created a cascade of cause and effect events to make it so.
Apologies again for the length.