Predator

Raise your hand if you love Predator. Raise your other hand if you own some copy of Predator, be it VHS, DVD, pirated video or Blu-ray. If you're like me with both hands raised (yet I am still typing), I have some exciting news for you. The new Predator: Ultimate Hunter Edition Blu-ray was released this week!

So let me just start by describing my love for Predator. This was the first R-rated movie I ever saw in the theater. This is back in 1987. Ian and I had just lost the MSA Championship soccer game and were pretty bummed. Dad was our coach, and was probably bummed too. As we were leaving the field (I was probably crying), Dad said, "Let's go see Predator!" Now there are tears of joy, and Ian and I probably forgot we even played a soccer game!


Fast forward to 1998. I get my first DVD player. Of course I bought 3 or 4 DVDs for the new player, one of which was Predator. I'll make no excuses, the DVD was awesome, and the 5.1 surround sound was pretty impressive. However, it really didn't hold up well. As DVD evolved, I watched more and more movies, the image quality of Predator, and the artificially enhanced surround mix turned out to be pretty poor. As a result, Predator was retired to the shelf, and I don't remember the last time I watched it.

Now it's 2009. I get my first Blu-ray player. Now, image and audio quality is everything with HD and lossless audio. All the studios rush to re-release their titles and cash in on the public. Unfortunately, many of these releases are CRAP! They use the same video source and touch it up digitally, and say, "It's a new 1080p transfer!" Bullshit! I am very careful about which Blu-rays I buy. Predator was one such film. They released it on Blu, but it was not a quality release - until now!

I just bought the newly releases Predator: Ultimate Hunter Edition. It's on sale this week as a new release at Best Buy for $14.99. The video has been completely remastered. Let me just say - WOW! I have never seen Predator look so good, even in the theater. The colors are so vibrant. The graininess of the previous DVD/Blu copies is gone, and you literally see things that you never saw before! The audio is also a huge upgrade, with all-encompassing sound, not artificial rear-effects like before. This is a release that 20th Century Fox got right!

Go buy it now! There is no better Blu-ray value than $14.99 for the original Predator in perfect 1080p!

UPDATE: Apparently, the film review gods have determined that Predator is SUPPOSED to look like crap! A new review/rant concerning this edition complains that the new video transfer has too much digital noise reduction. However, it is a remastered video transfer, and I think it looks great. Other reviews think it looks great also. I'll let you decide if you are a purist who wants every grain preserved or if you want your movies to look awesome on your HDTV.