Let’s Talk About How Awesome Jesse Ventura was in Predator

It’s truly annoying when some of the best characters in a movie last for only so long and then get waxed in a way that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Jesse Ventura in Predator was a great example since the former WWF (pre-WWE) wrestler played the part of Blain, the tobacco-chewing, gun-toting, “ain’t got time to bleed” badass that had some of the best shots in the movie up until a shot from the predator blasted a foot-wide hole in his chest, from the back no less. That of course was preceded by a shot that took him in the neck when he wasn’t expecting it, though of course it’s hard to expect a shot that you can’t see in a moment when you think everything is safe. Blain was one of the best characters in the movie and exited way too soon, though his weapon, Old Painless, could have evened the score a bit if the guys had known what they were shooting at. Even a predator can’t stand up to that kind of weaponry for long, especially considering that they don’t wear much in the way of armor. But Blain apparently had to go down, and Mac had to pretty much empty the weapon into the surrounding forest as the others shot blindly, hoping to take down whatever they were shooting at despite the fact that nothing could survive that torrent more than a split second.

For what little time he was in the movie Jesse Ventura made sure that he was about as impressive as could be, and to be fair it would have been nice to see him make it closer to the end since Poncho and Billy kind of went out in a very nasty fashion, though Billy at least was on his feet and ready to fight. Mac didn’t go out much better, while Dillon went out shooting, or trying to at least since his dismembered arm was still trying to empty the clip even after it was sent flopping to the ground. This was an undoubtedly gory movie since there were body parts everywhere, skinned human beings, chests being burst open, heads being exploded, and just good old fashioned mayhem afoot for most of it. The only thing that’s too bad is that since was an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, the assumption that he’d be the last man standing was known by the time the opening credits started to roll. You don’t get to survive in an Arnold movie unless your role happens to be just as important or if he’s the bad guy, that’s just how it goes. Well, the exception would be if the movie isn’t meant to be about death and destruction, in which case it’s expected that more people are going to survive.

There’s a good reason why Blain should have been left alive, but it’s also a good reason why he was one of the first to die even though Hawkin’s was the first of the group to get taken out. The whole reason for taking out Hawkins first was kind of confusing since he didn’t pose any immediate threat, but it could have been that he was being culled from the herd, basically the act of a wolf taking a straggler. But Blain’s death was rather practical really since if the predator was watching the guys fight the guerrillas then there’s no doubt that he saw Old Painless at work and figured that out of all the weaponry being used this was the one firearm that needed to be neutralized first and foremost, and since Blain was the guy with his finger on the trigger his number was bound to be up at some point. Also, seeing as how Dutch didn’t bother with the heavy machinery and the other guys didn’t appear to have any real regard for it, Blain was about the only guy with the build and the mindset of just wasting anything that was in front of him that would possibly take on a tree-cutter like Old Painless. The fact that this marked him as the most dangerous is kind of funny since in a one one fight he probably would have lost to Dutch considering how tough the lead character was and how resourceful. Blain was tough, there’s no doubt about that, but he definitely came off more as a guy that relied on superiority through heavier firepower than a guy who might be great at hand to hand combat. None of the group could have taken the predator one on one, Dutch proved that much, but in terms of sheer attitude and firepower Blain might have stood a chance if he could have seen the creature before he was blasted. Of course a good hunter really doesn’t let the prey know that they’re around, at least not until it’s too late.