Did the "code of honour" ruin the concept of Predator 1?

predatoress, Undefined, 14 years ago

"It kills for pleasure. It hunts for sport." This is from the trailer of Predator 1. My question is, do you think the code of honour and everything around it (arbitrators etc. in none-canon) ruin the concept and spirit of Predator 1? Because to me it seems the predator is more of hunting just for fun and not killing the unarmed prey because what's the fun and challenge in that. Also the yautja himself looked and acted more of a free-spirited tribal hunter than part of totalitarian fundamental system of codes and rituals (which is seen in AvP's, in Predator 2 the clan seemed rather slacked off). Now of course we can debate of different cultures of different clans and some being more organized than the others, but what do you think of this division?

(And sry for DD of copying the title...)

DeathWraith, Undefined, 14 years ago

Predess, you boy... precious boy...

Now that you mentioned it, it does seem like a bit of an exagerration. Predators could have a sense of honour on their own, without a code being implied by their society. And a civilization at the level of advanced space travel would imply a much more complex society than the tribal one you're suggesting. The only way a tribal society would be able to function along with space travel is if the species we are talking about no longer had a homeworld and were just scattered through space, with small populations on different planets owned by each tribe. To be able to make the whole population respect a code, the civilisation would be in the state of clans. Because in tribes, power is taken simply by defeating the leader and becomeing the leader yourself, but a clan is like a primitive form of kingdom, where leadership is transmitted either to family members or able friends, in a tribe the leader's power is based on his own strength, but in a clan the leader's power is based on the strength of the respect the others have for him. So either the predators don't have a home planet anymore and are so rare in space that they can only form as tribes and have no code of honour or they have no home planet and are so rare and divided that they only stick together in clans and either have a code of honour that some clans could share and agree on and others not. Each clan may have its own homeplanet, but all together on one planet would form a society too complex to work with the whole hunting humans thing. Unless they're muslims.

-Bloo-, Undefined, 14 years ago

Oh my god. You're back too? This place really is picking back up. In light of these recent events I will now do something I've rarely ever done seriously before: :D

Yeah.

Anyway, I've never really thought about it before, but I guess this is why people liked Predator more. JH was just some freaky ass space hunter from... space.

DeathWraith, Undefined, 14 years ago

She was gone? :? :/

-Bloo-, Undefined, 14 years ago

Well... from the main board, anyway.

Deathdrop, Undefined, 14 years ago

I dunno; if not for the "rules" the Preds would just act like every other killer alien around. I agree that the whole space ninja thing is lame, but having SOME sort of honor code makes them a little more unique.

Pred_Killer, Undefined, 14 years ago

Well, the original Predator didn't strike me as a big, mean, muscle machine, football player with a sixhundred pound build like the ones in AVP did, it always seemed light, nimble, like it could perform super agile maneuvers, that is how I think it should have stayed, until AVP destroyed that image, now we have Predators holding up two Aliens, both easily weighing 400 pounds or more (due to their endo/exo skeletal build, not to mention that massive head and tail), and Predators running like those fat lineman do at my school WTF, while I don't think 'Space Ninja' is a proper term, even though I use it alot, lol, I do not think 'Space Brute' is a proper term either, they weren't meant to be up in your face i'm gonna pick you up and throw you by yur leg hyuk, they were meant to be stealthy hunters, hence the 'active camouflage DEE DEE DEE!' But in my mind the original Predator was the most accurate depiction of a Predator Hunter, just as in my mind the most accurate depiction of an Alien Warrior was in A L I E N. :)

PREDATORv2, Undefined, 14 years ago

"But in my mind the original Predator was the most accurate depiction of a Predator Hunter, just as in my mind the most accurate depiction of an Alien Warrior was in A L I E N. :)"

Exactly,


The honor code as DeathDrop said helped make the predator character stand out from the standard SciFi killer monster from space.

predatoress, Undefined, 14 years ago

To me it seems the code of honour is exaggerated by the fans the world around the none-canon stuff as well as in avp's compared to the original movies. In general (human) hunters don't kill more prey than they can handle, and if wanting a challenge you don't kill the unworthy prey. These are the obvious rules in hunting even they're not "written" anywhere.

I just wonder the great gap between eg. Predator 1 compared to AvP, as in behavior and the general outlook (from agile sneaky thinking monster into bulky stiff thing with some weird behaving etiquettes).

I personally like the world in Predator 1 and 2 better where the yautjas had more choices of dealing with situations rather than working throughout some strict hierarchy.

Pred_Killer, Undefined, 14 years ago

There needs to be a fight between Kane's Son and Anytime. Just one on one, pit dog gladiator match, pure blood bath, that is what I wanted to see in AVP, and in space, with humans getting mauled, and both creatures, just throwing each other all over the place, beating each other bloody, Pred with his weapons, Alien with his strength, just mauling each other.

Not the failpreds or fail aliens, no. The Queen was badass though, the highlight of that movie. Requiem had no light points at all, really, except the references made to Aliens... which I hated...

Stalker, Undefined, 14 years ago

I personally think the mystery of the predator in the original film is what made it so great. The idea of a relentless alien hunting humans for the sheer fun of it is the base concept I still stick to.

The original depiction of predators being primarily nomadic warriors traveling the galaxy for the most prized kill is all we really need to know. They obviously have some semblance of honour & pride which they display by choosing not to kill unworthy creatures. On the same note, I do not believe they are governed by any law or code to be honourable. They show camaraderie to each other and a basic respect towards a worthy adversary, but that's as far as it goes.

In the Predator films, they were shown to just kill for the fun of a challenge. Akin to how a group of safari hunters would venture out into the wilderness for the thrill of the action.

-Bloo-, Undefined, 14 years ago

Predator 2 showed they were apart of some sort of clan with a leader - the elder - which means they must have some sort of... "code." But at what Predess said, that was exactly what I was thinking; it's the fans who over-exaggerate the power of that code.

Deathdrop, Undefined, 14 years ago

^ What usually happens with "cool" bad guys is that fans try to make them as agreeable as possible.

They say things like "The Yautja go around murdering people for fun... But not women or kids!" as if that somehow makes it OK. Read any A/P (especiallly Predator, though I've seen it with Aliens) fanfiction and you'll see sugar-coated, anthromorphic Alien and Preds.

For a perfect example of this sort of thing, compare the "Wanted" movie to the original comic book. In the transition to mainstream entertainment, they removed the rape and cop killing and racial slurs and ...

But they kept the murder and (this is what pissed me off) tried to justify it by making up some bullshit about fate. People want murder and mayhem; they just don't want to feel guilty about it.

-Bloo-, Undefined, 14 years ago

It's bad, but still not as horrible as anything some anime fanboy would come up with.

Take one anime that's actually good and a copy of Microsoft Office, give it to said fanboy, and watch so much shit hit the fan - literally - that you won't see right for half an hour.

The only thing this fanfic will have in common with the show is the title of that show. There will blood. But it'll be in your eyes while you chant Zalgo.

No, really, I dare any of you to try this shit. Visit some manga site or something and chat with the locals. "o wat huld on imma finish my fanfic <<<<3"

It's dangerous fucking territory.

Stalker, Undefined, 14 years ago

Bloo, in regards to your comment about the clan at the end of Predator 2, I personally don't believe that a group of preds together on a ship establishes any sort of code. From my point of view, they were merely comrades out on the prowl, looking for some bloodthirsty fun and the bragging rights of the most prized kill. The elder was the most experienced of the group, and therefore would take some sort of command over the hunting trip to Earth.

In regards to the predators letting Harrigan live, that can be chalked up to a basic level of respect. He was able to survive and kill one of their group, showing his formidable resilience and fighting skills. And so I suspect the predators let him live to hunt him down another day- after all, where is the sport in killing him when he was completely surrounded and outnumbered?

-Bloo-, Undefined, 14 years ago

That actually makes a lot of sense. I guess the idea of the honor code has been exaggerated much more than I thought.

Estatica, Undefined, 14 years ago

I agree with stalker there, and unfortunately what I would type up in reply to the first post has already been said. Still, seems like this forum has a shared idea of a few subjects - unless I'm being blind again.

Deathdrop, Undefined, 14 years ago

Alan Moore (guy who wrote Watchmen, V for Vendetta, League of Ex. Gentlemen, etc.) said in an interview something to the effect of "don't just give the audience what they want, because they don't know what they want."

What did a lot of people say whenever we used to talk about the next AvP movie? "prediter as the main chrecter and teh aliens killin peple an gore and sex and no humanz!!11!"

... And then we got AvP:R, which was exactly that.