Quote from: Eighty-Five on Mar 01, 2021, 02:52:41 AM
A lot of Predator superfans are really into the 'Yautja' concept with strict codes of honor and such. More like samurai than big game hunters. I don't think that really jives with the original movies tho.
The Predators in 1&2 don't fight fair. They hide out of sight, invisible to their prey, killing them from afar with advanced weaponry that doesn't even require aiming. In the first movie the Predator only goes hand-to-hand when he isolates a victim and they can't really threaten him. The hunter in P2 is a little more bold but he still favours cloaking for his attacks and still greatly outclasses his victims. They're also sore losers, turning to self-destruct when they think they're about to lose, trying to take their foes down with them rather than take the L.
The honor code idea only really relates to not killing unarmed/pregnant/sick enemies and awarding Harrigan the pistol. This isn't necessarily because it would be un-chivalrous imo though. It's because there's no challenge in the kills. If you're at max level in an rpg, do you go back to the starter zone and kill level 1 rats that can't even chip at your HP bar, let alone maybe get lucky and actually wound/kill you? I don't, because it's boring. No risk at all. Risk is what makes the hunt exciting.
As for the pistol, yeah they show a kind of begrudging respect but it seems kinda like it's specific to that one elder, because no other pred to this point had any qualms about turning their death into a murder-suicide when they thought their foes might actually defeat them. Also worth pointing out they don't exactly give Harrigan a chance to get clear before they launch their ship and very nearly crush/incinerate him.
The Yautja concept makes me roll my eyes tbh. The original Predators were trophy-taking slasher villains who saw us as little better than animals, equipped to pose some threat but not equal or worthy of respect as more than wall decorations.
The honor code has always been the intent of the Thomas Brothers and to me it has been 100% depicted. The Thomas Brothers explained Predator 2 is the "bible" for the Predator character.
To the creators, the Predators are a race of sports hunters. They do have a system of honor and code, per them. Like American hunters believe they have honor, when they go to church on Sundays after slaughtering defenseless animals with high powered weapons in camouflage on Saturdays.
You may question hunting deer or bear from trees in camouflage clothing using high powered scoped rifles ... "They don't fight fair! They're outclassing their victims! Where's the honor in that?" I do too. But to an American Hunter, it's not a question. The kill during the day, and kiss their children goodnight, living "honorable" lives. So I feel
it is important to get out of your head space, and into theirs.
Comparing it to max level rpg going to a starter zone I think is totally missing the point. And a lot of hunters don't hunt for the "risk". Some do, like the American Hunters that hunt bear with spears versus guns, or boar hunting with knives. But the popular ones... duck hunting, deer hunting, fishing, there isn't any risk. So you're not understanding the hunter correctly if you assess it entirely that way.
And you sort of dismiss the Elder Grayback Predator's actions as him acting alone, but all the Predators turned and walked away. They all left Harrigan, after Harrigan killed
one of their own. All of them.
In regards to the detonation, I see that as the Predators do not want their body or especially their tech discovered. The devastating impact of leaving that behind would be so much worse than any unwanted deaths it may cause in its radius.
It's like when humans hunt bears with spears, they bring along a gun just in case. Because after a point, it gets to a point, where all bets are off.
