Who do you say shot the chopper down?

[The Necronoir]

In the past, not recently. "When I was little we found a man..."

She also goes on to say:

"Only in the hottest years this happens. And this year, it grows hot. We begin finding our men. We found them sometimes without their skins, and sometimes much, much worse."

Very clearly talking about the current year.

Maybe it also happened recently. Probably a lot of hot years in this part of the wolrd.

She's saying it's happened twice in her living memory - once when she was just a girl (and she heard the old woman in her village use its name for the first time), and again this year when they started finding fellow guerrillas butchered in the same way. Both were notable for being exceptionally hot years too, according to her.

[BigDaddyJohn]

She's saying it's happened twice in her living memory

She doesn't say that at all. She said her people started to find men massacred, she doesn't specify how many.

[SiL]

She also didn't specify the guerrillas.

[The Necronoir]

She's saying it's happened twice in her living memory

She doesn't say that at all. She said her people started to find men massacred, she doesn't specify how many.

Twice meaning at two different times in her life. The second obviously involves multiple deaths, as she says 'men' vs the original 'man'.

She also didn't specify the guerrillas.

She says 'our men' though, rather than just 'men', so they obviously belong to some organisation. Considering where they find her, and the fact the predator is drawn to conflict, who else would it be?

[SiL]

She says 'our men' though, rather than just 'men', so they obviously belong to some organisation.

Given she first mentions a village, I take it as a man from a local village.

But you're right, it could go either way.

[The Necronoir]

Yeah, it's hard to tell what's deliberate and simply her broken English. Personally, I think it adds more gravitas to the arc Dutch is going through if she confirms that both sides have been losing people.

[Wweyland]

I always felt that Predator could have omitted that first shot of the ship arriving to make the first viewing more mysterious. Is it a demon? High-tech guerrillas? Etc.

[SiL]

I always felt that Predator could have omitted that first shot of the ship arriving to make the first viewing more mysterious. Is it a demon? High-tech guerrillas? Etc.

McTiernan forgot it was in the movie when he did his commentary.

[426Buddy]

I love that first shot of the ship dropping Jungle Hunter off. Sets an ominous mood right from the start.

[BigDaddyJohn]

I think both are good honestly. Adds mystery either way, in an actual different way.

[Wweyland]

Also quite similar to The Thing, which might have benefited from the omission as well (although a crashed ship is revealed quite early, unlike Predator).

[BigDaddyJohn]

Yeah I think it would be less effective in The Thing.

[426Buddy]

I like those opening shots in both flicks. i wouldn't remove them myself.

[Wweyland]

The shot works very well with the title screen and music. And the effect (ship design) is great.

[BigDaddyJohn]

Agreed.