Predator is one of those movies that comes along every so often that not only provides a solid chunk of entertainment, but also simultaneously defines an era while creating a new mythology for a generation to grab hold of and build on.
NECA has been putting out a solid and diverse array of Predator figure with enhanced articulation for a while now, digging deep into several movies and even into the fan-made Batman: Dead End, which is a dedication few properties get nowadays. The Predator itself in all its forms has had a stranglehold on the toy line, and it’s taken until now for an adversary to finally show up that can go toe to toe with it.
The concept of the movie is simple: man versus alien. That basic plotline had been around in one form or another in cinema for years, from every B-movie in the ’50s to what may be the defining man (or woman)-versus-alien movie: Alien. But what Predator did was take a well-worn concept and bend it just slightly to capture the zeitgeist of that particular moment in time. In 1987, action heroes reigned. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, Seagal and others had pumped out hit after hit of bullet-laced, knuckle-crunching violence to the point where it was just possible audiences had grown weary of the umpteenth movie of a human juggernaut pushed to the edge that wasn’t going to take it anymore and was going to kill a lot of bad guys.
Our heroes were unkillable, and the only suspense left was how many people would action hero star “A” kill in this movie.
And, even worse, our villains were pop-culture superstars. Freddy Kreuger adorned lunchboxes. Jason Voorhees was the darling of Halloween costumes.
It was the right time and the right place for something different.
Predator was different.
Predator started out as the prototypical action vehicle, where the muscled men killed the bad guys with spectacular displays of violence. Light a cigar, make a corny tagline, and go home with a grin, right?
Right… until they started dying.
Predator took the expectations we had become comfortable with and destroyed them. Suddenly this action movie where the heroes more or less come through unscathed turned into a genuine horror movie, with a brand new villain that wasn’t cracking jokes for the audience. People died and died hard, and it was exactly what the cinema needed to shake it out of its tiresome formula. Suddenly nothing felt safe. Our hero was up against something stronger, faster, bigger, and more deadly than he could deal with alone… but he was alone.
And that’s how you build both a better movie, and a lasting icon.
NECA’s Jungle Extraction Dutch comes with a lot of baggage. We’re going to want not just good toys, but great toys. The quasi-statues that NECA figures have, on occasion, been in the past just won’t cut it, and it’s gratifying that they’ve risen to the challenge and made a figure that can stand tall and proud with the high bar established with the previous battalion of Predator figures.
From an articulation standpoint, Dutch hit almost every note perfectly. He takes a cue from NECA’s Rocky figures with a combo of ball-jointed hips with a soft flexible overlay and Hasbro-styled knees that allow nearly 90 degrees of flexibility. This means Dutch can do anything from a split to bringing his leg up perpendicular to his body. The absence of double knees prohibits Marvel Legends range of motion, but the articulation that is there works so well for what Dutch needs to do that, unless you want him squatting, you won’t notice it, and I’m an articulation whore.
The Hasbro-styled elbows also allow 90 degrees of bend, which means Dutch can hold his machine gun with both hands uninhibited by excess plastic. The shirt and vest is a one-piece sculpt made of the same soft rubber as the crotch piece, which allows a decent amount of wiggle room for his torso articulation. The grenades sculpted onto the vest seem a little small, but maybe it’s to make Dutch seem larger and imposing. Puny grenades!
Dutch comes with four weapons: pistol, machine gun, large “stick around” blade and smaller knife. While his left hand won’t hold any of them convincingly, his right hand does a good enough job of picking up the slack. He holds the guns especially well. The trigger finger has just enough rubbery flex to it so it slides solidly into place and looks like he’s about to squeeze off a round.
Dutch’s face-sculpt is a dead-on likeness, complete with Arnie’s trademark crazed glare. Of the four Dutch figures both out and upcoming, the sculpted cigar is unique to this head. It’s permanently attached, so if you want this figure to be cigarless, you’ll have to buy another Dutch. Personally, I like it; it adds to his overall bad-ass aura. Nonchalant Dutch smokes cigars and laughs at overgrown aliens, ha ha ha!
His skin has a nice texture to it that enhances the overall effect. The stubble is subtle yet convincing; he looks like he was pulled right out of a still frame of the movie. His head is on a balljoint that allows for plenty of expressive positioning. I like being able to cock a figure’s head slightly regardless of whether they’re looking up or down because it adds that little touch of expressiveness that straight-up-down-left-right doesn’t.
Finally, the paint job is immaculate. Occasionally the Predator’s can suffer from off center paint details on the sculpted netting, but the paint on the camouflage is crisp, the face paint is appropriately gritty, and the highlights and lowlights on his shirt and jacket give everything a well-worn look without looking sloppy.
Overall NECA did not disappoint with this Dutch figure. It’s a great figure with a lot of personality and makes a nice addition to the Predator family. Now if only they would flesh out the rest of the team…