Weapon Of Choice: Handheld Minigun

EARLY USAGE

Possibly the best movie prop ever. This obviously first appeared in Predator but Predator did earn it some additional cameos almost straight away. The film crew who shot the movie Scrooged just after Predator was released just had to have it. Lee Majors appears in a mini spoof with the weapon where Santa and his Elves are forced to resort to firearms. Ol’ Painless will settle most scores. Cameron was next to use it in Terminator 2, the scene originally called for the T-800 to open fire with MAC-10’s, though Cameron thought better of it and the minigun was chosen instead. The same weapon from Predator, minus M-60 foregrip. Terminator 2 may actually be the last appearance of the actual Predator prop, individual mockups seem to have been used afterwards.

RECENT USAGE

More recently the weapon can be seen in Predators, probably the best example since the appearance in G.I. Joe and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (above) would mean, well, actually having to watch those movies. Not a good idea in either case. In Predators the director didn’t make the weapon a character of its own like McTiernan did. E.g. McTiernan had the RPM adjusted so that the viewer could see the barrels in rotation (And also help Ventura with recoil, even for blanks). In Predators, the director is stupid enough to have the weapon rotate at the same frame rate, which in some scenes makes it appear like the muzzle flash is actually CGI because it is coming from what appear to be stationary barrels. It’s not really as formidable as it should be either. In Predator, ‘Anytime’ made his first retreat on the receiving end of a full rip of the minigun. Here, the gun can’t even suppress a stationary animal. It’s still one of the best things about ‘Predators’ however.

BEST USAGE

The first appearance, easily the best. McTiernan isn’t one of those directors who backs down on trying something like a hand-held minigun on film, others might have been afraid of it. But McTiernan makes it work and then some. It’s a character in the movie, even has its own name. Practical? No way. Manly? Yes sir. Ventura helps sell the gun, Jesse is a big guy at 6’3, 240. Even the report of the gun sounds best here, that distinct clang/bell toll is unmistakable. If you’re being stalked by a Predator, this is the weapon you’d want and sure enough, Ol’ Painless is the first thing to make ‘Anytime’ go away and think things over. The M-60 foregrip also makes this original version look that extra bit menacing too. An honourable mention goes to Schwarzenegger’s T-800 laying down a wall of 7.62 in T2.