Predator: More than just muscles and explosions? Some thoughts...

Okay, so I finally revisited Predator (1987) last night. Look, I get the appeal – bulging biceps, explosions galore, macho posturing that could cut diamonds. But does anyone else feel like there's actually something more going on here than just a Schwarzenegger action flick? I'm not saying it's high art, but I'm wondering if we've been dismissing it too easily for its surface-level machismo. Specifically, the way the Predator's cloaking device plays with our perspective. At first, it's just cool alien tech, right? But as the movie progresses, it forces us to see the jungle differently. We're constantly scanning, second-guessing what we see, just like Dutch and his team. It shifts the film from a straightforward action movie into something almost…paranoid. Did anyone else pick up on that? Or am I reading too much into it? And then there's the ending. Dutch, stripped of his high-tech weaponry and forced to rely on his wits and crude traps. It's almost a deconstruction of the entire '80s action hero archetype. He wins not because he's the strongest, but because he's the most adaptable. It's a pretty stark contrast to the beginning of the film, where they're basically mowing down everything in sight with zero regard for strategy or subtlety. Even the Predator honors him in the end. Is that just me, or is the movie hinting at a critique of American military arrogance? I'd love to hear thoughts on this.