Essentially, this is similar to my Alien review, and will attempt to attach the image of the "collector's art edition" I purchased. This review will show up on the "Ultimate Hunter's Edition" version of Predator on blu ray, because that's truly what this disc is, despite the "art" title.
Picked up this art variant for a great price at $7.99, and was pretty excited. I have a collection of Alien/ Aliens and Predator movies and memorabilia, and when I saw both Alien and Predator were given an art variant, I, like the obsessed lemming I am when it comes to these movies, ran off and grabbed them.
I understood that beyond the art, especially at the sale pricing, it was simply an art change- I wouldn't be getting anything extra from the discs themselves, and that I was fine with.
I was however, expecting a bit more care with the actual art included.
The art itself is printed on a thin piece of cardboard, then applied to the front of the regular blu ray with a dab of stickem directly in the center of the case. This stickem, in both cases, was not enough to keep the cardboard attached to the case for either movie. The cardboard itself, while nice stock, is cut in such a way that it can only be applied to the outside of the case- it cannot be inserted into the blu ray, either to replace the wraparound or even lust in front of the disc- so without the stickem holding it in place, you'll need to find another method on your own. In my case, I used a dab of super glue on each corner, which unfortunately, discolors the white parts of the cardboard, even from behind.
Now, if you don't own Predator, there's no reason not to grab this if you come across it- if you don't care about the art, you can trash it, frame it, or just hang it on a wall. But, being promoted as an art variant/ collector's version, this is being geared towards the collector like myself who probably already owns the movie, or is going to display it somehow. If this applies to you, make sure you understand that you'll need to put a touch of effort into it if you're going to be displaying it- Fox may have produced some nice art for the movies with these new covers, but they didn't properly adhere them to the cases.
It's a shame, because they did do a limited edition art variant of Alien for Comic-Con 2014 that I ordered, and for that, they took the time to actually print the new art onto a new wraparound insert for the blu ray.
Overall, the art is nice, the movie is great, it's just difficult to recommend this unless you're a die-hard or don't already own the movie. It truly feels as if Fox had a ton of extra copies of these movies already laying around that they couldn't unload to retailers, to they slapped on these pieces of cardboard with new art, then sold them to retailers under the "Collector's Art Edition" banner.
If you do grab it, just be prepared to either use the art elsewhere or find a way to stick it to the case somehow- at the sale price of $7.99 I wasn't overly dissatisfied, but if I had paid more, I may have been a little miffed.
Please also be aware that unlike the Alien art variant, Predator does NOT come with a digital HD copy of the movie.
$199.99The price was $249.99
$399.99The price was $649.99
$299.00The price was $399.00
$599.99The price was $749.99
