Predator (1987) Reviews

• A masterpiece - the best action sci-fi classic film of all time my number 1 personal favorite

  ivo-cobra82018-01-01

  SPOILER: Predator (1987) is a masterpiece - the greatest bad-ass best Sci-Fi action film of all time. I love this Sci-Fi action flick to death! Predator is Epic Sci-fi Action movie of the 80's, my number 1 personal favorite best action sci-fi classic film of all time. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and the rest of his team are all the time in the jungle hunted by an alien Predator, that's what makes this film and story more interesting than. This is very fast paced action flick, you never get bored or you fall a sleep. My favorite best Action Sci-Fi Flick movie was always Predator and It always will be. Is my number 1 Schwarzenegger best Action Sci-Fi Epic movie. The best action movie ever made! Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer is my comic book hero this is my hero. The hunted becomes the hunter on the end of the film when he camouflage with mud to defend him self against the Predator-ultimate hunter and hunts him down by setting booby-traps for him the best! "If it bleeds, we can kill it." In the remote jungle of a Central American country, an elite group of commandos led by Major Dutch Schaeffer, embarks on a CIA mission to clear out a guerrilla stronghold and rescue the remaining hostages. However, the hunters become the hunted when a highly intelligent, otherworldly being slowly and methodically starts killing off members of Dutch's team. Possessing a chameleon like camouflaging ability and a deadly alien arsenal, the creature tracks down the soldiers one by one. This is the finest action movie of all time. And, yet, believe it or not, it's not the action in the film itself that makes this be the case. This is especially odd in a movie with an $98 million budget (in 1987!), with multiple huge explosions, with thousands of bullets fired, and scores of stuntmen used. This movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Richard Chaves, Elipidia Carillo, Shane Black, Sonny Landham and Kevin Peter Hall they are all believable in their roles and even add to the humor that this movie has. This is obviously the best of the Predator movies and still one of the most highly liked thrillers today. And let's all show respect for Kevin Peter Hall, who died a year after he had made Predator 2. Predator is the 1980's most adrenaline-pumping, action-packed, violent mainstream film of the decade, a film replete with nearly non-stop action, loud, messy violence, huge muscles, big guns, and an extraterrestrial killing machine with infrared sight and a laser cannon on his shoulder thrown in for good measure. The film's budget was around $15 million. 20th Century Fox released it in the United States on June 12, 1987, where it grossed $59,735,548. Initial critical reaction was mixed; criticism focused on the thin plot. Predator is a 1987 American science-fiction action directed by John McTiernan. 10/10 My all time favorite action film I love it to death it is my personal favorite action film of all time. Predator is a masterpiece, one of the best Sci-Fi action films of al time. I own the DVD and I also own the Blu-ray disc. I used to had ultimate hunter edition on Blu-ray but the subtitles were awful and the picture was lousy and wax like plastic. I sold it to someone that need it and I bought the original early release version on Blu-ray instead.

• The quintessential action movie. One of my favorite films of all time.

  lotus_chief2003-12-09

  Predator is the classic action film. What makes it so unique is that the story starts off as a simple but exhilarating rescue mission; but then it suddenly switches gears and becomes a fight for survival for everyone involved. The genius of that! The cast is wonderful; Arnold as Dutch was very convincing and commanding, yet humbled and low-key in his performance. The only way you would know that he's the star is that his face is on the cover, he's the leader of the group, and he survives at the end. He was 'one of the crew' instead of a one-man wrecking machine like in so many of his other films; that was very nice to see. Carl Weathers turns in a good performance as Dillon, as does Bill Duke as Mac, Jesse Ventura as Blain and Sonny Landham as Billy. The whole cast worked very well together. The one thing that still astonishes me to this day, 16 years later, is indeed the Predator. The special effects in this film was very much ahead of its time, the camouflage was pure genius. I still can't believe my eyes when I see the camouflage effects; it blows me away that even now in 2003 it could sit alongside the FX seen in TODAY'S films with no shame. I'm waiting for Fox to put out a special edition DVD with behind the scenes footage explaining how the Predator was done; from the effects with its sight and the beautiful camouflage, to the suit. I caught a little snippet of a behind the scenes feature on AMC or Bravo, and ever since I've been anticipating its inclusion on a new DVD (WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?!??!) Predator is evidence of how action films should be done. A great story and relentless action, all progressing the story along. A timeless classic, one of the best films of all time. **** out of **** stars P.S. The 'forest massacre' scene is one of the funniest scenes in movie history!!

• Arnie is at his best in this sci-fi classic!

  The_Void2006-02-01

  This film will always have special place for me, as aside from being one of the best horror/sci-fi films of the eighties; it's also a huge childhood favourite of mine. Despite the fact that I've seen it dozens of times as a kid, I have only seen it once during adulthood; and that single viewing was more than enough to remind me what it is that I love about this film! Predator works as a macho action film, gory horror and intriguing sci-fi, and despite it's short running time of just 100 minutes, it somehow manages to find room for all three. The fact that it stars action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger ensures that the film will always be favourably remembered. He's not a good actor, but Arnie always manages to bring that extra something to his movies. The plot is deliciously simple and follows a group of commandos that go off into the jungle on a secret mission. However, things go awry when it turns out that they aren't the only ones with weapons there. Finding the skinned bodies of the last group of men that entered the jungle is about to become the least of their worries... The jungle makes for a great setting for an action sci-fi flick such as this. These sorts of films tend to be set in space, so seeing the action down here on earth is different; and the fact that it's set in the jungle, with it's dense foliage, ensures that Die Hard-director John McTiernan is able to bump up the suspense, as just like in the Vietnam war; the soldiers are dealing with an unknown enemy. The atmosphere really is excellent, and the special effects help to create a futuristic tone, while the suspense builds and makes sure that the audience are on the edge of their seats at all times. Predator was released hot on the heels of the success of James Cameron's amazing 'Aliens' - but don't be thinking this film is merely a rip off following a trend, Predator has more than enough up it's sleeve to ensure that isn't the case. The action is great, and director McTiernan clearly knows what he's doing. It's fast and furious, and the amount of weapons on display ensures that the film is sure to delight fans of macho action films. The fact that the lead actor is a monster of a man doesn't exactly hurt the film either! Now, Arnold Schwarzenegger may well be a terrible actor; but it doesn't matter because it's his screen presence, not his acting ability, that makes his performances what they are. At times he's cringe-worthy, but it's hard to deny his prowess when it comes to the action sequences, and that is all a film of this nature needs. Arnie isn't the only big man in the film either, as an assortment of muscle men, including ex-wrestler Jesse Ventura, and Carl Weathers; Rocky's Apollo Creed, among other B-movie actors, join him. The man himself also finds himself a very worthy ally, in the form of the movie's central alien. The Predator may not be as beautiful as the creature from 'Alien', but it's just as inventive. Here we have an extra terrestrial that isn't merely trying to breed, or to 'phone home' - but one that is actually there to hunt humans for sport! Aside from being ingenious, the idea also borders on frightening. The gore here is gratuitous, but never goes over the top and on the whole, Predator is a film that never really got the credit it deserves. It's mindless fun - but its damn good mindless fun!

• Very, very tense and murderously suspenseful

  adam_ahmad2000-11-24

  First of all, if you haven't seen this action, suspense and violence extravaganza, you most certainly are not a true action movie afficionado. The immediate grabbing feature of this movie is its score, very imaginatively composed and created by Alan Silvestri whose other credits include the Back to the Future series and other gems like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The tempo and build up which the score lends to the film engage its viewers with feelings of fear and nerve wracking suspense for what lurks within the thick of the forest. Take note of Sonny Landham's comment;"there's something out there,and it ain't no man. The action is fast, furious and merciless. The commandos are killed off one by one, leaving Arnie, Carl Weathers and the surviving members extremely terrified and on the verge of breaking down. Note the heated arguments that some of the commandos get into with each other. There is very animated and fiery action in the beginning (assault on the terrorist camp) but as we are introduced to the true terror of the jungle (or should I say, outer space), the action takes a turn for the more insane eg.Arnie running away armed only with a knife and trembling in fear, almost drowning in a waterfall and thereafter, continually pursued by the Predator). All this followed by a half hour long jungle battle mano a mano with spears, rocks and fists and hall deafening yells by both warriors. Very, very fierce and macho stuff I assure you all. I shall not go into the other intricacies of the film and will leave it to the curiosity of potential/virgin viewers to find out for themselves. "Predator" is essentially one of the few action movies that truly lives up to its name and delivers the thrills and spills in no small amount and at breakneck speed. True connoisseurs of hard action.....YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!! 9.5/10

• Ball busting Vietnam allegory McTiernan style delivers wholesale.

  Spikeopath2008-03-04

  I will start this by giving my ratings, yes plural because to me as a sci-fi/action film fan the film has few peers, it is 100% pure suspense testo explosive fun that along side John McTiernan's other action template Die Hard, stands the test of time to the point that it will be thrilling viewers long after we have left this earth. So with that I give it a personal rating of 10/10, it's faultless for my needs in a genre I indulge and lose myself in on a frequent roster. For any other movie fan aware of the genre's traits and peccadilloes without being a fan of sorts, then I rate the film easily at 7 or 8 out of 10, what's not to like here? The film is without a shadow of a doubt another allegory of Vietnam, a crack unit of soldiers are stuck in a central American jungle being killed off by an invisible enemy, the soldiers are there after being lied to by the powers that be, tactics are paramount but the enemy that stalks them holds all the aces. This crack special rescue team are a testosterone fuelled band of beef, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Sonny Landham, Bill Duke & Jesse Ventura, these five alone have a combined muscle weight heavy enough to have sunk the Titanic, and McTiernan uses the beefcakes to the max in a series of joyous ball busting sequences. The dialogue is sharp and funny with Schwarzenegger quipping his way thru the first reel, and the score from Alan Silvestri pumps the blood at just the right time, whilst the effects crew have done sterling work to bring this "hardest man in the world versus bad ass alien predator" to life, none more so than when viewing POV heat seeking infa-red shots as our deadly alien killer. The end throws up some interesting thoughts, that have for better or worse? Been fleshed out with further films involving the predator of the title, but one should judge this film as a single entry because it sits at the top of the tree as one of the best of it's kind; so truly this is a benchmark for the genre that will take some beating as far as I'm concerned. Enjoy 10/10