Predator (1987)

With the release of Alien Vs Predator i decided to watch the original Predator movie today. I've seen Predator many many times since i first watched it back in 1989 and i love it each and every time. I think Predator 2 has a slight edge over this but Predator has a slight edge over Aliens BUT i think they are all extremely excellent films.

Just in case you don't know, it's about a big alien whose race lives to hunt worthy prey and Arnold Schwarzenegger's team of commandos are that such prey. The commandos are sent into a South American jungle to find some missing airmen who are being held by guerrilla's. They do what they got to do which attracts the attention of the predator who is hunting in the area. So the predator goes and hunts the commandos with the aid of his kick ass weapons and cloaking device. The commandos also have a female prisoner.

I think the whole sub-plot about the so called missing airmen isn't too important to the viewer but makes it possible for the commandos to be there. The entire concept of Predator is really clever and it certainly made me sit on the edge of my seat while watching it the first time. It is kind of spooky in a terrifying way as we don't see the predator properly for ages but see through his eyes which adds to the tension.

The effects are great, the acting is OK and the story is cool too. I really like the music and especially the spooky twisted jungle sounds that we hear when we see through the eyes of the predator. This is a sci-fi action movie that isn't just full of cheap explosions. It really does have great atmosphere. Everyone who likes sci-fi and/or action movies should like this. If you don't then your taste in movies suck! This in my humble opinion is probably the second best sci-fi movie of all time.

Alien Vs Predator has little of what made this so excellent so if you haven't seen Predator and thought AVP sucked don't think that this will. Predator is absolutely fantastic viewing. 10/10

Fmovies: I was 12 when I first saw Predator and it has been a firm sci-fi favorite ingrained in my psyche ever since. Predator, now 23 years old, hasn't aged and still feels current - if you can excuse the 80's testosterone. It just goes to show that expensive CGI is no match for a good story with a colourful and competent cast.

The story follows Dutch (Schwarzenegger) the leader of a specialized group of bad-ass soldiers who run rescue missions in areas Chuck Norris would be scared to go. He is duped into a supposed rescue mission in South America by an old college, Dillon (Carl Weathers) who now works for the CIA.

Once in the Jungle, Dillon's true reason for using Dutch becomes apparent when the team comes across the mutilated remains of a previous special ops team sent in by Dillon. The team is not there to rescue anyone, but stop an arms deal. Someone begins picking off the team one by one and and to quote Billy (Sonny Landham) who provides the spiritual insight "There is something out there, and it ain't no man". The action begins...

Alien hunters on safari, CIA operatives, professional black ops soldiers, South American rebels and a whole lot of hot steamy jungle in the mix and you have one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made.

The 80's style testosterone fueled acting gives great insight into the period and muscle-bound cast perform well and this must be Arnie's finest performance. Thankfully there isn't much of the of cheesy 80's dialog, like that painfully delivered by Bill Paxton in Aliens and Predator 2.

Like Ridley Scott's Alien, the franchise has only gone downhill since and fans have eagerly been waiting for Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal to restore the franchise to it's former glory with the release of Predators.

A timeless classic and sci-fi masterpiece. 10/10

Consider that so many of the roles that Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on are so similar, including Predator, and yet this film is so much better than most of the others. I enjoy watching his movies just because he's such a watch-able guy, even in his bad movies (which are many), but I think the thing that really makes Predator stand out is its simplicity. The movie starts, the guys get dropped in the jungle, lots of blood and carnage flies across the screen, and the movie simply ends. No romance, no complex back story, no soldier struggling with problems in his past or even trauma caused by the horrible things he experiences during the movie. This is one of the things that made First Blood so good. It may turn out to be a movie about a lot of muscle-bound meatheads in the woods, but it doesn't insult the audience or try to apply complexity to a story that can't support it.

Interestingly, the movie features two eventual governors. Jesse Ventura even wrote a book which was released while he was the governor of Minnesota and he used his favorite line in this movie as the title. And the book's actually pretty interesting; there are some funny stories in it about things that went on while they were filming this movie. Arnold, on the other hand, is actually (and thankfully) given a relatively small amount of stupid one-liners, which are an idiotic byproduct of hard action movies that I've never really understood the necessity for. They don't reveal anything about the characters who say them, they don't add to the story or further the plot, and with rare exceptions, they're not funny. But I guess comic relief has to come from somewhere, and since complexity is not a requisite for movies like this, I can't really expect a lot of thought being put into the comedic content either.

I watched Predator having never seen it from beginning to end and having just re-watched the original Alien. I am currently in the process of re-watching both series', for obvious reasons. One thing that I notice about both of them is the way they take their time in introducing the enemies which, in both films, are aliens. Predator doesn't waste much time dwelling on the origin of the alien, we pretty much assume it came from a space ship that flashed across the screen at the opening of the movie. Alien, on the other hand, went into remarkable detail about where its alien came from. What Predator does do, very effectively, I think, is that it has the guys fighting some very human enemies, which allows the movie to later take its sweet time in having them realize that the new enemy is not human at all. This is also, incidentally, weakly rehashed in the sequel, using the secrecy of this mission and team as an excuse to have more guys who don't know what's going on.

The death scenes are actually pretty tasteful, given the genre. They are just gory enough to illustrate the violence of the enemy without being gratuitous. Just enough is shown to show how vicious the alien is, and there are some strange things done to and with the bodies that make you wonder about the alien's intentions or needs. The first deaths suggest vengeance if not some sort of ritual, but later ones suggest that the alien may be feeding off of his (or her) victims. Oddly enough, it is not until the awful Predator 2 that we learn that it kills for sport.

Yes, the movie occasionally gets embarrassingly macho, but the skill with which it is put together far overshadows any tough-guy goofiness. Consider, for example,

Predator fmovies. One of the classic sci-fi movies and one of the most entertaining action movies ever made. Certainly one of the best Arnold movies, along with Terminator 1 and 2. Mix a simple but effective story, one cool alien, well directed action scenes, Arnold kicking ass and you get an top notch action movie. Sure, there are some exaggerated macho performances, but John knows how to do it with style.

So if you're a young (but not too young) movie viewer who haven't yet seen Predator, be sure to do so to get a sample of action 80's style with Arnold at his peak.

Rating: 8/10

"Predator" is a genuine Classic. Action, Horror, Sci-Fi it's all there. Lets see for starters we have Arnold Schwarzenegger, on top form riding to the peak of his action status, leading a team of tough Commandos. Made up of a great cast including Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura and Bill Duke. They're on a mission to rescue Hostages from Gorilla forces but are double crossed by the C.I.A, stop there and you already have a great action movie.

But oh no, this film also has an Intergalactic Alien Big Game hunter equipped with plasma cannons, Stealth Invisibility and Thermal Vision. It would be so easy to imagine this film going nowhere if it where to have fallen into the wrong hands. You could really imagine a plot of an Alien hunting Commandos in the jungle coming off a bit lame but no, Fox thankfully had faith and McTierman had a vision. Fox's faith may have been down to there two previous unexpected big hits "Aliens" and "Commando" which you could possibly say this film is a hybrid of.

Film also benefits from being made in that 80s early 90s era where your action film could take its self seriously yet still not too seriously. One minute we see a fairly realistic use of of weapons and tactics the next Arnie throws a truck down a hill equipped with C4 and Jesse Ventura pulls out his M-134 Mini Gun and shreds some Gorillas.

The Predator it's self is a classic design, thanks to the genius Stan Winston, and in my opinion never looked better than in this movie. It looked slightly fake in Pred 2(Not a bad film too) and don't get me started on the travesty that is AvP. It could have been a different story if they had stuck to the big rubber turtle they had shot scenes with thank god Arnold himself suggested Winston.

I won't spoil the plot for anyone who's not yet seen it I just urge you to see this movie.

Back in a time when the term "popcorn movies" actually meant something, Predator stands out especially today, mostly due to its high quality writting and top notch action. This movie never gets boring, as we watch the characters interact with each other, it brings to mind the feeling I got when watching the Marines from Aliens; a great feeling of comradary and gruff friendship. The special effects, while dated, in my humble opinion look better then the snazzy "futuristic" effects we are seeing today. The Govenator is perfect for the lead role in this film, he commands a certain respect both from the characters and audience alike.

The title character of the film is still cool and frightening by todays standards. The filmakers knew how to use the Predator makeup, they shadow it in as much darkness as possible, cover it in mudd and grime, which hides what could have been very obvious makeup "guy in a suit" effects. The guy who plays Predator did everything he could to add some life to the creature, to make people think he could stand up against Arnold in the end. Its really alot of fun to watch the Predator hunt these hapless soldiers, when just a while ago they were kicking ass everywhere they went.

As we watch the downfall of summer "popcorn" movies, its good to know we can still go back and watch something great like this film.