Over-rated Sci-fi-meets-horror Epic

Rating: 6/10 (29 February 2020)

With all-due respect to Schwarzenegger, John McTiernan, and the rest of the folks who played a hand in the production of this movie, it did not live up to my expectations. The story revolves around protagonist Dutch (Schwarzenegger) and his special-ops team on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla warriors in a thick jungle somewhere in Central America. However, upon arrival, they soon realize that the threat is not the guerrillas, but the mysterious "predator": a sly extra-terrestrial "demon who makes trophies of man" capable of camouflaging itself into the jungle and seeking out its prey through a heat-vision enabled mask.
The acting is believable, for the most part, although some of the dialogue is so quiet its barely audible, let alone understandable. Schwarzenegger will always be an entertaining persona to watch, but I can't help but think that his character, Dutch (and for that matter, everyone else's), is too one-dimensional. I left the movie without having developed an emotional attachment for anyone.
This movie, for me, had too many far-fetched circumstances. We see Dutch getting shot in the arm by the predator, and shortly after he is swimming in a river using both his arms as if nothing had happened. Also, would the predator's heat-vision mask really not be able to pick up on Dutch's body heat if he just covered himself in mud? The last scenes are confusing in that the transitions from day to night (and vice-versa) are not clear-cut and lead me to believe that Dutch supposedly is not sleeping (nor eating, for that matter) at this point of the story. In all reality this guy should be exhausted, dehydrated, and starving by the time he has his final face-off with the predator.
There are a lot of aspects of this movie I did enjoy, though. The setting is perfect. I personally do not agree with the politics of Dutch sending a car bomb into a shack of presumably innocent Central American rebels in a reflection of Reagan-era foreign-policy, but the character Anna, the sole survivor of the ambush and the only female role in the film, is represented in a positive light. The music is very effective in adding tension to the atmosphere. It gives the movie almost more of a horror-film vibe than that of a sci-fi movie, but also has very "militaristic" elements at time. I like how the movie takes place almost entirely in the jungle setting, showcasing the lush scenery and a far-from-society, almost primitive atmosphere. The predator itself is the highlight of this movie, although many of the special effects shown off through the character are severely dated by now.
Predator is not bad, but it is not my "cup of tea" and I do not understand what all the hype is about. It is entertaining, and the plot itself is strong, for the most part, but a lot of it just seems implausible. There were times when the predator could have easily killed Dutch. I was almost rooting for the predator by the end of the film. And the very last scene, I'll just say was... interesting. I may or may not go back and watch it again at a later point in time, but overall it left me a little underwhelmed.