If it bleeds, it can be killed

Rating: 9/10 (2 November 2012)

When a special-forces outfit is assigned to locate a downed US military helicopter in the remote jungles of Central America, their mission takes a lethal twist with the discovery of an alien enemy apparently impervious to their skills and weaponry. One by one the commandos are picked-off by the shape-shifting creature, as the once-cocky hunters become the hunted.
One of the great sci-fi movies of the 80's, and in my opinion, the one that firmly established Schwarzenegger as a sci-fi mainstay following his success a couple of years earlier with "The Terminator". The cast of muscle-men assembled includes pro wrestler turned actor, turned politician Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Rocky's old sparring nemesis Carl Weathers, ex-porn actor Sonny Landham and actor-director Bill Duke among others. Veteran R.G. Armstrong has a cameo early in the picture as the military brass who effectively sends the outfit to their doom, while the imposing 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall dons the mandibles and inter-galactic costume to interpret the indestructible predator.
Pulsating soundtrack is matched by the loud overall sound, courtesy of about ten-thousand rounds of ammunition expended throughout the picture, while the jungle sets and costumes are first rate production values. Director John McTiernan went from strength to strength following "Predator", first with "Die Hard", then "The Hunt for Red October" and shows the talent for storytelling and suspense here in his second feature in just his mid-thirties. A much less suspenseful and largely forgettable sequel in "Predator 2" followed in 1990.