Fun Mix of Action and Sci-Fi

Rating: Null/10 (3 March 2017)

Predator (1987)
*** (out of 4)
Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) leads his commando unit into the jungles where they think they're on a simple rescue mission. Pretty soon they realize something strange is going on and one by one they're getting picked off by an invisible figure.
John McTiernan's PREDATOR was a smash hit when it was released and has spawned several sequels as well as a reboot but there's no question that it remains one of the best films of its type. The 80's were full of action movies and one could argue that the entire decade was made up of some of the best action films out there and this one here remains a favorite to many fans of the genre.
There's a lot of very good things here but to me the greatest thing is the final twenty-minutes when we get Schwarzenegger going up against the predator. I'm certainly not going to ruin anything but there's no question that the entire film is leading up to this final battle and I really loved the way the film just dragged it out. Both of the hunters were getting their options ready and I loved the slow build up to the battle. Of course, once the battle starts it has some terrific action pieces. The action throughout the entire movie is rather exciting and we get some rather graphic kills that are quite memorable.
Stan Winston's creature effects are certainly the highlight of the picture and I really loved the look of the predator once its mask is off. THe design alone is some of the best work of Winston's career and it certainly makes for a lot of fun. Even better are the macho cast members with Schwarzenegger leading the way but there's also strong support from Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke and Shane Black among others.
PREDATOR is just a graphic and at times gory action picture full of macho guys doing battle with a terrific creature. While it's certainly not flawless there's no question that it's a lot of fun.