Predator

Rating: 8/10 (13 May 2009)

Along with James Cameron's ALIENS, John McTiernen's PREDATOR has been substantial in influence towards sci-action-horror over the last 20 years. Look at the Sci-fi channel as an example. MANY of their films over the years practically rip off PREDATOR in regards to a group of commandos/soldiers called in to defeat an alien/monster of some kind, falling prey to it one by one. Sure, the locale and creature may change, but PREDATOR's influence is undeniable. I think a major success in regards to PREDATOR is the way the film establishes the military unit under Arnold Schwarzenegger as very dependent and reliable on one another, each has a function within the group and they have been together for a long time. They've survived some pretty difficult situations, know their role quite well, have fundamental skills detriment to their team's success, operate with nerves of steel, and understand the objective. Harsh environments they are accustomed to, and under the command of Arnold, the group work well as a team.
But, the enemy they will face is unlike any other and it has weapons and arsenal at it's disposal the group will discover the hard way. Duped into an operation by CIA agent Carl Weathers, Arnold and his men believe they are entering a jungle to rescue hostages, but soon discover that horrifying sight of dead green berets, skinned alive and hanging upside down from trees. After wiping out a camp of Russian and Central American soldiers, Arnold has a shouting match with Weathers over their being double-crossed into an operation that was a lie. But, they must put aside their differences when an alien hunter begins pursuing them, hidden by a cloaking mechanism, using the trees at great height to travel, equipped with a laser that can blow big holes into bodies. It seems that as long as the creature is able evade gunfire, it is almost unstoppable. But, as Arnold soon realizes, the thing can bleed which means it can also die. The rub is being able to slow it down or trap it so that they can shoot it when the creature is in a compromised state.
PREDATOR is a film I can watch over and over mainly because the jungle setting is ideal for a sci-fi horror variation on THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. The idea of an alien hunting humans, collecting skulls as trophies, moving through the jungle undetected until it's prey figure out who they are up against, is so thrilling because of the design(..gear and weaponry)of the Predator. How Arnold accidentally outsmarts the creature(..whose eyesight goes by the heat projected from human bodies)through the use of mud and ingenuity(..how to make traps from the surroundings)is certainly fun to watch. I think that's another credit to the movie..the humans have to depend on their brains to combat this adversary because the creature has superior weaponry. Entertaining, colorful cast of big, hulking macho men such as Jesse Ventura(..he got to fire the mini-gun called "Old Painless"), Bill Duke(..as the steely-eyed pal of Ventura's who tells Weathers that if he kept on making noise rustling leaves, he'd cut him and leave him to bleed slowly!), and Sonny Landham(..who has a plum role as a quiet expert tracker who fancies himself a proud warrior who decides towards the end to square off with the Predator in an unseen duel which doesn't last too long). The scene where the soldiers fire off rounds of ammo at the Predator barely affecting it at all is quite amusing. There are some dumb decisions made by several members of the group, perhaps out of heated emotion, but overall PREDATOR attains a well-balanced diet of action and horror, with a memorable foe. One question mark I've always had is the casting of Elpidia Carrillo as a female local within the jungle who is taken along as a hostage. It seems she's in the film just so that the cast could feature a female who speaks Spanish.