Pick the next cast member to become governor and win!

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2005)

Major "Dutch" Schaeffer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) runs a ragtag commando troop that specializes in difficult search and rescue missions. They're called in to assist in finding an important diplomat in the Central American jungle, but there may be more to their mission than meets the eye. As if a human-fueled plot twist isn't enough, there just may be something not quite human and not quite friendly waiting in the jungles, as well.
The first half of Predator is a fairly standard actioner/war film. The second half veers more into sci-fi/horror/thriller territory. It's an interesting combination, and succeeds in the end, but a few flaws keep getting in the way.
At times, the script is self-consciously cheesy (how about those gratuitous Flex Magazine-styled shots?). Although I'm usually a fan of cheese, it doesn't always work here--it's both too overt and too infrequent. Another problem is that the script is occasionally too weighed down with mumbled jargon that's meant to situate the characters in a "real world" with an extensive history, but which viewers would be hard-pressed to make heads or tails of. There are also a number of plot developments, including character decisions, that make little sense if you think about them much, but on the other hand, the film is basically an excuse for an extended game of hide and seek, punctuated by explosions, dismemberment's, and so on. There isn't much of a political subtext, despite the fact that the film features not just one but two future governors blowing the crap out of various people, buildings and trees with high-powered weapons and frequently calling opponents "m-f'er".
Also, the film works best initially if the viewer doesn't expect the developments of the second half. But director John McTiernan spoils the surprise to an extent with repeated "heat sensor imaging" cinematography. Many viewers will wonder what the heck those shots are supposed to be--it has a tendency to pull them out of the film. The film probably would have worked better with a more abrupt change of genre ala From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).
But, believe it or not, I liked the film on the whole (although I have to say that I wanted to like it even more than I did). McTiernan very effectively builds up suspense as soon as our team of rag-tags enters the Central American jungle, and the first big action blow-out is exciting, even if I couldn't tell who was shooting at who or why half of the time.
And that's nothing compared to the suspense created during the hide and seek phase with the predator. Everything is amped up enough in this section that I didn't usually care if our characters uttered dialogue that made little sense or took actions that seemed ridiculous. I was just geared up to see more stuff blown up and disfigured. The predator itself was superb, from its look and accoutrement's to its behavior, thanks to actor Kevin Peter Hall. Even the predator's "music" was great--that rhythmic sound accompanied by a synthesized drone--it reminded me of the musical theme of the Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975). By the climactic showdown, I had pretty much forgiven the film of any and all flaws--I was with McTiernan all the way.
The film is really only worth watching if you're in the mood for a somewhat clunky auctioneer/horror flick with little in the way of comprehensible plot development, but most of us get in the mood for such fare frequently enough, and at those times, Predator just might hit the spot.