"If it bleeds, we can kill."

Rating: Null/10 (29 August 2004)

This is one of those pictures where Schwarzenegger actually got lucky. The film's strength is that it can stand on its own without him. Of course, he gives a good performance in all but how demanding could the role really be?

This film is great on so many levels. First, director John McTiernan does a phenomenal job here. As far as I'm concerned, this is his best work. Next, you've got an amazing score by Alan Silvestri - a musician who needs no introduction. Lastly, there's the creature itself. However, the thanks for that is a somewhat vague mixture of the Thomas screenwriters and the horde of special effects designers brought into the project. Apparently, there was some trouble with the "look" of the creature once production started. Nevertheless, the result was the true star of the film - a real marvel of science fiction and horror.
Although this film may solely be for action fans (there's a number of one-liners), I argue that it achieves much more in credibility. This is actually a well-crafted suspenseful adrenaline rush of horror. Easily, one of the best films of all time.