This one holds water

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2007)

Twenty years on, and several sequels later, Predator without a doubt, is not only the best in the series, but still a great, inventive and incredibly suspenseful movie.
Much of the commando team proves memorable, notably Jesse Ventura as Blaine and fantastic Carl Weathers as Dillon. In the lead, Schwarzenegger as "Dutch" is classic Arnold. Here he seems completely at ease in his character with good dashes of humor, "What's the matter Dillon? CIA got you pushing too many pencils?" This is probably my favorite role for Arnie.
The story here is simple but effective, the filmmakers settling on a "less is more" strategy in almost every category. A special forces team on a central American jungle mission are tracked and killed by an alien hunter. While some of the scenes are lacking not due to dating, or technological constraints - surprisingly the elementary special effects still do the job - but more obviously budget constraints. The guerilla camp raid action scene feels a bit limited in this respect and I think budget had a lot to do with it. The sequence is also probably in line with other slam bang type 80s action movies also.
Other flaws and smudges? I think there are some idiotic death scenes in the movie belying the intelligence portrayed by members of Dutch's group. Sonny Landhams last stand with his big knife is stupid, even though you just hear it. Authenticity is also a question with so many recent movies going mega realistic on military tactics. I just hate seeing so many people shooting automatic rifles from the hip. Put that gun to your shoulder soldier.
The music score is fantastic, and memorable. The predator is judiciously revealed, a tactic that definitely adds to the suspense factor of the movie. McTiernan's pre Die Hard direction is awfully good. He keeps everything at a simmer and when its time, the movie goes to full boil.
The script's subtlety comes to the fore with a great final showdown with the wonderfully menacing Predator. Dutch uses the cunning of a hunter, and largely, his own two hands and not guns to win the battle. This is a rare thing in modern action movies.
On the subject of sequels, I am a fan of Predator 2, but anything that followed, including the new AvP Requiem was trash. The only stand out criticism, in Predator 2 and AvP R being a clear escalation on the part of the filmmakers in the gore department, and the others, the overwrought special effects. I'm not squeamish or against good computer effects, but I think the real strength of the first movie has nothing to do with blood or bombs, it is that there were strong characters and in the gore and effects department, less was indeed more. Its not hard to find why all the sequels of Predator were such failures. That and most of them were just crappy movies.