Predator (1987)

Rating: 8/10 (7 August 2019)

Directed by John McTiernan. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham, Elpidia Carrillo, Richard Chaves, Jesse Ventura, Shane Black. (R)
Macho mercenaries head into the jungles of Central America on a rescue mission but find themselves being picked off one by one by a cloaked alien hunter. Starts out like a Reagan-era special forces actioner ("Rambo: First Blood Part 2" meets "Commando" by way of "The Delta Force")--serviceable but hardly noteworthy--but gets good quick once the Predator starts thinning out the ranks of Schwarzenegger's elite crew. Oodles of blood, sweat, bullets and testosterone; material elevated by Alan Silvestri's propulsive score, Donald McAlpine's robust jungle photography, Stan Winston's striking creature design. A shame that cast member Shane Black didn't punch up the unremarkable script, but director McTiernan keeps things moving (and pulses pounding) skillfully; he'd follow this up with "Die Hard" the following year and "The Hunt for Red October" in 1990, an unbroken run that puts the entire careers of most other action helmsmen to shame.
80/100