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Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his team of commandos (Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, Shane Black) are hired to save a politician whose helicopter crashed somewhere in a rebel-infested jungle in Central America, and they're to be accompanied by an intelligence officer, Dillon, which is the first sign that something isn't quite right. The next sign is when, once in the jungle they find several American soldiers hanging upside down from a tree - dead, skinned and decapitated. Eventually, they storm a rebel camp, and do what they do best, fight until everything is laid to waste. They don't find the politician, but apparently that wasn't the real reason of their mission, rather the CIA wanted to get their hands on enemy intel, and Dutch was lied to as he has specialized on rescue missions exclusively. And for that reason, Dillon also insists to take a woman, Anna (Elpidia Carrillo), captive, even if it might slow them down. But none of them is their biggest problem, because soon enough the commandos are picked out by some invisible creature one by one, killed and mutilated, just like the skinned bodies they've found. And it takes them a while to find out that the creature is actually a hunter from outer space who's killing for sport and trophies. And while his men are falling left and right, Dutch by the by finds out the weak spots of the creature, like it can only see heat, and under certain circumstances it has to turn itself visible. But even with all that knowledge, it's an uphill battle for Dutch.

Granted, the macho attitude of this movie might be a bit outdated, but other than that Predator doesn't seem to have aged at all in the last 32 years: A blend of action and war movie, creature feature and survival horror, this film really shows how it's done right - it's tense from the first minute to the last, it's camerawork is energetic without being flashy, suspense and jump scares are placed in all the right moments, the jungle backdrop is used to maximum atmospheric effect, and while not all the castmembers are the greatest actors, their limitations are used in their characters' favour, as the dialogue is limited and often stoic while much of the characterisation comes directly via the action.And of course, the Predator itself is a great, by now iconic monster, that's used only sparingly for just the right effect.

Basically, a textbook example of how it's done!

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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