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Predator
USA / Mexico 1987
produced by
John Davis, Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver, Laurence Pereira (executive), Jim Thomas (executive) for Lawrence Gordon Productions, Silver Pictures, Davis Entertainment, Estudios Churubusco Azteca/20th Century Fox
directed by John McTiernan
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, R.G. Armstrong, Shane Black, Kevin Peter Hall
written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas, music by Alan Silvestri, creature effects by Stan Winston Studio, visual effects by R/Greenberg Associates
Predator
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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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the macho attitude of this movie might be a bit outdated, but other than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!
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