Predator

Rating:
Summary: cousinpaco's top terrors: #7
Review: It takes a pretty mean monster to make Schwarzenegger shake in his boots.

An elite cadre of military rescue specialists find themselves stuck in a hostile jungle, pursued by an enemy they cannot see. One by one, they are picked off, until only the team leader (Schwarzenegger) is left to face the invisible foe. Nothing could prepare him for the truth--his opponent is a trophy hunter from another world. And it's armed to the teeth.

Because "Predator" is a somewhat hokey premise, it would have been an easy movie to screw up. Instead, it fires on all cylinders. The jungle combat is deftly staged, and the characters are memorable and entertaining. The cast oozes (I'm not done) testosterone, so check your politically-correct sensitivity at the door (and almost everyone is called by their last names). Nonetheless, you feel for these poor guys, once you get a hint of what's after them.

The big payoff comes when the creature is finally revealed. Stan Winston and company designed one of the perfect movie villains, human or otherwise. The late Kevin Peter Hall can never get enough credit for his performance; his body language and menacing stature perfectly enhance the Predator's frightening appearance.

As a DVD, "Predator" doesn't make much of an impression. I'm holding out hope for a more in-depth special edition, including some pictures or footage of the (hilarious) creature they ALMOST used. However, the sound and picture quality are decent, and make much more of an impact than my old VHS copy.

Rating:
Summary: I ain't got time to bleed!
Review: Jesse Ventura says it all. Even after being shot, he is so caught up in the action that he barely even notices. Watching this movie has a similar effect: most of the time, you'll be so involved in the suspense/action/horror/whatever that you won't even realize how mediocre this movie is. That's a good thing. This movie stands out in other ways, too: the Predator is extremely well-done, with more and more slowly being revealed over the course of the movie. The characters are MUCH more distinct than those in other horror/action movies without falling into any stereotypes, and there is a genuine feeling of comraderie between them. The way the actors do everything feels very authentic, and gives the impression that they really are experienced military troops. The whole "shallow plot but extremely well-done" routine is very similar to that of the first Alien movie, so it's no wonder that Dark Horse combined the two.

Overall, a very cool ride, despite the paper-thin plot.

Rating:
Summary: ARNIE AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME!
Review: You've read the other reviews, so you get the picture by now. It's an excellent, imaginitive, and generally well made film. However, some thoughtless cinematic gaffes cost this otherwise fine film a star. Good quality DVD, with minimal extras.

Rating:
Summary: Predator(double disc DVD)
Review: The "Predator"is the most mind blowing movie i have seen in the
last 20 years.To me it is like going to a football game and having fun,letting your hair down, and suddenly understanding that you yourself are the ball and that players of both teams are bearing down upon you to have possession of you.It has had an affect on me ever since I borrowed the video by chance off my sister in 1991.
I recently purchased the double disc special edition DVD and would like to road test it for you.
For those of you not aquainted with the film "Predator"I will quickly elaborate it for you.
Arnold Schwarzenegger,whose character in the movie is Dutch,is the leader of a crack task force which generally engage in affairs of extraordinary nature.They are not controlled by the government or any affiliated body and are like a very deadly but close knit family.Dutch and his men are given the mission to locate a terrorist stronghold in latin America and at the same time retrieve any maps or documentation about strategic targets of terrorism.They are also given the mission of finding out what happened to another team sent on that same mission only a few weeks previously.
Being the crack demolition/seek and destroy squad they are,we see them easily moving into top gear and rolling over the terrorists with a minimum of fuss or opposition.
It is then,upon withdrawing,after also already having solved the problem of finding the missing task force,that they are thenprivy to the fact that there is also another obstacle in their way.One which is neither assailable or comprehensible with human means.This happens to be a being which exists solely for the purpose of sport and sees the withdrawing task force as worthy competitors/trophies for his mantlepiece.This being has stealth technology and laser weaponry and is able to evade the high powered weapons of Dutch and his team.It picks off the combattants one by one and where the task force was seemingly invincible against a foe of which they understood and could calculate their every move,they are made to look weak and diminutive in comparison to a foe which knows no morals nor human emotion.It knows only victory and once a foe is vanquished it rips the skull and spinal column out,polishes it up and proudly eyes it up and down as one would a premiership cup or championship ring.
The unsuspecting and completely outgunned taskforce all fallby the wayside and it is left to Dutch to finally,by chance,work out that the creatures vision allows it to see the skin of its prey.Dutch can only then overcome the creature when he is able to accidentally camouflage his body and can see the creature as it turns off its stealth mode in trying to locate Dutch's movements.
Dutch does confront it in one of the most original and rivetting scenes in movie history with the predator at one stage grabbing Dutch by the throat and lifting him to his eyelevel(the Pedator is after all seven and a half feet tall).The movie ends as would a disaster movie with the survivors traumtised and wounded being picked up by helicopter and brought back to civilization.

The "special edition"DVD has many special features and it incorporates an hour long special on "predator"which in fact seems to be made recently although at the same time contains footage from the actual movie shoot,along with out takes and deleted scenes and special effects footage which contain the not widely known "red predator".
...

Rating:
Summary: A powerful film!!
Review: If you don't like profanity, guts and gore, don't get this film, but if you like powerhouse film making and a great premise out of the stars, then this is the one for you. Carl Weathers and Arnie and company pack a wallop with this one, and the Predator is an awesome villain. Just to watch Arnie and the Predator face off is incredible, but it is brutal violence as well. I wish there hadn't been as much profanity in this one, so I would not recommend it for children, even though it was made into a comic by Dark Horse. That doesn't change a thing.

Rating:
Summary: Better than you might think
Review: I had low expectations when I first saw this movie years ago. I figured it would be another macho action movie with a bunch of muscle-bound men saddled with a weak script. Not at all. "Predator" is actually a well-acted, suspenseful, cleverly produced thriller from beginning to end. The jungle setting is beautifully photographed, and the alien creature attacking Dutch's team is terrifying. Great special effects. I wouldn't recommend this movie to young kids, though. It's quite gory.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Sci-Fi Thriller!
Review: Possibly one of the most successful and most entertaining science fiction movies ever made was "The Predator", filmed in the wilds of equatorial Mexico and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as an iron-jawed commando team commander brought in to extract diplomats out of the dense and exotic jungle in some small and un-named unfriendly Central American country. Dropped by stealthy helicopters behind the border, the team proceeds carefully in toward the target destination. Suddenly, the team, composed of action movie stalwarts like Carl Weathers and Jessie "The Body" Ventura (later to become the popular and unpredictable Governor of Minnesota) and a terrific supporting cast, discovers a wrecked attack helicopter and a platoon of US Army Rangers skinned alive and hung up in the trees.

From this moment on everyone knows something bizarre is going down. Once the switch is turned, the movie continually surprises the viewer by never settling for cliché, but choosing instead to mine old material in fresh and novel ways, building incredible suspense as everyone on the team begins to discover the deepening trouble they are in. Schwarzenegger does a wonderful job here, and his performance shows why he was so appealing in his prime. He is tough, cautious, and very thorough, and yet portrays the character as very human, vulnerable, and at times confused by the events so rapidly transpiring around him and this is not so easy to do for a six foot two, 230 pounds behemoth with a tough as nails image.

Yet this image is played with artfully here with clever one-liners and great gallows humor throughout the film, without ever becoming campy or predictable. Early on he recognizes something supernatural is afoot, and shows his willingness to suspend his ordinary judgements in favor of conceding to new possibilities, and it is this willingness to be open and eclectic that makes him such a formidable foe to the alien stalking them. The special effects for the alien are key here, and a lot of rework was done to make him as frightening and believable a character as possible. At first we just get glimpses of shadows and fading images, but eventually he begins to emerge and we se him in all his horrific heavy-metal glory. As Schwarzenegger remarks; this alien is one ugly _______-_______!

The resulting clash is a titanic dual that leaves us on the edges of our seats as the plot twists and turns as often as the bewildering tropical topography. The eventual mano-a-mano showdown between the alien and Schwarzenegger is an unbelievably well choreographed set of action sequences, and takes place over several encounters with a wild and unexpected plot twist or two. This is one everyone will love to have on their "A-List' for action flicks to take down on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Here is a movie sure to keep you laughing and still on the edge of your seat for hours. This one comes with both thumbs WAY UP! Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Up and at them!
Review: Predator is my favorite Schwarzenegger flick, closely followed by Commando. It has the usual stuff I like in an action film - muscles, big weapons, bad dialogue, and it has Arnold, which raises it above the level of other action films.
I won't waste anyone's time by describing the plot of this film (I'm wagering $5 that you know it already), but I would just like to remind you that if you haven't seen this film recently, it's about that time to "stick around," stop being such a "pencil-pusher" and watch the film again.
Excellent film, always fun to watch

Rating:
Summary: Good hunting, gentlemen!
Review: Perfecting the man-versus-beast genre, "Predator" tastefully combines suspense, action, and horror. It demands my highest praise.
The plot is simplicity itself. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers lead six other heavily-armed commandoes through a Mexican jungle to rescue officials held hostage by guerrillas. Along the way, they discover the flayed bodies of former comrades who came before them hung upside down from tree branches. They blame and fight the guerrillas in an explosive ambush, oblivious to the real culprit--an unseen humanoid alien. On the prowl for dangerous game rather than easy prey, this solitary hunter stalks the team with stealth, speed, and strength. Heat-seeking vision, light-bending camouflage, blade-sheathing armor, laser-guided weaponry, and trophy-taking intellect all give it a lethal edge. The creature is visible as a transparent silhouette against the verdant panorama, revealing its true form only at journey's end. Outfought in almost every encounter, the commandoes one by one succumb to shots of superhot gas and stabs of serrate steel. Bleeding away men and gear alike, Schwarzenegger must lure his assailant into a trap if he hopes to survive his pursuit. The hunt spirals out of predatory control when the hunter appears and the hunted vanishes.
I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a head-whirling, eye-popping, blood-spewing hike deep in the woods. Ultimately, "Predator" and "Predator 2" (a sorely underrated sequel) are less story-driven and are more character-defining than the "Terminator" and "Alien" series. "Predator" boasts surprisingly subtle special effects despite its age. We see much of it through alien eyes cast down from the forest canopy. Militant and ominous, the score (which is second to none) keeps up a brisk pace yet draws out the brutal grandeur of the unfolding tragedy. Tensions between Schwarzenegger and Weathers run believably high, and the gravity of their predicament comes across in deadly earnest. So turn around, scan the horizon, see the ripples in the foliage, and take your best aim, for a monster on safari has set its thermal sights on you!

Rating:
Summary: Where is the Predator-2 DVD?
Review: I love this move, but, where is the Predator-2 DVD with Danny Glover? I think it is also a great action move and deserves
to be released on DVD.
Gregory Belenky