Predator

Rating:
Summary: Edge of your seat adventure!
Review:
Major Duke ( Arnold Schwartzenger)and his recruits ( Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, Shane Black and Richard Chaves) go into the South American jungles to rescue innocient hostages. Soon they discover that a sneaky alien creature begins to hunt the team down then slaughter them one by one, as Duke must try to find a way to defeat the unseen enemy force.

A supsenseful and really violent Science Fiction action adventure that has became a genre favorite even with it's box-office success and fan base. There are some gore in this movie that may not be for the squeamish, but it's action and pacing never lets down the viewer especially with it's good special effects, the creature itself is quite a unique kind of alien monster that is fully armed with invisibility mode and all kinds of deadly weapons designed and created by Stan Winston.

This special 2-Disc Edition is an improvement over the original badly transfered bareboned with only trailer DVD, it has a great and informative audio commentary by the director. The features on disc 2 are just cool, it has featurettes, documentary, Never-before-shown outtakes, deleted scene, still gallery and more.

A must have DVD and movie for fans of action, adventure, horror, and Science Fiction everywhere.

Also recommended: " The Thing" ( 1982), " Aliens", " Predator 2", "Alien", " Total Recall", " The Running Man", " The Terminator", " Terminator 2", " Alien3", "Alien Resurrection", "The Deadly Spawn", " Contamination", " Pitch Black", " Lifeforce", " Killer Klowns from Outer Space", " Jurassic Park", "Independence Day", "Stargate", " The Matrix", " Ghost in The Shell", " Cannibal Ferox", " Cannibal Holocaust", " The Evil Dead", " Evil Dead 2", " Event Horizon", " Creature ( 1985)", " Critters 1 & 2", " IT! The Terror from Outer Space", " Metamorphsis: The Alien Factor", " Alien vs. Predator", " Starship Troopers".

Rating:
Summary: Better than average man v. monster flick
Review: Arnold Schwarzenegger has one of his best roles as Dutch, the leader of an elite rescue force which is called upon to rescue a cabinet minister of a friendly Latin American government who has fallen into rebel hands. Coming along for the ride is Dillon, played by Carl Weathers, who used to work with Dutch in years past but now is a CIA agent. What Dutch does not realize is that the story he has been fed by Dillon is baloney.

Predator plays like two movies in one. The first third of the film focuses on Dutch's team trying to rescue the "cabinet minister" held in an armed camp deep in the Central American jungle. The movie then changes gears when the Predator starts hunting Dutch's team.

What helps make Predator better than other films of this genre is a really good cast that complements Schwarzenegger, including Jesse Ventura as the tobacco chewing Blaine, Bill Duke as Mac (notice how he is always shaving himself even though he does not have any facial hair!), Sonny Landham as Billy, the Indian Tracker, and the beautiful Elpidia Carillo as Anna. Each character has a well defined personality that makes each one stand out.

The Predator is "one ugly...." as Dutch calls him, and it can best be described as tall creature with a crab-like face and rasta dreadlocks.

There are some minor plot flaws, for example, why did the Predator wipe out Jim Hopper's team before it could attack the rebel camp, but then waits until after Dutch's team has wiped out the camp before he hunts them? I also thought the scene when they were all firing into the jungle to be a bit excessive, but Predator is still a classic for me.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Terminator!
Review: Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't made many films much better than this one. Neither has John McTiernan. Yes it's stupid, but it's fun. Sit back and let the bullets fly and the blood flow in an orgy of male machismo. Deft one-liners and nice 80's action movie clichés are in abundance, but we shouldn't knock it, sometimes that's all we want from a movie.
If you don't know the story, then I would like to be the first to welcome you back from whatever planet it is you have been on (I don't mean that in a cruel way, but come on, everyone has seen this!) anyway, a crack squad of soldiers is sent in to retrieve a diplomat from the South American jungle and they end up being stalked by some kind of... Predator. I'm sure you'll read the other reviews and synopsis so I won't go any further.
In conclusion, this film is really fun, and the disc is adequate, if you are looking solely for sound quality and picture quality. If, however, you are after special features then I recommend a visit to Amazon.co.uk (but only worth a look if you can play region 2 DVD's) and you will be able to pick up the special edition (a 2-disc set with special features!)

Rating:
Summary: If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It...
Review: Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in Predator, a hit box office film that hit the shelves and automatically flew off within the few first months of its release. This film has always been one of my favorites from Arnold, ever since I was 12 years old. When I finally went out and purchased a DVD Player, Predator was one of the very first DVDs that came to mind, because, 1)I knew a spectacluar film had to produce a spectacluar DVD, and 2)I would finally get to see this film in widescreen anamorphic format with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound.

This isn't just an action movie, its a sci-fi/action/suspense movie with a pot full of astonishing actors. I give credit to the directors of this film for choosing such an excellent cast. A cast that includes Sonny Landham, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. And who could forget the HUGE 7 foot tall Keven Peter Hall that played the Predator. This is one of the films that set Arnold Schwarzenegger to fame through the 90s, also backed up by Commando and The Terminator, which were also box office hits as well (I have those on DVD also). It seems almost every film Schwarzenegger has starred in has produced a spectacluar DVD.

I believe there are two different versions of this DVD; one has the full screen version and THX Surround Sound, and the other one has the Widescreen version, THX Surround Sound, 5.1 Dolby Digital, and extra features. The latter of the two is somewhat rare...I haven't seen many copies, but I was fortunate enough to find one in [a store]somewhere.

This film is great, and the DVD is even better. Many scenes really capture the effects of the THX which adds to the climax and the recessive parts of the movie. The audio and visual effects of this DVD are AWESOME, and I'd encourage anyone that has a DVD Player and likes action films to get this. Great movie by a great director, played by a great cast. No disappointment here.

Rating:
Summary: McTiernan Ain't Got Time to Bleed
Review: I recently bought a Fox DVD copy of John McTiernan's 1987 action-thriller *Predator*. An action-horror-survival film under-appreciated outside of comic book circles, it nevertheless influences art and entertains audiences.

The last time I can remember seeing this flick, I was either passing through ship's berthing, or somebody's apartment in San Diego. I don't remember ever seeing this movie from start to finish until three weeks ago. It was always a vague montage in my head: one character getting shot by an energy weapon (the scene isn't half as gory as I remember it being), another fellow smarting "stick around" to somebody he just impaled, bad guys flying through the air as gasoline erupts around them-you know, typical "R"-rate machismo. Watching it on DVD was like watching it for the first time.

Somebody organized the DVD material into easily accessible, thematic menus. But the bonus material teases more than informs. None of the documentaries take time to explain anything; they play like additional advertising for the movie. We see the usual backslapping and brownnosing of cast and crewmembers. And we glimpse the cast and crew at work. We also hear tantalizing slips about the differences between the original script and the theatrical cut, about the development of the special effects, and about the filmmaker's creative vision. Nothing elaborates, and it all sounds as if the documentary makers assumed that the details were either boring or common knowledge. As an aspiring filmmaker myself, I want to know about the rating board challenges, studio interference, and technical difficulties. I already own the movie; you don't need to advertise it anymore.

Then there's the director's commentary. Consumers know trouble when a director begins with "Wow! I haven't seen this movie in a looong time! I've forgotten about this stuff up at the front end". Still, Mr. McTiernan seems to elaborate most about the filmmaking experience. For example, he points out real thermal vision devices couldn't simulate the Predator's point-of-view because the jungle itself was hot. He had to go under the table and get a private video editing company to make up the effects at the last minute.

The effects still hold up for something supposedly jury-rigged 17 years ago and so *Predator* stands as an arch-type of the big special effect film. The thermal vision looks great, the cloaking device top-notch; only the shots of the Predator leaping from tree to tree look a little dated. Heavy amounts of sparks and smoke trails make explosions look better than even modern CGI films can manage. And then there are the weapons causing these explosions...

Watching *Predator* re-introduced me to "Ol' Painless": a fantastic and highly influential weapon of fiction. Alongside the "M56 Smartgun" from *Aliens*, Ol' Painless represents the `80's action movie sensibility for Big F'n Guns. Actors Jesse Ventura and Bill Duke take turns wielding this compact electric gatling gun against generic Hispanic rebels and the titular villain. And wield it they did, the weapon spewing 7.62mm NATO blanks into a corona of fire. And at the audience as well; being the distinct weapon of Ventura's character "Blain", Ol' Painless marks the entire movie for the brief period of time it is seen and used.

As a child and later a teen, this hand-held weapon was utterly believable. On into adulthood I thought the weapon not only could exist, but did. It sure sold other artists. Once *Terminator 2* made the final sale with its own minigun, almost every computer shooting game made since at least 1992 has its own version of Ol' Painless-especially id Software games. Many films since *Predator* practically scream for a chance to cap off a few thousand rounds with a rotary gun; *The Matrix* and *We Were Soldiers* even use it appropriately, mounted to a helicopter and everything. Sure, some films used M134s and derivatives before. *Apocalypse Now*, *King Kong*, *Dune*, and *Running Man* come to mind. *Predator* gave this weapon its first true due on screen.

It also gives action/suspense movies their due. Coming along after James Cameron's *Aliens* and *John Carpenter's The Thing*, *Predator* just kicks tail. It's the tale of America's top hostage rescue team rendered impotent by a ghostly monster. It begins with macho swagger and fat cigars and Teflon characters, and ends with almost all the heroes greased, the jungle smoked, and the lead hero slumped and staring. The Predator itself surely counts as one of the more unique and powerful critters in Hollywood's halls. Being the studio film McTiernan cut his teeth on before he took *Die Hard* to the bank, *Predator* benefits from his sensibilities. It also introduced America to a director who just about defined late `80's and early `90's big top action films.

McTiernan action films seem to work because he understands an audience's visceral needs. He injects a modicum of humanity into frames full of shootouts and explosions. Die Hard exemplifies the lighter touches that make the action easier to swallow, like his hero cop repeatedly encountering a Christmas swimsuit pinup, or scrunching his toes against carpet to relieve the stress of flying. McTiernan did it first in Predator.

What sells *Predator* as much as the invisible plasma casting villain and steroid-enhanced one-liners are the outrageous but utterly understandable character quirks. Like the terrible girlfriend jokes, the mouthfuls of chew, and friendship between Ventura and Duke's characters. Schwartzenegger and Weather's characters have a mutual past turned into a sour present, and their conflict helps to fill scenes that would otherwise just be a bunch of guys running around the jungle.

However cheap the effort and cardboard the characters, this film and its accoutrements have a natural head-shaking charm other films either lack or force. It boasts iconic weapons and a truly formidable enemy presented by well-weathered effects. As far as big eighties action/horror/suspense/special effect films go, *Predator* is a film to catch and appreciate.



Rating:
Summary: One of the best sci-fi/action films of recent memory........
Review: I remember watching this movie in 1987 (when I was 12) and just saying, "Wow". Arnold was "the man" back in the 80's and it had a terrific cast of characters. And of course, it had the Predator.

Watching this movie just makes me kind of miss the 80's. Back then you had movies where testosterone was running so high on screen that it just made you feel invincible. While I have had a few female friends that enjoy Predator, it's a typical guy movie. The plot is about as simple as it gets. An elite U.S. marine force goes into the jungle to find and rescue a lost group of soldiers. Upon finding the skinned bodies of the missing, they start getting picked off one-by-one by a mysterious enemy who is hunting them. After awhile they figure out that what is taking them out isn't human and it's up to Arnold to do his thing.

The thing I love about this movie is that it doesn't pull any punches as far as what it's trying to do. You send in big, strong tough guys to use big guns to find other soldiers & fight an alien (The Predator). Every character in the film is interesting and has their own little style. One character has big glasses and tells sick jokes. One is a big-ass indian who is the trail guide, of sorts. One is a very dark-skinned black guy who is just a bit off. Then you get to Jesse Ventura's "Painless". The gatling gun he used in this movie has now become legend and still impressive to this day. Just seeing Ventura in the movie at all is quite amusing, but he plays the role very well. Arnold is actually better here than I have seen him in most of his action films. He doesn't have to carry the movie on his back and he seems to enjoy that. His fellow cast of characters spout off so many good, tough guy lines that he doesn't have to do it all himself.

And I haven't even mentioned the namesake of the movie yet really. The Predator is a fierce and incredible hunter. By now most of you know about the alien and it's weapons and what it can do. I must give a huge nod to Stan Winston for maybe saving this movie by creating an incredible Predator. If you watch the special features, you will be shocked at what the first Predator actually looked like. On top of that, Jean-Claude Van Damme was supposed to be inside the suit. Ugh. Guess they dodged a bullet there, eh?

Predator wasn't meant to win any acadamy awards or tug at your heart-strings, etc. It's a fun, big guns, blow crap up, fight bad-ass alien, testosterone filled flick. This is Arnold at his best and this spawned the directorial career of John McTiernan (Die Hard). This movie is so enjoyable to watch that I have seen it more times than I can count. Go get this nice special edition as soon as you can.

Special Features: Well, at least we finally get a special edition of this great movie. The supplements that are here, however, are pretty good but not great. There is a documentary on the making of the film, which is pretty decent. Most of the interviews and footage is from 1987 when the movie was made. I would've liked to see some newer stuff, but I won't complain. There are seven behind-the-scenes featurettes that delve into different aspects of the film. They are each kinda short, but are informative. There are outtakes, a deleted scene (which wasn't very good) and other various little features. Not a bad edition, but I was expecting a little bit more.

Rating:
Summary: Movie = 5 stars. DVD = 3.
Review: I was so excited when i heard that they were re-releasing the Predator dvd. But boy was i upset after finally seeing the finished product.

The original movie is still superb and is one of the greatest cult hits in the last 10 years, but whats up with the dvd?
I was hardly impressed by the low grainy quality of the dvds picture and the extra bonus material is hardly worth noting.
The deleted scene and out-takes were terrible and arent even worth watching.

Oh well, it is still worth it for the main feature.
And maybe they will finally release a dvd worthy of this movie for the 20th anniversary...

Rating:
Summary: The camouflaging creature is after Arnold.
Review: It's Arnold Schwarzenegger with his cigar! He teams up with Carl Weathers, Sonny Landham, Bill Duke, Richard Chavez, Jesse Ventura and Shane Black. They also find Elpidia Carrillo. They go to a mexican jungle to find and rescue hostages, but instead they find themselves trying to save their own lives from a nearly-invisible creature able to camouflage itself in the jungle. It loves to skin humans to death.
Arnold even does the "Conan" primal yell!
No extras on this DVD except theatrical trailer.
Sequels: Predator 2 (1990), Alien vs. Predator (2004).

Rating:
Summary: Arnold for Prez!!!!
Review: My god this movie rocks. It starts off with Arnold and these ultra tough guys(A red neck, a indian, a black guy, and a nerd)going into the jungle to kill some commie scum. On their way to battle they find some dead Americans skinned in a tree. Apparently commies skin their kills and hang them in trees so they continue on to find em. After a while they find the commie base. Arnold, being tough as nails blows up a bunch of stuff and rushes in and kills like half the guys in the camp. His team helps with the rest and they find this chick and take her prisoner. On the way back to the rendezvous point the commie chick tries to escape but then the nerdy guy catches her....and then he gets his guts blown out and gets drug into the forest by some strange invisible thing. The rest of the gang finds her and she says in commie speak that some demon came outa the forest. That demon is the friggin predator. He is amazing. He will rock you. He ends up killing everyone except Arnold and the chick(woman aren't a challenge). The only reason while Arnold doesn't die is because he's the main character and the USA likes happy endings. This movie is way more believable than AVP and Predator 2....but those movies are still pretty great. This is one of the best action movies ever. I traveled to the dominican republic just to have my DVD of The Predator blessed by a voodoo shaman.

Rating:
Summary: PREDATOR ROCKS!
Review: PREDATOR is nearly unquestionalby the best action/adventure/sci-fi horror movie of all time. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as his best role of all time- Dutch Schaiffer- a soldier- out to save his life in the Central American Jungle. He faces a deadly alien creature from another world and battles it out to the death of all of his men in this movie- including Jesse Ventura, Richard Chaves, Kevin Peter Hall, Shane Black Bill Duke and Director John McTeirnan (Die Hard 1 & 3, Thomas Crown Affair, 13th Warrior, Last Action Hero, Hunt For Red October). This movie is my personal favorite because of it's action adventure and thrills. Awesome special effects and acting make this movie the best! This is what a real Arnold movie is all about! 20/5 stars! See this movie ASAP! If you love action adventure, sci-fi, horror and Arnold Schwarzenegger- then this is the # 1 movie for you.