| Predator (1987) Cast:Arnold Schwarzenegger,Carl Weathers,Jesse Ventura,Bill Duke,Sonny Landham Schwarzenegger and his commandos are sent to terminate a group of guerilla fighting rebels only to end up fighting the battle of their lives when the killer turns out to be an alien skinning his army. Now Schwarzenegger and Co. must kill it or die trying in this creative alien on rampage thriller which features lot of gruesome deaths but also some moments of extreme suspense. What makes Predator so admirable is how much imagination the script contains, the commando team really meet their match in the title character and watching Schwarzenegger battle the Predator, is truly a great moment that projects such raw energy that the scene is spellbinding due to the fact that it's villain really does seem unkillable. Indeed the formula set up is similar to a Friday The 13th movie in which people are set up for slaughter by a seemingly invincible killer, however what makes Predator work as more than just a monster movie is McTierman's solid hand in the directing. The attacks happen at random and McTierman manages to build a sharp level of suspense throughout. My only gripe with Predator is the lack of mythology surrounding the creature. Indeed we are offered a half-assed mythology surrounding the Predator but aside from the obvious reasons, we know very little about our title creature. Still that minor flaw aside, Predator emerges as one of Schwarzenegger's best movies.D.John McTierman ***1/2 |