Synopsis:

A small group of commandos are sent by the CIA to a Central American Jungle, to rescue capture airmen from Guerillas. But it's not the armed terrorists which are the problem. Something hidden in the jungle, something invisible to the naked eye, something not of this earth is the problem. As the men head back to transport, they are slowly targeted one by one.  A sitting (Schwarzenegger) and former (Ventura) governor bring us one of the best action flicks of the 80s.

The Freak's Rating: A- : In my quest to review as many films on this site as possible, I find myself venturing back to films of my childhood that I loved.  Back then I was an uneducated filmgoer, content with mindless entertainment and not needing much from a film.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing.  As has been the recent topic of discussion with the users and I, not every film need be much more than entertaining to pull off what it wants to.  Predator is a good example.

Filmed on location in the jungles of Mexico, the setting becomes a part of the film.  The audience is made to feel like they are stuck in that jungle with the commandos, against the same enemy.  Predator doesn't pretend to have good dialogue.  It is Rambo-style combat when it occurs, content to have a few one liners that Schwarzenegger to deliver.  Action sequences give way to a creepy alien in the jungle who can see us with infrared vision. 

Predator was directed by John McTiernan, who made Die Hard and The Hunt For Red October.  With the exception of Predator and the two former, we haven't seen much good come from him.  However, the three films mentioned are all effective at what they attempt to do...entertain us.  This movie made it to the front of my review line because it was just issued on Blu Ray.  The multiple award nominated audio in this film is fantastic, and I was offered my first taste of DTS Master Audio since my Playstation 3 upgraded to allow for it.  It was creepy and effective.  Video is par for the course and some of the special effects are kinda cheesy.  Still, Predator is great for mindless entertainment and the final 15 minutes are as effective a cat and mouse routine as you'll see in cinema.

Brian's Rating: B- : I saw this movie on recommendation from the Freak.  I had seen it when I was in 6th grade or so even though I was not allowed.  Kids find ways.  I have to say, this movie was a lot better in my memory than it actually is.  Back at that time, all the Arnold movies were awesome:  Commando, Terminator, Red Heat, Predator, The Running Man, Total Recall.  I liked every single one of them.  I wonder now, how many of them are actually as good as I remember.

The classic short story "Most Dangerous Game" has been rehashed about 100 times.  Why?  Because its a cool plot structure.  Predator is one such rehashing.  For those not familiar, the most dangerous game (to hunt) is a human.  Ultimately, the hunted becomes the hunter and proves the premise.   This time the hunter is an alien and even takes trophies from his kills like the hunters of today would mount a head.

The story is still cool, and the suspense is well done.  Like Scott said, the last third of the movie is gripping as Arnold schemes to turn the tables from the ruthless predator.

The critique:
Despite a fairly quick military assault at the beginning, the movie is a little slow to get into the real plot, and the real suspense.

Arnold is just not a very good actor.  Sure, he looks cool, and he is adequate, but not great.  The entire supporting cast is about the same.

Supposing you can just find rope-like vines whenever you want in the jungle, no matter how much you want them to, a single vine is not going to hold up a 1200+ pound log.

No amount of mud will ever mask your infrared signature.

The movie is not timeless.  80's background sound is just plain corny.  It seemed good back then, now it is more distracting than suspenseful.  Furthermore, what were cool fight scenes in the 80's just look amateurish by today's standards.

Still, although the movie has some shortcomings, if you haven't seen it, you should.  At least so you can see California's gov order around our (MN) former gov.

P.S.  I am afraid to see "The Running Man" again.  That movie was pure genius (in my memory).

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