Predator (1987)

'Predator' is probably the most well-known film in Arnold Schwarzenegger's career, next to 'The Terminator' but unlike James Cameron's film, I think the biggest stand out was the titular alien hunter and it's unique design that has kept audiences enthralled with the series through what will soon be four films (and two unfortunate spin-offs). For those who haven't yet seen 'Predator', the story is about a group of mercenaries lead by Dutch Schaffer (Schwarzenegger) who are mislead into thinking they are conducting a simple rescue mission in the jungle. Once there, they realized they've been set up by Schaffer's friend (Carl Winslow) and it only goes from bad to worse when a mysterious and invisible creature begins to stalk them one by one.

The film's simplicity is what gives it its best strengths. The film is quite isolated despite being set in the deep jungle, and we only have this small group of tough, badass, and really likeable and funny characters. Even Winslow's character, despite coming off as a bit of a tightwad comes to redeem himself and helps the group fight off the Predator. A lot of the film's dialogue is thanks to director Shane Black, who not only starred in the film but provided a few script revisions that really helped out the film big time. It's his additional humor and characterization that gives the audience a likeable cast and not just muscle heads we want to see fall to the Predator.

But like I said, the titular alien is the highlight of the film which is both good and bad. The good part is that for 1987, the film has some great special effects that still hold up today and actor Kevin Peter Hall brings the Predator to life and gives him the personality and movements that has made the character a pop culture icon. The main issue with 'Predator' though is that had 20th Century Fox never explicitly tell anyone in trailers, posters etc. what exactly the Predator or its nature was then I feel the film would have had much more suspense and some great build up. The opening shot is a spaceship flying to earth before we cut to Arnie and his crew. I feel it would have worked better had they begun with the mercenaries and slowly reveal that the Predator is an alien. Instead the drastic tone shift from Arnold Schwarzenegger action film to sci-fi/horror survival film still gives me whiplash.

Thankfully, the film goes at such a quick pace with lots of gory action scenes to keep most fans of the genre happy and every time I pop it in my DVD player, I instantly get into it. 'Predator' may not be as great as the 'Alien' franchise, but it's a great series on its own and this first entry is one of the 80's best.

4/5