Predator (1987)

"...Slick, high-energy action.  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"It rocks!  Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
"One of the best in a long line of killer aliens to come out of Hollywood.  Ryan Cracknell, Apollo Guide

Editor's Note Sent to eliminate a gun-running camp in Central America, United States Major Dutch Schaeffer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his commandos get more than they bargained for when they cross paths with a mysterious assassin. As members of their unit begin to disappear, Dutch, Dillon (Carl Weathers), and Blain (Jesse Ventura) conclude that whatever is hunting them is not of this earth. Every attempt at a tactical defense is a defeated for Dutch and company and it is only in the last stretch of their race to safety that their suspicions are confirmed and they encounter the alien nimrod face to face. A summer box office smash, 1987's PREDATOR re-ignited an old trend of movies depicting aliens invading earth that began decades earlier with films like WAR OF THE WORLDS and INVADERS FROM MARS. McTiernan does a miraculous job of directing the "invisible" Predator. Furthermore, the special effects, which are stunningly subtle and never boisterous, make PREDATOR a strikingly contemporary sci-fi effort even amid today's techno-thrillers.

	Arnold Schwarzenegger
	Carl Weathers
	Jesse Ventura
	Sonny Landham
	John McTiernan - Director
	Donald McAlpine - Director of Photography
	Alan Silvestri - Musical Score
	Lawrence Gordon - Producer
	Joel Silver - Producer
	John Davis - Producer
	John Vallone - Production Designer
	John Thomas - Screenplay
	Jim Thomas - Screenplay
	Alan Silvestri - Original Music By
	Donald McAlpine - Cinematographer
	Jim Thomas, et. al. - Writer
	Jim Thomas, et. al. - Executive Producer
	John Davis, et. al. - Producer
	Mark Helfrich, et. al. - Editor

"Knock, knock."----Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) just before he wastes guerrilla fighters holding hostages

"Stick around."----Dutch, after he nails a guerrilla soldier to the wall with his knife

"I ain't got time to bleed."----Blain (Jesse Ventura)

Variety
"...The action sequences are imaginative..." 06/17/1987

Los Angeles Times
"...Your attention is gripped....McTiernan has an arresting visual flair....The whole movie often jells on an almost abstract level..." 06/12/1987 p.C6

Uncut
"Action specialist John McTiernan is at his directorial peak..." 01/01/2004 p.141

Entertainment Weekly
"[I]n Arnold's top five..." p.73

Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "It's a vintage Schwarzenegger performance from the Austrian Oak's golden age..." 08/01/2010

Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
Predator is filmed very well. It's a slick, high-energy action picture that takes a lot of its strength from its steamy locations in Mexico. The heroes spend most of their time surrounded by an impenetrable jungle, a green wall of majestic vistas populated by all sorts of natural predators in addition to the alien. I've rarely seen a jungle look more beautiful, or more convincing; the location effect is on a par with Fitzcarraldo and The Emerald Forest. As the film opens, Schwarzenegger and his comrades venture into this jungle in search of South American officials who have been kidnapped by terrorists. They track and locate the fugitives, and move in for the kill. But as they find the bodies of team members skinned and hanging from trees, they begin to realize they're up against more than terrorists... Predator moves at a breakneck pace, it has strong and simple characterizations, it has good location photography and terrific special effects, and it supplies what it claims to supply: an effective action movie. Students of trivia might want to note that the actor inside the predator costume is Kevin Peter Hall, who also occupies the Bigfoot costume in Harry and the Hendersons. This guy must really be a good sport. - Roger Ebert