In the late 1980's Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the height of his powers, and in 1987 the former 7-time Mr. Olympia starred in two films. One of those was The Running Man and the better of the two films was Predator. This is actually the 3rd Schwarzenegger film iv'e reviewed for "80's Month" and this one did appear on my "10 Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies Everyone Should See" list (you can check that post out by clicking here).
The movie is a fun and entertaining sci-fi/action flick, and the plot is pretty simple; an elite six-man team, lead by a man named Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (played by Schwarzenegger) is tasked with going into the jungle on a rescue mission. However, the team comes across a ruthless, super-hunter alien who, among other things, has the ability to camouflage itself to the surrounding environment. Eventually toward the end of the film you do get a good look at the Predator, and while it is a cool creature design, I think it's best that for much of the film you know the alien is there but you only see through the Predator's p.o.v, or a translucent figure against some trees. The Predator gradually begins killing off members of the team and, of course, in the end Schwarzenegger kills the creature.
The movie has some pretty good special effects and, alongside Schwarzenegger, both Carl Weathers (who plays Colonel George Dillon) and Jesse Ventura (as Blain Cooper) are both characters I really like in the film.
Overall, some good action, some quotable lines, a solid villain, and Arnold at the top of his game, makes this a worthwhile movie. I wouldn't recommend the sequel over the crossovers with the Alien franchise though.
I give it a 3.5 out of 5
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