Predator

I watched Predator again after about ten years. I can state without exaggeration that this film is more perfect than I thought. Even after all these years, a group of tough mercenaries hunted by an alien skull hunter captivates with a perfect atmosphere that benefits especially from the creeping voyeurism of the camera and Silvestri's unnerving music. Keeping a firm hand on all this is director McTiernan, who was one of the absolute best in the action genre in the 1980s... and went crazy in the 1990s. (08/05/2009)

Say "action movie" in front of me and I'll probably say Predator. From start to finish, this thing goes at a hell of a pace and doesn't let up for even a second. The direction, the realistic action, Silvestri's elaborate music and the jungle setting make you feel that something is lurking behind every other liana. Even though I know Predator by heart, I always enjoy watching it again. (06/14/2009)

Plain and simple: fucking perfect. I rewatched Predator after a long time and I realized that it belongs to that proud group of my beloved cinematic works from which I would not remove or add a single frame. Without a doubt, this is the most masculine film in history, where tough guys first dish it out loudly to declaim their fearlessness, and then get their asses kicked in a way I wouldn't wish on perhaps a cancer cell on my most sensitive body part. And it ends with the most thrilling one-on-one fight, where a man in the face of a real monster accepts its rules and, as a hunter from ancient times, adapts to the conditions of the surrounding wild nature. Bad Ass Arnold is unbeatable as usual, but the biggest stars here are definitely Alan Silvestri, whose soundtrack is an amazing embodiment of suspense and confrontation with the mysterious evil, and director McTiernan, who shot the whole story without a single stumble and staged so many iconic moments that no sequel will ever be able to top this original (I single out the mass "shootout" scene with the invisible enemy, which is one of the funniest of the entire 1980s for me – I can see it five times a day, but I will never tire of Arnold's face as he shoots into the void for a minute). 100% (08/26/2011)

John McTiernan brilliantly portrays the fear of unknown danger. Even the scene of the massacre of the camp, although I'm not too keen on it, has its place. The viewer is surprised that this bunch of supermen who can easily dispatch an overwhelming number of mercenaries, have to bow down to a mysterious evil. And the ending, Arnold with the resources of a Stone Age hunter fighting a stronger predator, is a treat. Together with Conan the Barbarian, this is Arnold’s best movie. (07/14/2002)

It's still excellently rough, the great effects are still here, unbeatable Arnold, and above all, the incredible mask created by Stan Winston. The character of the Predator is so great on its own that it could carry the film, which to some extent happened here, but the jungle and the fear of individual mercenaries also work well. It's still entertaining, even after all these years. (10/22/2014)