Movie: Predator
Year: 1987
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Director: John McTiernan
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Kevin Peter Hall

Snapshot of Story:
Predator is a fast action packed sci-fi that finds a group of commandos battling with a superior alien in the heart of a South American jungle.

Storyline:
Top hit movies of today leave a lasting impression with viewers long after they have watched the movie. This would apply to Predator where it is not so much the subject that is appealing but the fact that the director manages to create an overall atmosphere that keeps viewers engaged in the showing. The same applies to great entertainers such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley where they have superb inner talent to keep the audience engaged.

The commandos led by Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) are immediately dropped off by a helicopter in the heart of an unknown South American jungle and assigned to a mission that is not all that clear. There is no waiting about for the action to start and they soon find themselves battling with an unknown enemy who seemed to know their every move.
In one scene Dillon (Carl Weathers) finds himself in an opening in the jungle and rapidly fires his machine gun which is torn away along with his arm by the enemy’s blasts. The director does an excellent job of using the jungle to show off the enormous firepower of the commandos to give an heightened sense of realism.

The rest of the cast in the movie were well chosen with each offering a different perspective on the enemy and in particular when one of them started meditating as to assume an evil force that is hunting them. This was an excellent touch to the movie as it slowly brought the commandos to the realization that the enemy was not of this planet.

In true ‘Arnie’ style, the commando Dutch has to battle with the alien single-handedly after the demise of all his comrades. Using his wits and great improvisation Dutch is able to finally defeat the alien.

In one scene Dutch realizes some of the limitations of the alien when he finds himself in a mudslide and covered in mud where the alien is unable to detect him.

Final Thoughts:
The movie Predator was another barometer of its time in creating an atmosphere that fixated the audience and kept the pace right through to the end. One has to ask questions as to the motivation of the thrill of hunting and killing on the part of the alien. In most cases when we refer to aliens, we see them as invaders or as friends but the twist here is that we have aliens that are neither and their only objective is to hunt and kill. This movie spawned off many other offshoots using this primary theme including Predator 2 (1990), Alien vs Predator (2004) and more.

Ratings:
8/10

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