![Alien Covenant [DVD] [2017]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/811Khi-mzOL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Alien 1-6 Boxset [DVD] [2017]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91uvgkhj88L._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Terminator 2: DVD Remastered [2017]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81GOHy6j2CL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Predator Trilogy [DVD] [1987]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71ph14+-RVL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![The Terminator [DVD] [1985] [2009]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81kdcihVINL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Arnold Schwarzenegger 4 Movie Collection: Predator, The Terminator, Commando & Conan The Barbarian [DVD] [2017]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81-bhwltrkL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Predators (2010) [DVD]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81bqtPHGqoL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![The Predator DVD [2018]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81QRw7jRicL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![The Running Man [1987] [DVD] [1988]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41468VTK0WL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Alien vs. Predator/ Alien vs. Predator: Requiem Double Pack [DVD] [2004]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81iHvFHLgML._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Aliens - Special Edition [1986] [DVD]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/4155BQ56YBL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Star Trek Picard Season 1 [Blu-ray] [2020] [Region A & B & C]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81cqoVbrkCL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
Predator is an entertaining thriller which works because it tells a simple story in a claustrophobic environment. It isn't as smart or scary as Alien, and its characters are too basic, but it's good fun. Arnold Schwarzenegger gives a note perfect performance; he plays Dutch, a Major with a soft side, who's led into Central American jungle under false pretences and ends up facing an alien predator. He's accompanied by his team of soldiers, played by Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves and Shane Black. They each have gimmicks - one tells dirty jokes, another chews tobacco - which serve as their personalities. The main cast is completed by Carl Weathers and Elpidia Carrillo, who respectively play Dutch's former teammate and a hostage.
Predator's third act is masterfully staged and suspenseful; the creature is mysterious, tracking Arnie with weird technology as they stalk the jungle. A Vietnam allegory could be drawn from how this alien, despite being outnumbered by the American soldiers, becomes invisible and slaughters them with ease. He's a vicious creature who behaves like a big game hunter; we, as humans, are basically his deer on safari. He collects our skulls the way moustachioed British colonists collected animal heads and mounted them on their walls.
The setting is inspired; it's a close space where we rarely see landscapes not dominated by tall trees. Here the predator moves like a murderous Cheshire cat, camouflaging itself as it rests on branches. Carrillo plays the typical native character who calls it a demon and is more willing to accept its presence. She was my favourite character, though her development is clunky; she goes from hating the soldiers to helping them very suddenly. Some plot points in this film aren't as effective as they should be because of the basic characterisation, but overall Predator is a tense, enjoyable movie.
On the other hand, if this DVD just contained Predator 2 it'd get one star from me. Predator isn't a perfect thriller, but compared to Predator 2 it's on a par with Psycho. To my mind this sequel is one of the worst films ever made; it makes Roland Emmerich's films look like Greek tragedies.
Danny Glover plays a cop in a Los Angeles torn apart by fighting between Jamaican and Columbian drug dealers. Then the predator shows up and gives everyone something new to worry about. That's about all the plot there is. Bill Paxton plays a rookie who's a more annoying version of his Aliens character, and Gary Busey is an FBI agent or something. Sadly this isn't one of his nuttier performances; he's just bland. The only other character with enough lines to warrant mention is Leona (María Conchita Alonso), a butch cop with a secret, revealed in her last scene, which has no impact on anything. It's as if the writers said to each other "hey, why not throw in this one line of exposition?" "Might as well". Oh, there's also one of those movie journalists (Morton Downey, Jr.) who cares more about the scoop than ethics.
For some reason this is all set in 1997, seven years after the film was released. That detail means nothing. I'd hazard a guess that the writers just thought it would make the gang stuff seem like social commentary, as if they're presenting a dystopian Los Angeles. Bullpoop. Predator 2 isn't a comment on anything except how much commercial filmmakers hate humanity.
This film is more graphic than its predecessor. There's buckets of blood and a nasty torture scene among the drug dealers. Rather than shock, however, the gore simply betrays how creatively bankrupt the filmmakers are. They can't create suspense or tell a story so they fling viscera.
- Pay over 3-months interest-free with an Instalment Plan on your Amazon Mastercard Minimum Purchase £100. Learn more.
- Amazon Business : For business-exclusive pricing, quantity discounts and downloadable VAT invoices. Create a free account
