Predator

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. (14/06/2009)

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. (15/07/2002)

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. (22/10/2014)

Sweaty machismo grossly overstepping the boundaries of heterosexuality is a thing my childhood memories of Predator have mercifully kept from me, but in the field of gun-fetish and male-bonding of his day, McTiernan was in the big leagues. This film proves it from the shot of a casual Arnold flicking away a cigar butt in a helicopter to the final dick measuring with Winston's amazing creation. (26/07/2016)

One of the movies I grew up on. A captivating atmosphere augmented by Silvestri’s music, an invisible, mysterious and cunning enemy and a team of soldiers led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who in 1987 was enjoying his best years (and me too, in fact ;). A classic. I still have a VHS cassette with German dubbing and a simultaneous Czech translation. (27/09/2006)