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Review: Jack Foley
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: DVD FEATURES: Disc One: Feature-length
commentary by John McTiernan; Text commentary by film historian;
DVD ROM game; Ratio: Anamorphic 16:9; Language: English Dolby
5.1 / DTS 5.1; Subtitles: hard of Hearing English, Czech, Danish,
Finnish, Croatian, Dutch, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian,
Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish
Disc Two: New documentary, 'If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It';
Deleted scene, Arnold fleeing Predator; 'Inside Predator' - seven
featurettes; Outtakes; Predator special effects segments; Camouflage
tests; Predator text profile; Photo gallery
MADE at a time when Arnie was still at the peak of his Box Office
pulling power, John McTiernan's Predator was - and remains - an
effective sci-fi/action crossover, spawning an equally thrilling
sequel and its own computer-game franchise.
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The premise is, as we have come
to expect from Arnie flicks, fairly routine. A crack team of commandos
venture into the jungle for a seemingly routine rescue mission,
only to find themselves hunted by an outer-worldly predator. Said
killer is equipped with his own awesome firepower, the ability
to camouflage himself, and a serious penchant for human blood.
Much of the fun is in guessing which platoon members will fall
first, while counting down to the predictable climax between Arnie's
man mountain and Kevin Peter Hall's massive extraterrestrial -
which is as stupid and over the top as the very idea suggests.
Along the way, though, there are plenty of chills and thrills;
as the team attempt to get to grips with whatever is out there,
squabble between themselves and become hunted down in a number
of ingenious (and very bloody) ways.
The dialogue is as uninspired as ever (McTiernan could have done
with taking a leaf out of James 'Aliens' Cameron's book), while
the acting is exceptionally wooden; but there is plenty of mileage
to be had in the gusto with which proceedings are directed; and
there is something to be said for the way in which Arnie can utter
a quip.
McTiernan, who also helmed Die Hard, also makes the ensuing chaos
suitably claustrophobic and sweaty, injecting a fair bit of tension
into the jungle settings, while Peter Hall's inspired alien is
one of movie's most enduring creations. One for action junkies,
sci-fi fans and a timely reminder of how Arnie once had it
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