dimanche 16 juin 2013

Predator — A truly unique creature for unique entertainment — 8*/10

Predator is a classic. It's a mix between the action hero style, the slasher flick, and the sci-fi.

The good. Excellent design of the Predator, its background, habits, tactics, and equipment. Beyond that, what makes this movie is the initial creep factor, the way he hunts them down one by one, how he takes them out, the various ambush tactics, and the final confrontation. Perfect choice of special effects which still holds pretty well today. Nice action. Well paced scenario.

The actors. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura are doing their thing, but the nice performances come from Elpidia Carrillo, Richard Chaves, Shane Black, and, especially, Bill Duke.

The bad. All army talk and fighting aren't realistic, they're stylized. Those action hero quip are lame and badly used, fortunately there are only two of them. Simple characters. Lousy intro story.

The ugly. The bow and arrows are just crap.

The result. Don't take it too seriously, enjoy the style, and then you can appreciate what makes this film good.

8*/10