Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28688 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-06
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 102 minutes

Synopsis
Recruited by the CIA to rescue hostages held by guerrilla fighters in a Central American country, the commandos encounter an enemy more deadly than any on earth - because the Predator is not of this earth...

Customer Reviews

A BRILLIANT ACTION FILM - A CLASSIC
After starring as one of the most iconic and unstoppable villains ever in Terminator, it was high time that Arnie had a worthy foe to fight against. And he got way more than he bargained for with the Predator.

Before his crowning achievement of Die Hard, John McTiernan assembled a group of seven muscle-bound commandos in the South American jungle and let them unleash hell on Latino, Russian and Aliens alike with an awesome arsenal of macho weaponry. This is definitely a boys' movie. Both Alien and Aliens - hell, even Friday The 13th - had a thing about two females going head to head at the end. How are us guys supposed to get a kick out of endings like that? Arnie plays Major Alan 'Dutch' Schaefer, the leader of an elite Spec Ops force. His team is called to duty by General Phillips (R.G. Armstrong) and the very suspicious Dillon (Carl Weathers) to rescue a bunch of government officials, who have been shot down in enemy territory in Latin America.

As soon as they arrive in the jungle something is watching their every move from the trees. And they get the feeling that things just ain't right. The first rescue team is found disembowelled and skinned. Same goes for their chopper.

None of them trust Dillon. He's up to no good. There are no cabinet ministers being held hostage, just a bunch of his CIA pals being tortured by the Russians. In no less than five minutes, all seven of them completely obliterate a rebel guerrilla camp. The CIA hostages are dead.

Dutch is angry and feels mighty betrayed. Dillon lied to him and their mission is over as soon as it started. All they have to do is make a journey through one valley to the nearest rendezvous point and fly back home. Not so simple when a high-tech, seemingly invisible, 7'2'', extra-terrestrial Rastafarian hunter is picking them off one by one and keeping their skulls as trophies. This predator is obviously a fan of the 1932 movie, The Most Dangerous Game.

In the same way that he created nervous claustrophobia around the Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard, McTiernan floods the movie with an oppressive and twitchy atmosphere. Half of the film's ominous tone comes from Alan Silvestri's militaristic and primeval score, with pounding drums and lurking strings, indicating that the Predator's haunting presence is everywhere. He could strike from any corner at any moment. And he does.

Nothing Dutch and his men seem to do can thwart this enemy and in no time at all Dutch is the last one standing. He runs for his life with the Predator in hot pursuit.

The final act is no doubt the strongest and can even be viewed as a separate movie altogether. McTiernan ditches the lush, steamy jungle from the first two acts and completely turns it around into a strikingly Gothic, baroque, supernatural landscape. There is a subtext of primitive brutality winning over highly advanced super-weapons. And there is enough testosterone between Dutch and the Predator to fill 100 tanker trucks. Women, totally, need not apply.

Definitely one of Arnie's best and a landmark action movie. No doubt. Outdone only by the sequel.

Note: When the Predator rises out of the lake and tries to Arnie, who is covered in mud, he notices a monkey sitting on a log. Freeze frame the film when he zooms in and you will see a single frame shot of a man in a white vest with an explosion/lens flare behind. It looks like a shot from Die Hard (which wasn't made at the time!) and I have no clue how it got in there.

Brilliant
I'm sure you all know the story by now, so I won't go into that. I'd just like to say that you should ignore the other reviews that say this film has been cut down. It hasn't. It features all the scenes people listed as being cut, such as the "stick around" line and Billy's spine being waved as a trophy. I couldn't be happier with this version, as the film is one of Arnie's best.

SNIP! SNIP! SNIP!!!!!
What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said before??,, Nothing!, it's an incredible piece of work and one of the most enjoyable films I've ever seen BUT! Warning!!!, this copy of Predator (Predator Special Edition) is cut in at least 2 scenes that I can remember, One scene is quite badly chopped. Remember at the rebel camp a guy sneaks up on Arnie?, Arnie throws a Huge Knife at him and impales him to a post, " Stick around!" He quips???, remember that, well you won't get the opportunity to remind yourself with this copy. So strange because this is an 18 DVD, your gonna get the idea from this certificate that some violence might occur in this movie. There's another cut I can identify and there may be more I can't remember.
It's still a great movie and the extensive DVD extras are well worth the cash but the cuts irk me.