Amazon.com Essentials:
Rambo meets Alien in this terrific
science-fiction thriller from 1987, directed by John McTiernan just a
year before Die
Hard made him Hollywood's most sought-after director of
action-packed blockbusters. Arnold Schwarzenegger leads an elite squad
of U.S. Army commandos to a remote region of South American jungle,
where they've been assigned to search for South American officials
who've been kidnapped by terrorists. Instead they find a bunch of
skinned corpses hanging from the trees and realize that they're now
facing a mysterious and much deadlier threat. As the squad is picked
off one by one, Arnold finds himself pitted against a hideous alien
creature that's heavily armed and wearing a spacesuit enabling the
creature to render itself invisible. The title says it all in
describing the relentless, escalating action that follows, maintained
by McTiernan with an abundance of visual flair. The film's special
effects are still impressive, and stunning locations in the Mexican
jungles create a combined atmosphere of verdant beauty and imminent
danger. The plot doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, but the movie's so
exciting and tightly paced that its weaknesses seem irrelevant. In
addition to full-screen format, the DVD includes the film in its
original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, taking full advantage of the movie's
exotic scenery and cinematographer Donald McAlpine's splendid
widescreen compositions. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.com video review:
We know Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't take himself too seriously--just see Twins and Jingle All the Way--but let's face it, Ah-nold is at his best when he's kicking butt and dropping cynical smart-ass quips. This set collects five of his most testosterone-driven classics: all action, all the time. The beefiest he-man to flex a bicep in Hollywood was never one for words, and he proved just what a strong, silent type could do as the tough, terse killing machine in The Terminator, the taut little low-budget sci-fi adventure that made his name. When he returned to the part in the high-gloss, effects-laden sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day, he was too much a hero to go back to villain roles, but don't expect a kinder, gentler Arnold: the doomsday battle with his high-tech, quicksilver nemesis is a nonstop barrage of car wrecks, explosions, and knock-down, drag-out pummeling. In Predator he's the flesh-and-blood prey of an alien hunter, turning the tables with good-old-fashioned human ingenuity. Total Recall finds him a Joe Average worker of the future whose destiny brings him to the revolutionary struggle on Mars and unlocks a secret planted deep in his mind--after busting a few heads. In True Lies, Arnold's third film with action movie wunderkind James Cameron, he only pretends to be Joe Average, but under homebody attitude beats the heart of a superspy: James Bond with the physique of Mr. Universe. Together these films complete a portrait of the quintessential Schwarzenegger badass: tough, terse, take no prisoners. And just a hint of a self-effacing wink. --Sean Axmaker
