Predator is a great film. Beyond a wonderful premise, the story enjoys perfect structure. The first act appreciably puts time into developing each character, as the audience hereafter knows every personality and can therefore easily differentiate between them. What this part of the movie does phenomenally, though, is slowly building an unsettling anticipation for the titular creature. This awesomely progresses into the second act that quickly becomes full of intense action and suspense. The predator after the group is brilliantly furthered, too, between the shots quickly glossing over its full appearance, those that let the viewer see its technical mechanisms, and the effective explanation for its behavior. Even so, what makes this film a home run is a powerfully directed third act as the filmmakers deliver exactly what the audience desires. This is extremely impressive, too, as the plot intelligently subverts expectations by not making the final minutes of its second act the close to the movie as a whole. Altogether, then, Predator's story only improves as it goes on. That is what ultimately makes the film so well put together and why it is considered the classic it is. This being said, the screenplay, among other elements, do slightly stray from perfection. The first twenty minutes of the film feels oddly put together, from unconvincing acting to questionable editing. Even some camera angles feel too claustrophobic, although this style becomes more welcome later on. There are two jokes somewhat thrown in that unflatteringly characterize one character, as well. Fortunately, most of these issues are addressed as the film moves forward. The acting turns out to be rather good, especially as Schwarzenegger turns in a great act. He truly becomes more than just a buff action star within. Still, the editing has seemingly choppy moments every once in a while. As for other flaws, the lead role does receive a bit too much luck from the screenwriter in the third act. How the movie handles its only female character is confusing, too, as she is seemingly thrown into what happens at random. Predator's brilliance heavily outweighs these downfalls, fortunately. The action is fantastically crafted, intensifying the story with quick, brutal attacks that simultaneously work with the suspense in play. This particularly comes to fruition in the last twenty minutes of the picture. A great score very much aids these sequences, too. As the effects go, they prove good enough to not even be all that distracting compared to modern day CGI. Overall, Predator is a must watch film of the '80s.
