Parents' Guide to

Predator

Movie R 1987 107 minutes
Predator Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Charles Cassady Jr. By Charles Cassady Jr. , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Arnold vs. alien action is violent, ultra macho.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 16+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 13+

Based on 24 parent reviews

age 14+

Your review says Ultra Macho....well yes its a bunch of hard core dudes in the jungle! Plus it says the lone female charactor doest get to do much..WELL she is the one that figures the whole thing out!! So sick of this anti men crap!!
age 12+

A Classic

Like a lot of 80s movies this isn't nearly as gory or violent as it's rating might suggest. Yes there's a lot of shooting, guns, explosions and death in this, but there are only a couple of genuine "gore" scenes; once when the helicopter crew are skinned and hung in the tree, and the other when Jesse Ventura is exploded by the protagonists death ray. This should be fine for a 12 year-old with a sensible head on their shoulders.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (24 ):
Kids say (163 ):

Cited by those who keep track of such things as one of the ultimate "guy movies," this is a violent, militaristic, hyper-macho spectacle of biceps, bombs, and guns. Predator has plenty of catchphrases tossed out by bigger-than-life actors (for example, Jesse Ventura's oft-quoted line "I ain't got time to bleed!"). If you can appreciate its cartoonish aspects -- for example, the fact that the cast members, despite having been savagely slaughtered, reappear for the end credits to take a bow and smile -- you'll likely be entertained.

Predator definitely is more fun than its 1990 sequel, Predator 2, in which the alien went hunting gangstas and FBI agents in a stereotypically hyper-violent Los Angeles, with Danny Glover grievously miscast in the Arnold role as a one-man-army cop. After that, the creature mainly appeared in video games and crossover comic books (even Batman fought the Predator!) until Alien Vs. Predator came along and filled in some of the questions about the Predator's eons-old interaction with the human race.

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