Predators (2010) 20th Century Fox/Sci-Fi-Action RT: 107 minutes Rated R (language, strong violence and gore, frightening creatures) Director: Nimrod Antal Screenplay: Alex Litvak and Michael Finch Music: John Debney and Alan Silvestri Cinematography: Gyula Pados Release date: July 9, 2012 (US) Cast: Adrian Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Danny Trejo, Oleg Taktarov, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershala Ali, Laurence Fishburne. Box Office: $52 million (US)/$127.2 million (World)
Rating: ***
It’s been twenty years since the last solo Predator movie and in that time, they’ve twice faced off against a particularly nasty species of aliens. Perhaps you’re familiar with them; they’ve been the bane of a certain woman’s existence for over 200 years.
In Predators, the titular creatures fly solo once again in their war against mankind. It opens with a man (Brody, The Pianist) free falling from the sky towards the jungle. Thanks to the last minute deployment of his parachute, he lands safely. He’s soon joined by several others- Chuchillo (Trejo, Machete), Isabelle (Braga, I Am Legend), Nikolai (Taktarov, Bad Boys II), Stans (Goggins, The Hateful Eight), Mombasa (Ali, Moonlight), Hanzo (Changchien, TV’s Jack Ryan) and Edwin (Grace, That 70s Show). They have no idea where they are or why they’re there. All they know is that they’ve all been chosen for something.
The unidentified de facto leader of the group deduces two things: (1) they’re not on Earth anymore and (2) they’re being hunted. Why? It turns out they’re all connected to violent organizations- U.S. Special Ops, a Mexican drug cartel, Israeli Defense Forces, Spetsnaz, Death Row inmate, Revolutionary United Front and the Yakuza. Okay, but what’s Edwin doing there? He’s just a mild-mannered doctor…. or is he? As for who’s hunting them, I think you can deduce that yourself.
At one point, the group encounters a mysterious hermit (Fishburne, The Matrix), a former soldier who has survived on the planet for several years and knows a few things about the alien hunters. He gives his guests the rundown on the Predators. He explains there’s an ongoing blood feud between two classes of the aliens, the (regular) Predators and Super Predators. Also, the planet they’re on is a game reserve for the vicious extra-terrestrials to hone their hunting skills. Of course, all those years of complete solitude have affected the hermit’s mind. He often carries on conversations with an invisible person. Ultimately, he loses it completely and tries to kill everybody.
For the most part, Predators is a decent sci-fi-action flick. Directed by Nimrod Antal (Vacancy), it has lots of action, lots of violence, some pretty cool effects and a capable cast. I say capable because it pales in comparison to the lineups in the 1987 original and 1990 sequel (still the best ones!). Brody is a good actor, but he’s no Schwarzenegger (or Glover for that matter). Trejo gets too little screen time, but makes the most of it anyway. Braga plays a convincing tough chick. It’s weird to see Topher Grace in an action movie, but you’ll understand why he’s around once he reveals his secret.
The creature effects by Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero are pretty good mainly because they wisely choose to remain faithful to Stan Winston’s original design. Unfortunately, the CGI effects in Predators isn’t all that good. It takes something way from the experience. I wasn’t filled with the same sense of excitement I felt watching the original Predator for the first time back in ’87. Furthermore, the characters simply aren’t as interesting either. They’re more like cardboard cut-outs, each with a single defining characteristic. None of them are particularly memorable.
BTW, I feel I must point out that the series’ trademark line “You’re one ugly motherf***er.” is nowhere to be found here. WHAT?! That’s like a Die Hard movie without Bruce Willis saying “Yippee-ki-yay, motherf***er.” It’s a glaring omission to be sure.
I never expected Predators to measure up to the awesomeness of Predator. I didn’t even expect it to measure up to Predator 2. If taken on its own terms, it’s a reasonably entertaining B-movie. I’d expect nothing less from co-producer Robert Rodriguez (Grindhouse). It’s what I call a matinee movie. It goes back to one of the most important lessons I ever learned from my father. He imparted these words of wisdom to teenage Movie Guy 24/7: “See the matinee. It’s cheaper and the same damn movie you’d see at night.” Those are wise words indeed and true in this particular case. Predators is ideal Saturday afternoon entertainment. It’s good, but I wouldn’t want to pay full price to see it.
