Sometimes I wonder if there's species in the galaxy worth hunting other than us...
Predators
starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo
directed by Nimrod Antal
Its been twenty years since the last time we’ve seen a Predator movie; yes, I’m choosing to ignore AVP and AVP-R because not only are they not true Predator form films, they just honestly aren’t really that great. 1987’s Predator introduced the alien hunter to the world, and 1990’s Predator 2 expanded the hunters’ legend. Now, producer Robert Rodriguez is finally giving the Predators a much deserved third chapter; the only question is, did he and director Nimrod Antal do it justice?
A mercenary(Brody) wakes up from being knocked unconscious to find that he is falling through the sky. He is shocked, and the ground is fast approaching. Just before its too late, a parachute automatically deploys and sets the merc down none to gently. While he is trying to gather himself, he stumbles upon others in his situation; a special forces operative (Braga), a death row convict, a Russian Alpha Group member, a drug cartel enforcer (Trejo), a Yakuza gang member, an African rebel, and a doctor (Grace). The merc and the special forces op manage to keep everyone from killing each other so they can try to figure out what’s happening to them, because wherever they are has no magnetic north pole, and multiple moons and planets in the sky. Its not long before the group figures out two very important facts; they are not on Earth, and more importantly, they are being hunted.
I’ll say this: hearing that Nimrod Antal would be the director made me a bit nervous. His last two films, Vacancy and Armored,are not really what I would call quality film making. But suffice to say, I was and am proved wrong. Whether Antal is just better skilled than before or Robert Rodriguez has a strong guiding hand in the process, but either way Predators rocks. The filmmakers bring it back to what made the first film so cool; a linear science fiction-action story about the hunters being hunted. We’re in the jungle again with a group of trained killers who are on a mission, of sorts, who are ambushed by strange, invisible, powerful creatures. Its that same look and feel of the original, the same simplicity and momentum, with a few vital differences; the jungle is on a different world, the group doesn’t trust each other, and we are introduced to a new kind of Predator.
A quick kudos to the filmmakers for keeping the Predators away from CGI. That’s not to say there isn’t CGI in the film; there are well down animated sequences of strange creatures on the planet and a few shots of a space craft. What I’m talking about is the actual Predators themselves; they are still, after all these years, full body suits. In an industry that defaults to computer animation to often, Antal and Rodriguez choose to stay with the suits, and the film is the better for it. The Predators look awesome, and this simple choice to deviate from the standard makes the film feel that much more like it worthy of its predecessors.
Despite all of the things the films gets right, there are a few details that don’t sit quite right. There is an odd and distracting subplot about the doctor character that serves really no purpose to the film. The outcome of this subplot does not effect the eventual outcome of the movie, and at best only adds a twist that just doesn’t belong and is completely unneeded. Also, I do credit the film team with keeping in step with the original, but the scene leading up to the finale is a little too much like the first Predator. One of the fight sequences between the merc and the Predator could have been pulled straight from the finale of the original; dialogue and all. Its a bit off putting, but it definitely does not ruin the movie as a whole.
For the most part, the cast gives solid performances. Adrien Brody is one of my favorite actors, and his role as the merc only serves to prove that he can take on a vast amount of roles successfully. He played it believably and well, but at the end of the day, I feel that he tried to make his character too much like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch in the original Predator. Alice Braga is fantastic as the special forces operative; her performance of the character ends up being the heart and soul of the group of killers. Topher Grace is good, but he plays basically the same guy he plays in all of his films; well done, just not out of the box. In the end it is Laurence Fishburne that ends up stealing the show; his role as a weird and schizophrenic survivor is spot on and probably the best thing I’ve seen Fishburne do since The Matrix.
Perhaps the coolest thing of all about the film is the duel meaning of the title; sure, the film is about the Predators, but the word predators also refers to the selected group of killers. They, too, are predators in their own right. All in all, Predators brings the franchise back to where it should have been nearly twenty years ago. It manages to capture what made Predator so good while maintaining its own original nuances. Despite the few missteps, Predators is one of the few films worth seeing of the summer so far, and I highly recommend you get out there and see it. And, just for old times sake, “Get to the Choppa!”
Open Season…for Humans
Sometimes I wonder if there's species in the galaxy worth hunting other than us...
Predators
starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo
directed by Nimrod Antal
Its been twenty years since the last time we’ve seen a Predator movie; yes, I’m choosing to ignore AVP and AVP-R because not only are they not true Predator form films, they just honestly aren’t really that great. 1987’s Predator introduced the alien hunter to the world, and 1990’s Predator 2 expanded the hunters’ legend. Now, producer Robert Rodriguez is finally giving the Predators a much deserved third chapter; the only question is, did he and director Nimrod Antal do it justice?
A mercenary(Brody) wakes up from being knocked unconscious to find that he is falling through the sky. He is shocked, and the ground is fast approaching. Just before its too late, a parachute automatically deploys and sets the merc down none to gently. While he is trying to gather himself, he stumbles upon others in his situation; a special forces operative (Braga), a death row convict, a Russian Alpha Group member, a drug cartel enforcer (Trejo), a Yakuza gang member, an African rebel, and a doctor (Grace). The merc and the special forces op manage to keep everyone from killing each other so they can try to figure out what’s happening to them, because wherever they are has no magnetic north pole, and multiple moons and planets in the sky. Its not long before the group figures out two very important facts; they are not on Earth, and more importantly, they are being hunted.
I’ll say this: hearing that Nimrod Antal would be the director made me a bit nervous. His last two films, Vacancy and Armored,are not really what I would call quality film making. But suffice to say, I was and am proved wrong. Whether Antal is just better skilled than before or Robert Rodriguez has a strong guiding hand in the process, but either way Predators rocks. The filmmakers bring it back to what made the first film so cool; a linear science fiction-action story about the hunters being hunted. We’re in the jungle again with a group of trained killers who are on a mission, of sorts, who are ambushed by strange, invisible, powerful creatures. Its that same look and feel of the original, the same simplicity and momentum, with a few vital differences; the jungle is on a different world, the group doesn’t trust each other, and we are introduced to a new kind of Predator.
A quick kudos to the filmmakers for keeping the Predators away from CGI. That’s not to say there isn’t CGI in the film; there are well down animated sequences of strange creatures on the planet and a few shots of a space craft. What I’m talking about is the actual Predators themselves; they are still, after all these years, full body suits. In an industry that defaults to computer animation to often, Antal and Rodriguez choose to stay with the suits, and the film is the better for it. The Predators look awesome, and this simple choice to deviate from the standard makes the film feel that much more like it worthy of its predecessors.
Despite all of the things the films gets right, there are a few details that don’t sit quite right. There is an odd and distracting subplot about the doctor character that serves really no purpose to the film. The outcome of this subplot does not effect the eventual outcome of the movie, and at best only adds a twist that just doesn’t belong and is completely unneeded. Also, I do credit the film team with keeping in step with the original, but the scene leading up to the finale is a little too much like the first Predator. One of the fight sequences between the merc and the Predator could have been pulled straight from the finale of the original; dialogue and all. Its a bit off putting, but it definitely does not ruin the movie as a whole.
For the most part, the cast gives solid performances. Adrien Brody is one of my favorite actors, and his role as the merc only serves to prove that he can take on a vast amount of roles successfully. He played it believably and well, but at the end of the day, I feel that he tried to make his character too much like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch in the original Predator. Alice Braga is fantastic as the special forces operative; her performance of the character ends up being the heart and soul of the group of killers. Topher Grace is good, but he plays basically the same guy he plays in all of his films; well done, just not out of the box. In the end it is Laurence Fishburne that ends up stealing the show; his role as a weird and schizophrenic survivor is spot on and probably the best thing I’ve seen Fishburne do since The Matrix.
Perhaps the coolest thing of all about the film is the duel meaning of the title; sure, the film is about the Predators, but the word predators also refers to the selected group of killers. They, too, are predators in their own right. All in all, Predators brings the franchise back to where it should have been nearly twenty years ago. It manages to capture what made Predator so good while maintaining its own original nuances. Despite the few missteps, Predators is one of the few films worth seeing of the summer so far, and I highly recommend you get out there and see it. And, just for old times sake, “Get to the Choppa!”