Predators and Surviving Terror: A Movie Review

Predators' Int' Poster

Director: Nimrod Antal.

Writer: Alex Litvak, Michael Finch, Jim Thomas, and John Thomas.

Producer: Robert Rodriguez.

The latest film in the Predator franchise is centrally from the minds of Nimrod Antal (Vacancy) and Robert Rodriguez (Grindhouse). Other writers have participated and this latest film is being distributed by 20th Century Fox, while being partially produced by Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios. This alien hunter franchise spans twenty plus years and Predators goes from man vs man, or alien, in the original, to squad vs squad on the Predator's home, or at least an alien-made turf. The film adds many more plotlines than the original, with an ensemble cast outmatching a much larger Predator in this newest film compared to the first.

The story begins with character Royce free-falling from the sky, or as movie critic Roger Ebert says via "deus ex machina (falling from the heavens)." Thankfully, Royce's shoot opens, but others are not so lucky. Seven characters in total survive a parachute drop into a lush jungle including: a Mexican mobster (Danny Trejo), a member of the Japanese Yakuza (Louis Changchien), an RUF fighter from Sierra Leone (Ali), a mercenary (Brody), a death row inmate (Walton Goggins), a Russian soldier (Oleg Taktarov), an inauspicious doctor without a medical bag (Topher Grace), and one female member of a South American based black ops' group (Alice Braga). These seven characters have been specially chosen for their fighting abilities. Now, they will face off against a fierce looking and fanged alien hunter, who likes to poach in packs of three. Alien spiked dogs lead the charge in the film's first action packed scene.

Sometimes doing away with the negative helps to focus on the positive. In the original Predator, a heavily muscled Austrian born Arnold Schwarzeneger squared off against a single creature to a believable conclusion. Now, a lean, Jewish, tough-talking Adrien Brody steps in to the lead role with ambivalent, or unclear results. Brody's lines occasionally hang and while the performance is overall above average, Brody does not have enough experience in these types of roles to completely sell the performance. One other minor drawback is the ending, which really brings the surviving characters back full circle to the beginning. Is this progress?

The addition of Laurence Fishburne as Noland, the introduction of a much larger Predator, and the interaction between several killers creates for many conflicted interactions and thrilling possibilities. However, these soldiers and murderers must, and do, band together quickly to fight in an unusual, hostile environment. The CGI enhanced settings really are spectacularly alien as Ebert notes: "there are three or four moons in the sky," and the difficulties of returning to Earth adds in another convergent plotline. Most of the characters have the same goal - to get home.

Although some of characters in Predators, understandably, do not make the final scene the battling between human and alien also decimates the Predators ranks. One scene involving a katana armed Yakuza gangster facing off against a bladed monster is especially well-done and believable. The battling between alien and earth born squad members creates for many firefights, which generates much of the excitement in the film.

Predators will likely be the stand alone blockbuster of the summer because of the convergent and divergent plotlines. Not all the characters want to get back! The very different character motivations and unique characteristics go farther than the original film did. So, this film is not merely a sequel, but an expansion of the original and as Louise Keller says from the Australian based Urban Cinephile "it is edge of the seat stuff!"

Overall: 8 out of 10 (nice use of CGI, believable sets, good conflict, generally good, believable acting, simply entertaining).

The Predators' homepage:

Predators' Official Website

A review of Predators at Urban Cinefile:

Predators Reviewed at Cinefile

Roger Ebert shows some disdain for Predators here:

A Predators Review by Ebert

A well written review of Predators at Film Critic:

A Predators Review

A novel version of the film:



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Posted in: 2010,adrien brody,alice braga,fantasy,horror,movie poster,movie review,nimrod antal,plot,plot summary,plot twists,predators,robert rodriguez,science fiction,thriller,topher grace