Predators - Review

PREDATORS is the long-awaited sequel to PREDATOR. Wait a minute, I forgot PREDATOR 2. And, all of the AVP films that everyone is thankfully forgetting but not forgiving. The Predator has had a bumpy franchise path, focusing more on urban violent entries than playing up its allusions to The Most Dangerous Game. But, with PREDATORS, viewers and fans of the ugly but proud race of alien hunters can safely enjoy a pleasing action time-killer and a justified relaunch.



The film opens with Adrien Brody plummeting on to an alien planet with a near endless jungle environment. Crashing down with a deployed parachute, he finds quickly that other armed individuals were distributed in his vicinity as well. Multiple Mexican stand-offs later, the globally diverse group of militants, and Topher Grace, try to find their bearings on the alien planet. They begin noticing strange instances and peculiar science phenomena that can't be Earth-based. The tenacious company of fighters then find out that there three moons in the sky. They must be on an alien planet! I would have probably figured this twist easy even without the blaring spoilers from the trailers, but they doesn't mean you can't just hold some mystery for viewers to have fun with.



The group then is proceed to be hunted upon by three massive Predators and their assortment of gadgetry and creature scouts. The brief shoot-out sequences with these scouts are entertaining, even though they bring some plot holes. Another error in judgment in the writing process was the inclusion of an unnecessary sub-plot where the Predators themselves have a class and race division. And, there's that part where another Predator is added and then quickly subtracted out of the proceedings.



But, this movie is not supposed to be about overthinking the miscalculations and blunders. Director Nimrod Antal and the screenwriters wanted to make a B-movie sci-fi action flick with minor intellect substance to be had. All of the actors hit the mark they were picked for and do a decent performance. The only stand-outs are Walter Goggins and Topher Grace, who bring in the sleazy and comedic aspects, and most notably Laurence Fishburne. Fishburne has a cameo role as a former but still surviving prey of the Predators. He's both intelligent and dangerous as he quirkily whispers his knowledge to the rest and his invisible voices. Fishburne clearly might have a future as the next Nicholas Cage of gonzo roles.



Other than some long but great violent encounters, the highlight being a samurai duel in a dark field, I was treated to finally seeing some competent and clearly gray morality elements. The group often notices psychological booby traps that use human beings as bait and are always willing to leave one another behind if they fall behind or are injured. Only a few of them are distinctly evil beings but that doesn't prevent the dog eat dog mentality from arising. Sadly, the female sniper (Alice Braga) is given the requisite hope characterization that are often designed for women roles.



PREDATORS aims to please and it works most of the one hour and fifty minute time. It has a lot of callbacks to the original classic, you just have to love those ending credits, and has some original elements to call its own. Not totally perfect nor a total creative misfire, it does shine a better future for the franchise and the possibility for more hunts to come.





FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5