Predators: A review

I just got back from the film Predators and here is what I thought.

I’ve been a big fan of the predator franchise since I was very young. I loved the original, such a great macho story with an incredible creature. The Stan Winston design was and still is the perfect design for the alien. Most people have a very warm spot in their hearts for the original as well. However most people hated the sequel. This is where I differ. I thought the sequel was an interesting continuation of the predator mythos. It’s a very brutal gritty film. I loved the setting of a huge city replacing the jungle. It’s different from the original but that’s a good thing. I didn’t need another cardboard cutout of the first. I thought this was a solid second film that surely had its flaws but was fun and slick. I liked the first AVP as well. Again very cool designs and expanding of the Predator universe. It was exactly what I hoped it would be…Aliens fighting Predators done with exceptional sfx. That’s all I really wanted from it. AVP: Requiem on the other hand was a disaster. This was my stance on the franchise going into the Film. As for the film itself:

From the beginning it was obvious that Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal, the film’s makers, are big fans of the original. The score and tone of the film is very reminiscent of the original and there are a lot of easter eggs and nods to that film throughout. It even has very much the same setting with a slight twist…this isn’t earth. It has a pretty decent group of professional killers that band together to fight off the Predators. The difference here is they are not a tight group of soldiers that trust each other. No one knows whom to trust and some of the trust that does form is ill placed. I have never been a fan of Adrian Brody in any film, but I will admit he makes a pretty serviceable action star here. For once in his career he doesn’t seem to be playing Adrian Brody in a movie. He does a nice job selling the macho merc for hire that reluctantly leads this group by his actions and field experience alone. One character I did not care for was the Doctor played by Topher Grace. Not a bit. He had some comic relief lines and there is a pretty obvious twist to the character that isn’t much of a payoff and frankly could have been written out. Trejo is trejo as you’d expect the cliché Mexican Drug Cartel enforcer. The Nikolai character I actually enjoyed. He was the tough guy Russian. Lawrence Fishburne was ok in his limited role (which I’ve read was originally written as a cameo for Danny Glover’s Predator 2 character) and the female lead wasn’t bad either. As for the mythology: this movie attempts to do what Aliens did to the Alien franchise by expanding the Predator mythos and history while inventing some clarity to the reasons behind these creatures hunts. It also introduces different races or classes of Predator while creating a class war between the two. It’s all pretty interesting and allows for the inclusion of the “classic” look Predator from the original. The film has its flaws, like some bonehead decisions and perhaps an unrealistic team-up, but its fun. This is an action flick plane and simple. The Predators look cool, the violence is done very well, and it’s a solid expanding of a great character. The ending was good as well. The film very much takes me back to the ’87 film. I enjoyed this film a lot. I’ve read a lot of bad reviews, and this is just my own humble opinion, but I think it’s a good addition to the franchise at the very least. Again it’s not anywhere near perfect. It has plot holes and you don’t care as much for the characters as the 87 film, but it was definitely worth the summer ticket. It was a fun ride and is far better than anything done recently in either alien or Predator franchises. Take it for what it is ……a fun summer blockbuster with some nostalgia to it.

me and z saw this last friday night and i felt it was ok for what it was.if you guys plan to see this movie,go in with an open mind and just have fun with it.also,was it my imagination but the soundtrack sounded like a mix of the first two movies to me.

see my previous review. I would not pay full price a second time.

delta1025 wrote:

me and z saw this last friday night and i felt it was ok for what it was.if you guys plan to see this movie,go in with an open mind and just have fun with it.also,was it my imagination but the soundtrack sounded like a mix of the first two movies to me.

Not your imagination. I think It was pretty much the exact score from the first film with some added electric guitar rifs by rodriguez here and there. There could have been some cuts from Predator 2 as well. Like I said they really made it a point to include bits and pieces of the previous films in this movie. Lots of little easter eggs.

I have always been a fan of the Predator films, the '87 film is classic!
I can watch this over and over again and quote every line in it. I love Predator!

Predator 2 is a film that grows on you, going into the concrete jungle was def. the right move for the sequel and Danny Glover actually did a good job the lead considering it doesn't seem like a roll you'd usually see him in. He'll always be Murtaugh to me.

The AVP movies I didnt mind as they are meant to tie the Alien/Predator mythos' together which I think they do well, but at the same time the CGI is just too much esp. in AVP.
It's time to go back to people in costumes and actually acting and stop CGing them in.
AVPR was too dark, and by that I mean it was shot too dark. Its hard to make out whats going on sometimes.

Predators itself was a pretty good film.
as ZombieRob said there are def. a few things that could have been changed that would have made it better but all in all it was pretty good.
I also liked the inclusion of a blood feud between the different Predator classes. I was confused briefly when I first saw the Pred strung up but it made total sense later.
I think one of the best parts for me was that they used the original score from Predator, that was a great addition.

Spoiler Alert----------



I wasn't happy that any of them survived. They all shoulda died and if not at least kill off the girl in the end. It was too much like the ending of the '87 film, I was hoping for something different and a little more creative.



All in all I enjoyed the film and look forward to the DVD and possibly a directors cut.

Thanks. I'll be checking this out.