Review: Predators

Grade: B+

Royce, who is a mercenary of sorts, wakes up to find himself falling out of the sky, a parachute deploys and he slams into the ground. He quickly discovers that he is not the only person with this experience. The group all quickly discover that they are, essentially, some of the best killers in the world. They begin to work together to find out who kidnapped them and dropped them in the middle of the jungle. They then discover that they are not on Earth, but rather a planet designed as a game reserve, and they are the game. They discover that the alien creatures that are hunting them are superior in every way and that they have been to Earth before. The group must then decide to work together to bring down the Predators that are hunting them.

I was so excited to see this movie because I am a big fan of the Predator movies. Many people think that this movie is a reboot, but actually it takes place after the first two movies. This becomes apparent when one of the characters describes the events of the first movie. This movie was written and produced by Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Planet Terror) who originally wrote this script in the early 90s. The script was great and I am very glad Rodriguez watched over the production of this movie. It was directed by Nimrod Antal (Vacancy, Control) who did a great job with the movie, it is dark and gritty and action packed with plenty of suspense. I will say there are two rather small things about this movie that I don’t care for: The first is that the Predators that are hunting them on this planet are not quite the same predators from the previous movies. These ones are slightly larger and look slightly different, as one character puts it, “it’s like comparing dogs to wolves”. I like the classic Predators and there was no need to change them. This leads to the second problem I had with the movie: the new slightly larger predators are enemies with the classic predators, leading to a scene of “The enemy of my enemy” which is what bothered me about Alien Vs. Predator. Predators should never friend or work with humans, but that’s just me. I will admit, i do like how the new predators use the bones and skulls of some of their past kills to modify their helmets, that looked great and terrifying.

The cast of the movie is quite the variety of actors. Adrian Brody (The Brothers Bloom, King Kong) plays the lead, of sorts, character, Royce, a mercenary with a mysterious past. Brody did a pretty good job with this role; it is a bit different than what I’m used to seeing him in. Alice Braga (Repo Men, I Am Legend) plays Isabelle, a soldier with a knowledge of the Predators past on Earth. Braga was pretty good in this role and really helped the movie move along. Laurence Fishburne (Mission Impossible III, The Matrix) plays Noland, a man who has managed to survive seven hunting seasons by hiding and scavenging. Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3, TVs That 70s Show) plays Edwin, a doctor dropped on the planet. He did a great job with this role but he is the one character is the one character that seems out of place. The rest of the cast includes Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Louis Ozawa Changchien and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali.

If you are a fan of the Predator movies, like I am, this is a must see. It is a great new chapter in the franchise and I hope that there are more to come. I love the predator character and I do hope they bring back the classic Predator.

Great quote: “They want us to hunt them, that’s how they hunt us.”