Post by Erik Rupp on Jul 18, 2010 22:24:11 GMT -5
1987's Predator pretty much came out of the blue and was a surprise in terms of the quality of the movie. Sure, it wasn't a big surprise that it was a hit since Arnold Schwarzenegger was headed into his commercial peak and had been in a few minor hit movies, but very few people expected the movie to be as good as it was.
The sequel, Predator 2, was a bit of a letdown, but not nearly as bad as many have made it out to be. The attempts to reboot the franchise with the Alien VS Predator movies were only partially successful at best.
Enter Robert Rodriguez. He took charge of rebooting the Predator series yet again. Clearly, the man is a fan of the original.
Predators may get off to the fastest start in movie history as Adrien Brody's character wakes up to find himself in mid-freefall several thousand feet in the air. His parachute opens at literally the last possible second and allows him a rough, but survivable landing. He quickly finds that he is not alone as several other killers, soldiers, and mercinaries are in the same position he is - and none of them can remember how they ended up in free fall in the first place.
Predators really recaptures the spirit and feel of the original movie. Once again the movie is set in the jungle, only this time the jungle isn't here on Earth, it's on an alien planet that has been set up as a, "Game preserve," of sorts for the Predators to hunt their prey. Brody and that assorted collection of soldiers, murderers, and mercenaries are the prey.
Producer Robert Rodriguez' reverence for the original film shows up on screen here throughout. The style of the movie, along with the jungle setting, is very much like the original. The twist - this time its on their turf - is a nice touch.
Director Nimrod Antal does a very good job with the action, and allows for enough breathing room for the characters to slowly develop (or, more accurately, for their character traits to come through bit by bit as we get to know them). The movie is well edited as well by Dan Zimmerman, which gives the movie a really good pace as well.
The acting is more than adequate for this kind of Sci-Fi/Action movie. Brody is surprisingly good in a tough guy action role, and Topher Grace fits in the film better than many would have expected. Of course, the collection of tough guys (and a tough girl, played very well by Alice Braga), is very much reminiscent of the group from the original movie, with enough new wrinkles thrown in to keep the movie from seeming like a complete rehash of the 1987 classic.
Bottom line? Predators is a really good action movie and a great sequel to one of the iconic films of the Sci-Fi/Action genre. The series has pretty much come full circle.
4.25/5