Movie Review - Predators

Here is the post that ended up on Creative Loafing. You can check out the finished product HERE. A struggling writer always appreciates the support!

When I was younger, and even now, for that matter, I loved the original Predator movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie had a great cat and mouse game, some good suspense and two larger than life foes going at it. Sadly, the franchise hit a down note with every installment since, but Robert Rodriguez looks to revitalize the franchise with a return to basics in Predators, and more interestingly, he chose Adrien Brody (and his nose) to lead the movie. So, as a fan of the first one, I have some serious standards. In a summer of disappointments, Predators surely can’t live up to the hype, can it? It can, and I’ll stop calling you Shirley.

Predators starts off incredibly with our hero (Brody) free falling. As he wakes up and realizes the ground is coming really quick, he works to free his parachute. It’s a quick smack in the face to get you awake for what is to come as Brody’s bad ass character meets up with 7 other characters who make up some of Earth’s greatest predators. They are dropped on this alien planet to duel with all kinds of predators, and some of their new toys. The movie quickly shows you a Predator we recognize that is beaten and tied up, showing us that these predators are so much bigger and more terrifying than any previous visitors. Now, these loners have to work together to get off this game preserve before the predators hunt and kill them all.

The biggest thing you will notice is that this movie is more than just a return to form, it takes everything that was great from the first Predator movie and amplifies it. You have a few larger than life characters in the humans, and you have not one, but several predators hunting you. There are many traps and pitfalls, and even a guy dueling a predator with a Samurai Sword. You also have the jungle landscape, which played such a big part in the first movie making a dominating return on an alien world, here. And, the most important parts are the one-liners, there are a few similar to the classic “get to the choppah,” like “you’re ass is awesome!” or my favorite “it’s 5 o’clock, it’s rape time,” which is said by the meak Topher Grace, by the way.

The other thing you will notice, besides the landscape will be the cast. Brody is surprisingly good in this movie. I had some doubts going in, but was really impressed by his bad-assery (it’s a word). Although the movie had to have the stereotypes like the Asian guy, the black guy, and the Mexican guy (Machete’s Danny Trejo), they all were quite impressive. My favorite however, was Laurence Fishburne’s character. He stole the movie in the short time he was on screen as the crazy survivor who somehow lived. The other jewel was Topher Grace. His character is dropped down, and is a total wimp, and is completely Topher, but the good part is finding out why he was chosen to be hunted.

Overall, there was very little not to like. If you like the first one, you will love this one. The pacing is good, there is some good suspense, some larger than life characters, and some amazing battles that make this one of the more fun summer popcorn flicks this year. This will please anyone who is looking for a big, fun, slightly cheesy way to get out of the heat.