In 1987, director John McTierman dropped Arnold Schwarzenegger, Karl Weathers, and yes even Jesse “The Body” Ventura deep in the jungle to do battle with what would become a modern-day movie monster, the Predator.  The movie featured some classic one-liners, tremendous action, and the most would-be-Governors in cinematic history.  Human-like in form and so very non-human under the mask, the Predator was truly bad-ass.  Grossing over 98 million dollars (and that was a lot back then) the Predator would appear again in subsequent sequels; first battling Danny Glover in the heat of LA, and then against a slew of Aliens in movies that I am sorry to say that I actually watched.  Having endured the later films, I actually thought that would be the end of our beloved cloaked villain. But I was wrong, and boy am I glad to have been wrong. 

This time, Director Nimród E. Antal and screenwriter Robert Rodriguez bring Adrianne Brody and a cast of eight others to a new jungle, although this time the jungles are not in South America, but rather a complex game reserve on an alien planet.  Royce (Brody) wakes up in a freefall high above the jungle.  His parachute opens at the last second dropping him amongst a cast of other nefarious individuals with similar backgrounds.   Mexican drug cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Spetsnaz soldier Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), Israel Defense Forces sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga), Revolutionary United Front officer Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), death row inmate Stans (Walton Goggins from The Shield ), Yakuza enforcer Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and a doctor named Edwin (Topher Grace).  None of Royce’s new friends can remember how they arrived, so the mercenary takes charge as the crew of human predators looks for a way to get off the planet.  Can they survive long enough to not kill each other, or will they become prey for a group of Predstors?

I was a huge fan of the original film, and rightfully so.  As a piece of work the film continues to stand as a classic of modern sci-fi horror.  Phrases such as “I ain’t got time to bleed,” and “get to da choppa,” have become popular catch-phrases amongst geeks and non-geeks alike.  It is one of the films I believe every guy needs to see in order to fit in among men.  Despite a very strong presence in the comics (Batman vs. Predator = simply amazing) the subsequent films didn’t do much to advance the canon. 

Predator 2 was pretty good, but lacked the suspense that the original had.  Many complained that Glover couldn’t hack it as the lead and he lacked credibility as someone who could tackle the alien beast.  That film was on television just this past weekend, and while I enjoyed the nostalgia of Predator 2, I must say that the critics were right: Glover is no Arnold.  The film did have one cool geek moment when we see the Alien skull in the mother ship.  Sadly Fox would take this concept and almost destroy two franchises at once.   

While the Alien vs. Predator crossover series had tremendous potential, its shoddy story telling and nonsensical action left movie-goers wondering what the heck they had just experienced.  The films were nothing but noise and the human element in the film made no sense whatsoever.  It would have been better served if humans weren’t involved in these stories at all, but Hollywood knew better and cardboard, disposable humans were added to the mix.  

For these reasons I had some reservations with Predators.  First, could Adrianne Brody pull off the lead role?  Brody is 150 pounds soaking wet and I am sure he could be tossed around like a rag doll by even the smallest of Predators.  Secondly I feared that the screenplay would be more like the last two installments in the series and we would be left with a loud, noisy film signifying nothing.  Happily, both my fears were erased rather quickly and I smiled watching Rodrguez and Antal build on what made the original film so great.  

First, the film has a ton of throwbacks to the 1987 original: the jungle setting, the score, even many of the weapons used by Schwarzenegger’s ill-fated team make their way to this sequel.  All these factors and many more made me feel like I was watching an extension of the original film and that made me very happy indeed. 

Next, the screenplay was very smart. Taking a cue from Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians we watch as eight hunters slowly disappear, one-by-one.  How these people vanish from the game reserve is half the fun, and there are times you have to play close attention to what is going on or you might miss something. 

Finally, the acting is superb.  Brody pulls off the lead role, not by being some hulking man-beast, but rather a calculated mercenary that is not only familiar with weapons and tactics, but how the Predators themselves might actually hunt their prey.  It’s quite convincing and it keeps the audience involved in the story around him.  Brody’s supporting cast are no slouches either.  Each one of them brings a new story to the table.  They are interesting, and despite their flaws we find ourselves caring about them.  Late in the film, Lawrence Fishburne makes a cameo appearance as a soldier who has survived ten seasons of the hunt.  Fishburne is only on screen for maybe twenty-five minutes, but his performance is not only one of the best in the film, but one of the best I have ever seen from him (and I have seen a lot).

Sadly, Predators was released shortly before Inception, and did not have the steam to hang with what will be the summer’s best movie.  It is, however, well worth the price of admission and one that true fans of the original should search out and see on the big screen.  The number of screens showing this film is well below half and it might be hard to find, but for those willing to search out a return to classic sci-fi, you won’t at all be disappointed.

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Tags: Brody, Predators, Schwarzenegger, sci-fi, Ventura

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 7:30 am and is filed under Film/Television, Theatrical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.