Predators
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.
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