I heard lots of groans when this movie was released which is why I didn’t see it in the theater. Why… even our very own Carl of Robotcast gave pause when I asked him if I should see Predators. He said that he could not recommend this flick.
I watched Predators and enjoyed it. Let me qualify that by saying that I also enjoyed Aliens vs. Predators. Also, if there is some Predator lore or cannon out there, I don’t know anything about it. I haven’t seen the 80’s Predator movie in a long time.
It took me awhile to warm up to the film because initially it felt like Lost: The Movie complete with a Jack-lying-on-his-back tree view. A handful of unlikely strangers are deserted in a jungle running away from an invisible threat. My boredom dissipated with the appearance of the Predator dogs. It started to feel like a movie at that point. I don’t recall ever seeing Predator dogs before so I appreciated seeing something new. I don’t know what the animal was with the roaches coming out of it was but was delightfully disgusting. The gist of this movie is that the worst of human-kind are dropped on this planet and are hunted by three Predator soldiers. Apparently these soldiers are rogue and are at war with the more civilized Predators… or something like that. So… the humans run around as the Predators pick them off one by one. Then, out of no where and outfitted with a Predator cloaking shield, Laurence Fishburne shows up to save the day. The team discovers that he’s bat-shit crazy and while they rest and hide, he tries to suffocate them with smoke so that he can steal their weapons. Of course the Predator sees this commotion and the hunt begins again. They fight until it’s two of them left a guy and a girl. They kill the final Predator and a new batch of humans and Predators drop from the sky and the games begin again.
I didn’t think that Adrian Brody could be a convincing tough guy. As a matter of fact him as a lead in a sci-fi horror thriller was a complete turn off for me. It was another reason I didn’t see this film in the theater. I never imagined him in a role like this and it was jarring to see him as a tough guy lead but he managed to pull it off. I even liked him as a tough guy. In fact, all of the actors were believable in their roles. Predators may not have been for everyone but it was a solid summer movie.
Predators was released July 9, 2010 by 20th Century Fox.