Predators

First off I'm a huge predator fan. I love this film. It gives a great take on the predator hunted theme which is basically the same story every generation, and also a smart remake. Great cast every performance hits the write mark and the script does everything it should without any fluff. The ever evolving Predator works perfectly with some great updates. It's a shame Rodriguez didn't follow this on cause that I would have wanted to see. I can see why some fans weren't happy, especially with the Fishburn character but for me it's all very good.

I actively avoided watching this movie for years. I'm a fan of the original Predator movies, and old Aliens stuff. I hated what they did on AVP and the newest Aliens so I didn't expect much here and continued to skip it. Finally watched it in 2022 and I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the cast they put together and the old Predator feel of the movie. Great music and really good practical effects. I honestly would like a sequel to this as they left it open for more. Not a bad show to watch when you feel like you've seen everything, or have a winter Sunday without football. Grab some popcorn and enjoy.

Predators Review

In A Nutshell...

Eight of Earth's most dangerous Soldiers and Criminals awaken falling into an unknown jungle – on an alien world. As they try to work together to stay alive, an invisible enemy hunts them for sport.

Review

In 1987 John McTiernan directed a testosterone filled action flick, which pitted Arnold Schwarzenegger against a bad-ass alien, it did well with its worldwide audience and is still considered a solid action film today. But after a poor sequel, which replaced The Terminator himself with Danny Glover (bad idea) and two laughable spin-offs, it seemed the predator franchise was all but dead and buried.

Twenty-three Years later producer Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and director Nimród Antal (Vacancy – but don't be put off just yet) have come together with an unproduced 1994 script by Rodriguez – who has been eager to get the picture made for quite some time. The film does well with the original formula, a jungle, a group of mercenaries with big guns, a strong leader — who in this case is Oscar winner Adrian Brody (The pianist, King Kong) who has bulked up for the role of Royce, but is merely a shadow of Schwarzenegger's Dutch in size. But what Brody lacks in statue, he makes up for in pure acting talent, and brings a well needed central performance, to a film that ultimately lacks in dialogue.

The supporting cast unlike other movies of this genre, don't just play the part of a large body count, but have a likable mentality (well some do) similar to James Cameron's Aliens – but don't get me wrong, none of them are by any means Bill Paxton's Hudson. An honourable mention goes to the Katana wielding yakuza Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien) whose sword skills are somewhat deadly. Unfortunately one of the biggest disappointments of the film is how the predator is handled, with the introduction of the new berserker Predator, which hunts the humans and Predators alike. You would think they would be ten times the hunter that the first was – But actually they are a lot sloppier in comparison to the 1987 original.

Final Thoughts

The first half is a brilliantly paced action movie which lives up to expectations, in many ways surpasses them. Unfortunately due to a few minor hick-ups and a dull climax it suffers in the third and final act. But overall a well earned three star effort, which should grant Nimród Antal another bash at the recovering franchise.

3/5 Stars www.CrazyAboutFilm.com

After re-watching this movie for a third time in 4k and 10 years later, I think this is better than I thought the first and second time. The story is quite simple and enjoyable and most of the characters are true Badass. Action is pretty well done and filming locations are similar to original Predator. Last, I just noticed Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is in the cast! Probably one of his first roles. So, overall a great re-watch in 4k and great movie for franchise fans.

This is a strip down predator movie. A group of disparate tough people are parachuted off into an alien world. There isn't much of a setup. They find themselves being hunted by predators.

This one stars Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Danny Trejo, and Laurence Fishburne. Fishburne's character is a bit of a missed opportunity. There are other actors who could play crazy better.

Even though Robert Rodriguez didn't direct this, it's got many of his touches. And it's a worthy sequel to '87 original. It's definitely better than all the Predator versus Alien movies. It's even better than the 1990 sequel.