'Predators' Movie Review

Back in the mid-'90s filmmaker Robert Rodriguez was asked by 20th Century Fox to come up with a script for a new Predator movie. Rodriguez hammered out a script, packing it with pretty much everything he personally wanted to see in a Predator film. He turned it in, and then went about making his own movies for the next dozen years. Then in 2009, Fox came to Rodriguez and said they were interested in making his version of Predator. He wasn't available to direct but stayed on board as producer and helped guide the new writers, Alex Litvak and Michael Finch, through the process. He was also instrumental in the hiring of director Nimrod Antal. Litvak and Finch used some of Rodriguez' ideas as jumping off points to create Predators, a film which could fit between any of the films of the Predator franchise.

So that's the setup for the rebirth/revamping of the Predator series, a film franchise whose various sequels have never lived up to the original. And while Predators isn't as good as the first film released in 1987 and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's a step up from Predator 2 and definitely better than either of the Alien vs Predator films (one of which I was too generous with and awarded a 'B' when in hindsight it's strictly 'C' quality). What Predators lacks in story it makes up for in high octane action scenes, which is really what we go to see these films for anyway, isn't it? Character development has never been the franchise's strong suit.

Predators - The Story

There's not much to the plot of Predators. Eight strangers are dropped onto an alien planet and are forced to figure out A) where they are, B) why they're there, and C) what it's going to take to stay alive. It doesn't take long for them to figure out A and B, but getting to C involves a lot of wrong moves, a few deaths, and then finally some strategic teamwork. And, really, that's all there is to Predators. Skilled fighters are plucked off of Earth to be used as 'game' so that Predators can learn the best way to kill humans. Simple plot, lots of action, and some pretty cool creature effects - and that's it.

The Acting

Standouts from the ensemble cast include Danny Trejo who, as usual, shows up to play a bad-ass and quickly gets killed off, and Topher Grace as a fish-out-of-water doctor whose knowledge of poisons comes in handy as the team races around among the planet's lethal foliage. Also showing she can handle big guns and big action scenes is Alice Braga as the film's sole female character, Isabelle. Isabelle is just as strong a fighter as the men, and Braga proves she's a capable action star (although her character is horribly underdeveloped, perhaps even more so than any of the men). And Walton Goggins is great as the creepy dude you'd never willing choose to go into battle with.

But the biggest surprise of the lot is Oscar-winner Adrien Brody as the de facto leader of the group. Brody's never before tried to shoulder the weight of headlining a big studio shoot 'em up film and he does fine on his rookie outing, though I'm not sure about the voice he uses throughout Predators. It's almost as though Brody's trying to make up for his lean frame by adding some weird weight to his voice.

The Bottom Line

Litvak and Finch appear to have devoted most of the time spent writing the script coming up with cool ways to pick off each of the humans. As mentioned, little time is devoted to actually learning about the fighters hijacked and plopped down on this alien planet. The lack of character development hurts when our 'heroes' are being brutally killed because there's not a single character we care about enough to feel anything for after they're gone.

As for the action, the deaths are well-staged and the gore is there for those into bloody killings. The film lags whenever the chase isn't the focus of the scene, and there's a bizarre segment with Laurence Fishburne that plays out like an afterthought. Fishburne shows up for a brief period as a fellow stranded earthling who managed to outlast all of the other humans for 10 hunting seasons and instructs the newbies how to stay one step ahead of the Predators hunting them down. Although it sort of serves its purpose, it's unnecessary and detracts from the action (and is a poor use of Fishburne's talent).

And I have to point out my least favorite scene from the film because, it seems to me, it should have been one of the high points of the whole production. Without spoiling anything, one fight scene involving hand-to-hand combat toward the end of the film doesn't work because it's obviously a man inside a monster suit, which kind of kicked me out of the scene and made me think of old Godzilla movies.

Predators doesn't live up to its potential, but it is a step in the right direction for the franchise. The alien world introduced in the film is intriguing and the next movie, if there is one, could further explore that planet and maybe tell us more about the Predators themselves. There's a lot of room to expand on what's been created with the 2010 Predators, and this installment of the franchise shouldn't be the last word in all things Predator.

GRADE: B-

Predators was directed by Nimrod Antal and is rated R for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive language.

Theatrical Release: July 9, 2010

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