Some franchises never die or as the film’s tagline puts it ‘Fear is Reborn’; the evil, hunting-hobbyist aliens- Predators- are back for another go in 2010. The film that started it all, Predator was released in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as a the leader of an elite team of commandos sent to a Central American jungle on a CIA task. There they are picked off one-by-one by a seemingly invisible foe. Since the success of the first film there has been the disappointing sequel- Predators 2 (1990) and then a reboot of the franchise with Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Alien vs. Predator- Requiem (2007) which introduced a mythology for the intergalactic, heavily armed travellers.
In a return to the sensibilities of the original film, Predators, which comes as a sort of sequel to the Arnie classic, follows a group of multicultural strangers who find themselves on an alien recreational hunting ground where they are the prey. Predators starts with a truly clever and original sequence that brings all the culturally diverse players together in a foreign jungle. Adrien Brody (The Pianist, The Brothers Bloom), with a gravelly voice and a six-pack, plays Royce- a mercenary who becomes the group’s tactical leader, he is joined by: Isabelle (Alice Braga, City of God, Blindness) an Israeli 
sniper; Cuchillo (Danny Trejo, From Dusk til Dawn), a Mexican drug gang enforcer; Nikolai (former UFC Champion, Oleg Taktarov), a member of Russia’s special forces; Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), a member of a Sierra Leone death squad; Stans (Walton Goggins, The Shield) an American death row prisoner; Edwin (Topher Grace, That 70s Show), an American doctor and Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien, Gigantic), a Yukuza hitman.
Predators works best at 80s action level, with its predictable death toll and conforming racial stereotypes (echoed from the original film). The film is comforting in its conventions with its cheesy one-liners and elaborate set-pieces. However there really isn’t enough of this over-the-top fun to grasp onto with the film being heavily reliant on exposition. There are too many scenes designed to explain the rules of the film. The majority of viewers will already know the attributes of the Predator species from previous films, and for those who don’t- it’s hardly rocket science. Director Nimród Antal spends too much time telling the audience what is going on and not enough time showing us.
This film needed more killing and suspense and less Brody monologues. Yes he is an Oscar-winning actor, but this film should have been blood and guts, without the sanctimonious dribble about man’s propensity for violence. With so much of the film taken up by character development, the title Predators don’t really get much time on screen (invisible or not), leaving the film largely devoid of suspense. With the script also relying on unnecessary self-sacrifice to push the story forwards, this film shows how hard it is to make a good B-grade movie.
Antal’s (who has been hidden behind producer Robert Rodriguez in all the advertising) take on the Predator franchise is a little too light. This is the kind of film you go to expecting gore and shocks, ultimately these two elements, along with the predators themselves, are sadly awol in this latest version.
Predators is released nationally on the 8th July
Director: Nimród Antal
Cast: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Danny Trejo, Oleg Taktarov, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Walter Goggins, Topher Grace, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Laurence Fishburne
Really?? man o man, i was really hoping it would be awesome!!
I guess it’s expected that there are going to be negative reviews for a film like this, but based on the Tomatoe metre so far the movie appears to be very good and alot of fun. It seems to be on par with the orginal and definetely miles better than the AVP garbage. So, I for one am really looking forward to checking it out this weekend.
This film is great. Saw it last night at an Aussie screening.. The best thing about it is it is back to basics.. And not seeing the predators often is a good thing.. Think about predator 1, how long did it take before you got to see the predator. It builds the suspence. If you want non stop gore and to see what is happening from a predator POV the whole time go and watch AVP movies.. There’s a reason they suck.. Also the screening had a Q and A with Robert rodriguez.. It is not a big budget film even though it may look it
This has a 91% on RT(as of right now with 10 fresh and and this is the only negatively counted review against it) but seriously you pan it for not just blood and gore but actual trying to make characters? wow just wow
funny how other negative critics complained at the LACK of character developement and this film being a mindless shoot’em up gore fest.
guess ill jus go see it and make my own opinion.
So, you are basically criticizing the movie for its lack of over-the-top gore that Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was so marketed as?
Sounds like you were wanting to see a typical horror movie adaptation for Predators, which is pathetic in my opinion.
The reason Predator was so successful was due to its one-liners, machoism, and delivery of a sci-fi antagonist. What Predator/Alien/Aliens didn’t do and what Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem/Alien Resurrection did was aim for over-the-top gore and terribly implemented “suspense/killing” scenes. Guess which of the above were successful?
See? That wasn’t so hard.
@Strings This is the first rotten review I’ve seen, go see the movie if you’re a fan, this review is kinda off anyways so I wouldn’t trust it either.
I am glad the film makers ignored the level of blood and guts you hoped for because I bet you would have called it a senseless movie of mindless bloody violence which left little room for character development – and you probably would have given the movie an F grade. Damn if you do and damn if you don’t, it is impossible to satisfy you movie critics, someone is bound to be offended by everything.
Hence, I hope more film makers begin to make movies to their own personal taste and ignore you film critics who have become too many these days that your reviews have become irrelevant! These days the public decides what a good film is, and this movie (Predators) seems to me like a very good one.
Do you forget that more than half of the original predator is all character development? The predator doesn’t show his ugly mug until the last 20 minutes. Not to mention that it is littered with some silly and extremely long monologues. Although your review of predator is good, I’ll go see predators based on every one elses good review…thanks!
In the original Alien, the screen time dedicated to the Alien was minimal too, to create the suspense…Now, apparently people like you who didn’t like this made sure the directors of AVP and AVP:R know about it. So they ended up giving more screen time, less suspense, and ultimately let down the fanbase with the release of 2 lame movies
You seem to misunderstand, if we are constantly seeing them, then the mystery dies…
“This film needed more killing”, that’s what they said after AVP, so they made AVP:R which was over the top. Maybe we needed a little change, we have video games for your killing needs…
So, judging by the fanbase, the movie passes, judging by all the other reviews the fans are reading, the movie passes.
Judging by your review, you fail, for the simple reason that you will never be satisfied with the subject matter. If you want fun, watch Toy Story 3, if you want to experience the desolation and helplessness of knowing you will die, watch Predators.
This movie does not appeal to me.
There has been ONE good Predator movie.
All these others simply have not cut it.
Saw it last night and it was AWESOME!!!!
big Thumbs Up, as a huge fan i couldn’t have been happier