Hey, guess what! This movie doesn’t totally suck! Will wonders never cease? Oh, world of wonders, you amaze me so.
I’m not sure exactly what made me want to go see this film. I’ve seen the original Predator, of course, and while I thought it was a pretty good sci-fi flick, it’s not one I’ve ever sought out again. But something about the trailer for this one intrigued me. I’m not sure just what it was, though. Let me think. What could it have been? The special effects? No. . . The jungle setting? Eh, not really. . . The. . . OH WAIT. I KNOW.
The Adrien Brody! Humina humina humina. Despite his ridiculous nose (or possibly because of it — I’m still trying to figure that out), I find Brody insanely sexy, and the rest of the cast piqued my curiosity as well. It’s a bunch of serious bad-asses (Laurence Fishburn, Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov) plus. . . Topher Grace? What the hell is Topher Grace doing in there?
Let’s find out, I said to myself this afternoon when I suddenly found myself downtown with two hours of free time and a twenty-dollar bill burning a hole in my pocket.
The plot of Predators reminded me right away of the sci-fi thriller The Cube, in that it’s about a random group of people with varying skill sets thrown into a dangerous situation and forced to work together to get out alive. The bulk of the group here is made up of mercenaries and militaries — a soldier from Sierra Leone, one from Chechnya, a member of the Japanese mafia — but they all have different fighting skills. And then there’s Grace, clearly the odd-man-out — a doctor, and not someone who seems particularly suited for jungle war.
As the group starts exploring the jungle, and themselves, they begin to realize what’s happened. They’ve all been snatched and then dropped onto a distant planet to serve as entertainment for the aliens I’m just going to call the “Predators,” even though in this movie, that’s a term you could use to describe either team in the game.
As it turns out, the Predators have been capturing creatures from a variety of different worlds (though it seems to be predominantly humans) so they can hunt them for fun. It’s The Most Dangerous Game, except that the predator this time is a Predator instead of just an advantaged member of the prey.
For the most part, I found this movie pretty successful. It was the perfect flick for a lazy summer afternoon. I was entertained, I laughed (not always on purpose, mind you — everything Brody says is hilariously cliché and his delivery is also sort of unintentionally comical as well. Despite my affection for his various angles, I have to confess he’s not really much of an actor), and I had a good time watching it. Is it a brilliant film? Hell no. Don’t be ridiculous. And whatever you do, don’t get me started on the gravity issue (fine, you can have your alien planet with its breathable air and identical-to-Earth plants, but really? You also want me to believe your alien planet has the same mass as Earth? Stop it.).
But you know what? Nevermind all that. If you’re looking for a good summer popcorn flick and you like these sorts of explosiony, bloody, sci-fi monster things, you’ll have a pretty good time at this one, I think. The aliens are cool AND the director’s first name is NIMROD, which means you get to start out with a laugh before the opening credits have even ended (sorry, Nimrod, but it can’t be helped, sir). That’s always a plus too.
Recommended for anybody who likes dumb alien movies and/or Adrien Brody’s schnoz.
Genre: Science Fiction, Action
Cast: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo
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