It seems like Hollywood has taken to rebooting a franchise rather than try adding a new sequel into the mix. More than a few superhero movie franchises have been relaunched, and both James Bond and Star Trek had decades of continuity wiped clean with recent movie releases. But oddly enough, when Robert Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios was entrusted to breathe new life into the Predator franchise after two clumsily-made Alien vs. Predator movies, Rodriguez bucked the trend and produced a sequel. Titled simply Predators, this sequel is a damn fine flick that's a lot more fun than you might think.
The movie immediately introduces us to Royce (Adrien Brody), a mercenary who awakens to find that he has been dropped into the middle of a jungle. He is quickly joined by seven others from around the world, each of them heavily armed and having no idea how they arrived. They are quick to discover that they are on another planet, one that serves as a game preserve operated by the Predators. And I'm sure you can guess who the prey is.
The Predator franchise has had a pretty rough go of it, at least as far as movies go. Predator 2 sucked, and that was it for about fourteen years. Then there were the two Alien vs. Predator movies, and they sucked too. And that brings us to Predators. Whether it's technically Predator 3 or Predator 5 is probably a matter of debate, but there's no arguing that the movie is a fresh change of pace from the other sequels and spinoffs. It's a marked improvement over them, as close as anyone could have gotten to replicating the first Predator movie without simply Xeroxing some film reels. Yeah, Predators is that kind of sequel.
In the director's chair is Hungarian filmmaker Nimród Antal, who had only made two English-language movies prior to this one. Considering that I loved his work on Vacancy, I was really looking forward to seeing how he'd handle a Predator movie. And after watching it a few times, I can say I thought he handled it pretty well. Antal's direction is sound enough that one could think that John McTiernan picked up right where he left off with the first movie in 1987.
Antal actually spends quite a bit of time building some serious tension, not letting any Predators appear until nearly forty minutes into the movie. That's not to say there isn't any action during that time; there's a really cool scene where the humans are flushed out by what I guess would be a Predator's answer to hunting dogs. But Antal's decision to build tension for so long makes the action scenes feel like a greater payoff.
He also does a fantastic job at establishing atmosphere, utilizing Gyula Padros's cinematography and John Debney's music to get us in the proper mood. Padros's camerawork is wonderful, making you feel like you're actually in this alien jungle with the characters. And as for Debney's music, it's fantastic. Debney replicated Alan Silvestri's music from the original Predator for quite a bit of his score, and it works. It fits the movie perfectly. I liked Predator's music a lot, so yeah, I can say I enjoyed Debney's work on Predators.
Moving along, let's touch on the script for a second. Credited to Michael Fitch and Alex Litvak, the script is actually rather unimportant. You aren't really go into a movie about intergalactic big game hunters and expect Hemmingway, are you? Of course you aren't. There's no need for a story, and the characters are just there to provide a body count for the Predators. Some of them get a little development, but most of the characters could have been listed in the credits as variations of "Guy With Gun #5" for all they're worth. But really, the movie didn't need a strong script, just a serviceable one. And that's exactly what it has.
This brings me to the cast, who I thought got the job done. Rodriguez and Antal made the bold decision to cast against type and hire Adrien Brody for the lead role, a choice that I felt paid off. He'd be one of the last guy's you'd expect to see as an action hero, after his work in stuff like The Pianist, but he's not bad at all. Brody comes to the role with a certain gruffness, which I felt was effective in establishing who his character is. He makes it feel plausible. I also really liked Topher Grace, who plays a doctor who has been dropped on the Predator planet for seemingly no reason at all. Up until the big twist that reveals just why he's there, Grace plays his character as how I imagine I'd act if stuck in this situation. He's cowardly, easily frightened, and generally unhappy to be there. And I can say that I totally bought it.
Among the other memorable performances are Walton Goggins, who plays a smart-ass death row inmate, and Laurence Fishburne, who has a glorified cameo as a soldier who's spent several years on the Predator's planet. Goggins is really entertaining in his role, while Fishburne gets to play his character as having completely lost his mind. I'm not sure exactly why Fishburne is in the movie, though, as it feels like the character was written for somebody else. He probably just had a few days away from shooting episodes of CSI and asked if he could be in the movie. I'm not complaining, since he's a lot of fun, but it's weird seeing him here.
Long story short, I thought Predators was a great way to try reviving a sagging franchise. I can't say that it's a perfect movie, but it's exciting, a ton of fun, and a movie that anyone who calls themselves a Predator fan should have already seen by now. If you haven't, it's most definitely worth seeing. And after Predator 2 and the two Alien vs. Predator movies, I'm just happy somebody made a follow-up to the first Predator that doesn't totally suck.
Final Rating: ***½
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