Movie Review: Predators

First off, I don’t recognize the Aliens vs. Predators flicks as being part of the Predator franchise. They are separate entities with no real connection to the original Predator movies from 1987 and 1990 respectively. So, I’m calling Predators the third installment in the series, just to avoid any confusion.

The reboot twenty years in the making begins with soldier of fortune Royce (Adrien Brody) falling from the sky in a state of confusion/panic. A parachute opening in the nick of time saves him from certain death and he finds himself smack dab in the middle of a lush jungle, with the ominous tribal music score from the Ah-nuld classic playing on the soundtrack. This of course lets us know this ain’t no ordinary tropical forest.

Royce isn’t alone. Seven others have parachuted into this strange land: a female Israeli sniper, Yakuza assassin, drug cartel enforcer, Russian commando, RUF death squad leader, death row convict and a nebbish doctor. It doesn’t take long for this motley crew to discern they are stranded on a remote planet and are being hunted by a trio of badass Predators driven by one solitary purpose: to kill every living thing.

Director Nimród Antal (Kontroll) sets a steady, but deliberate pace and allows the tension to slowly build. The action is sporadic and not particularly fever-pitched or inventive. However, he lets scenes breathe and eschews using frenetic edits to manufacture thrills that don’t exist. It’s difficult to build character given the plot, but the two main principals, Royce and Isabelle (the sniper), assume a leadership role even though they are on opposite sides of the philosophical fence. Royce is a every man for himself type, while Isabelle subscribes to the team theory. Their butting heads is the only significant subplot in an otherwise straightforward “Ten Little Indians” story.

Laurence Fishburne pops up for a cup of coffee cameo playing a disturbed Air Cav soldier who’s been on the planet for over two years. He provides a couple chuckles and drops some key knowledge, but for the most part is wasted. Brody is solid as the gruff antihero and fits smoothly into the action genre just as he did in King Kong. Alice Braga stands out the most as Isabelle; the thin script reserves most of its best lines of dialogue for her character. The rest go to Walton Goggins playing Stans the demented convict; his revelation about what he’ll do if he makes it back home is good for a cringing laugh.

As for the Preds, well, they look like Preds: vicious and nasty. I just wish they would’ve done a little more. Save for the climactic final battle, they are invisible way too much. We already know what they look like, so why not show off the incredible creature makeup? I also could’ve used a little more gore. I like my Preds blowing off limbs and shredding flesh at every turn.

Overall, Predators isn’t very memorable, but it’s not entirely forgettable either. There’s enough here to satisfy fans of the original movies and there are plenty of directions to go should the box office warrant further sequels. As far as reboots go, I’ve seen much worse.