Do you remember Predator 2 with Danny Glover? What about the two AVP movies that had Alien battling Predator? Well if you do then forget about them starting now. Predators, produced by Robert Rodriguez and directed by Nimrod Antal (Vacancy and Armored), was written as the sequel to the 1987 Predator starring the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger. It really delivers on action and suspense, and the whole mystique of the dreadlock hunter.
Like the original, the story to this movie is not its strength. Predators flexes its muscles when it comes to adventure, violence, and being explosive. The movie opens up with Royce (Adrien Brody) falling from the sky and landing on the Predators’ planet. Their jungle. And soon more bodies begin to hit the ground. From a sniper to a doctor to a death row inmate, all of these characters have a dark side and have shown it before. And while they try to find out where they are and how they got there, their main mission is finding a way out. The first part of this movie is the most interesting and intense because you do not know what to find or expect.
The Predators are toying with their prey, and this group of people have no idea what they are getting into. You have the hunters and the group of humans have become the hunted whether they realize it or not. But as they walk through the jungle trying to figure everything out, you find yourself waiting, almost anticipating, for the Predators to reveal themselves. And once this happens, all mayhem breaks loose. The only problem is once you show the Predators, the mystery is lost so you have to make up for it with action and blood, including neon-green blood. This is expected from a Predator movie. You can only go so long until you have to show them and let the killing begin. After all, we do know what they look like by now.
Ultimately, Predators is an enjoyable, entertaining movie that gets the blood pumping. It brings momentum to a story that does not have much depth by making it fast-paced and thrilling to watch. It has its flaws. The script is a problem and no matter how hard the actors try to deliver their lines, some just come out corny as hell. But the cast, specifically Brody, know what they are there to do. Laurence Fishburne gets a little crazy and is barely in the movie and Topher Grace‘s character is mostly whining and the point of his character is confusing.
But Brody shows he can do action and do it pretty well. He has some of the cheesy lines, but he seems perfect for this movie. An Oscar winner who is willing to get down and dirty in a movie that loves to shed some blood and kill some monsters. Predators is a nice sequel to the 1987 original and is definitely a step in the right direction.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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