Predators User Reviews

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If you're not a fan of the first 'Predator' movie, I have no idea what you'll think of Predators. I don't know what the entire experience would feel like sans the numerous call-backs to the original. Similar shots, scenes, music cues, and lines of dialogue are strewn through out the entire film. To me "getting" all of these references is so integral to enjoying the film, that watching Predators without seeing the original seems strange. How much you like this movie will directly tie to how much you like the original Predator.

The films begins with Adrien Brody's character free falling in mid air. He manages to land in a strange jungle, and quickly meets up with several other of the world's ultimate badasses, including Israeli and Russian military soldiers, an African death squad member, a Mexican gang enforcer, a Yakuza member, a death row inmate and a seemingly out of place doctor. Early attempts to build suspense as the group makes their way around are largely successful. Director Nimrod Antal seems to understand that the LESS you show of your monster, the scarier, ala Jaws and Alien.

Predators embraces the fact that it's essentially a gussied up B-monster movie, like the original. The movie dodges problems of stereotyping by embracing them instead. The characters are two dimensional, but they don't really need to be fleshed out at all. It's pretty self aware. It knows it s a genre-movie and embraces it, the same way that Grindhouse and Kill Bill do. Its well paced, the run time of 106 minutes is perfect, Predators hits the ground running, and wraps up before it overstays its welcome.

The acting is pretty good, considering this IS a Predator movie. I never doubted any of the actor's characterizations, especially Adrien Brody, who is perfect as a lone-wolf mercenary. His performance makes some of the ones in the first Predator seem pretty cartoonish. The other performances are quite good as well, particularly Alice Braga and Topher Grace. It says a lot for casting actual GOOD actors in a movie, something the AVP movies kinda lacked. Predators also features a particularly bizarre cameo with Laurence Fishburne, channeling his inner Marlon Brando in a very Apocalypse Now-esque scene.

This is not a slasher movie like Friday the 13 or Halloween. The humans are, for the most part, highly competent and are not just put into situations to be killed. The “Predator” name applies to the humans equally as well as it does to the aliens. The fights are pretty visceral, but are often as smart as the are brutal.

Predators treats the first film like it's a holy scripture, and, one could say slavishly tries to recreate scenes from the first movie. How you react to this depends on you. I loved all of the visual and audio motifs used to hearken back to the original. Another could find this to be irritating and left wanting for a movie that stands more on its own two legs.

The ending won't work for everyone. If you're going into this expecting a happy ending all wrapped up in a pretty bow, you're bound to be disappointed. It's presented in such a fatalistic, 'it is what it is' attitude, It worked for me.

I really liked Predators. In video game terms its almost like an expansion pack to the original Predator. Great for existing fans, but doesn't offer much to people who aren't already. 4/5