So how does Predators, the latest incarnation in this twenty three year old movie series, hold up? Does it earn a place alongside the original masterpiece, or dither among the later, largely pathetic incarnations?
I feel I should begin this review by declaring my undying, unyielding and unstoppable love for the first movie in this ever-expanding series. Predator–released in 1987–was just about flawless. It set a visceral and intense tone from the get-go, throwing the audience and the souped-up squad of soldiers the story centered on straight into a hot, bloody mess. It’s gory, fun, and builds tension in a manner that many horror directors could learn from. (The less said about the sequel, the better.)
This film is director Nimrod Antal’s first foray into potential blockbuster territory. He had an unremarkable resume prior to this film (Vacancy and Armored, two movies I forgot about fifteen seconds after seeing their trailers), but this time, with the help of the inimitable Robert Rodriguez, Antal really connects.
He follows the model of the first closely, I think, and it works. In Predator, the film starts with the arrival of a highly-trained, heavily-armed group of soldiers. In Predators they don’t so much arrive. The first thing you hear is the whipping wind, the first thing you see is Adrien Brody hurtling through open air. After a rough landing, the (mostly) heavily-armed and highly-trained soldiers start to converge, and the tension starts to build. Traps, corpses, trophies , and hunting ‘dogs’ are all encountered before you even catch a glimpse of the title monsters. Antal makes you wait for the pay-off, the huge aliens being an unseen presence throughout the beginning of the film.
The group of soldiers this time around are made up of largely solid actors. The movie kind of hurts for big-name star power, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In the original, Arnold is playing Arnold. In this movie, Adrien Brody is the main bad-ass, and he really pulls it off. This guy has serious acting chops, and his performance should silence any doubters. And for Predators he clearly hit the gym. Surrounding him are an international group of killers, solid actors all around: an IDF Sniper, a death row convict, a huge Russian lugging around a mini-gun, a tragically under-used Danny effing Trejo, a Yakuza hit-man, and… Topher Grace. Grace’s presence in the film gets a really big ‘meh’. His comic relief was fine, but his character just seemed unnecessary. In a group of gun-toting tough guys, he just seemed to take up space.
The CGI here is minimal, and that speaks volumes about Rodriguez and Antal’s commitment to making a quality film. CGI aliens would have absolutely ruined this film. Instead, we get big, tactile monsters portrayed with fantastic costuming the likes of which haven’t really been seen since The Lord of the Rings series.
As previously mentioned, the movie grabs you from the beginning. It’s a slow burn, tense, and full of excellent action scenes and great art direction on both the monsters and some of the more other-worldly set pieces. The soundtrack is there, really noticeable only when it drops references to the absolutely pitch-perfect score of the original film. As far as the gore goes, the film is kind of weaker than the original. As much as I wasn’t necessarily rooting for the aliens, I did want the kills everyone knows are coming to be spectacular. Some of them are fitting, while some are a little weak.
Going back to my original query here, and my main concern going into the theater on opening night: Does Predators earn a place alongside the original masterpiece, or dither among the later, largely pathetic incarnations?
The answer is a solid, but not necessarily resounding ‘YES.’ It’s fun, it’s violent, it’
s well-shot and it entertained me throughout. If anything, I hope this film either reinvigorates a franchise very much in need of it, or bookends a series of largely crappy movies with a level of quality surpassed only by the original.
Rating:
A Few Descriptive Words: Tense, violent, spine-ripping-fun.
At the Theater: Pay full price if you’re a fan, catch a matinee if you’re on the fence.
Purcahse or Rent: Worth picking up if the features are solid. Or if it comes packaged with the original.
