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Dancing_P [ 4.5 ]
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After a couple of embarassing hybrid and the bland 1990 sequel, it seemed that the Predator franchise had nowhere to go but up. Predators sports an impressive pedigree from a mid-budget franchise entry: produced by Robert Rodriguez and directed by Nimrod Antal, it stars actual real actors that have won awards like Adrien Brody and Laurence Fishburne. Unfortunately, all that efforts serves to prove only one thing: there's very little left to say about the Predator franchise. Predators is perfectly serviceable one one hand and stunningly repetitive and superfluous on the other; it brings up the question of why you'd even think of making it if all you'll add to it is a shoeless yakuza and Danny Trejo.
Adrien Brody stars as the de factor leader of a ragtag group of professional killers (and one doctor who, as you should probably guess when he says he isn't a professional killer, is probably lying) who find themselves teleported (or something) to another planet and summarily hunted down by the titular Predators.
Exceedingly banal dialogue (''Where the fuck are we?'' and ''What the fuck is that?!'' are particularly popular) fills the gaps betwqeen action sequences that rival the ones in the original. In fact, they're tremendously similar to the ones in the original with slightly more effective special effects. The fact remains that despite a flipped-over premise, the way a Predator hunts a human and the way a human fights back is fairly limited. It takes a resolutely old-school concept ande filters it through the clichés of new-school action: glum performances, pared-down dialogue, a muted color palette and a complete lack of a sense of humor. The casting of gangly, awkward-looking Brody as a gravel-voiced Christian Bale type says all you need to know (although to be fair Brody acquits himself nicely all things considered). It wants to be an 80's action movie but it's stuck in a 2010 where irony is so pervasive that avoiding it results in boredom. With no sense of humor, you can't compete.
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DokBrowne [ 5.5 ]
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Competently staged, automatically placing it far ahead of the last two "Predator"-related films (both "AvP"s), yet devoid of any surprise or twist, and since we're no longer living in the '80s, the basic act of making a decent "Predator" movie, a la the first one with Arnold Schwarzenegger, isn't enough. We're over 2 decades past and 5 movies deep already; being serviceable feels like a waste of time. This sequel/update bears a resemblance to last year's "Terminator Salvation", with its "yeah, okay, this is fine, but what else ya got?" mediocrity. It just seems like they didn't try very hard at all to impress the viewer. It's entertaining enough, but it's mostly just a 21st century redux of the first movie. Quite possible is that the "Predator" concept is simply too limited to warrant so many episodes (or even any more than the first one, I reckon, although I give credit at least to the novelty value of re-locating the alien to an urban jungle for part 2).
I'm not saying they need to stop (like they should with the "Terminator"s, which feel so much larger and hence more exhausting), since this one tidily sets the stage for a follow-up and doesn't feel like they're trying too hard, but what else can they offer? If all the recycling of Predator habits in this movie tells us anything, ti's that we've seen everyting the creatures are capable of, so all that's left is how they're going to kill which new cast members. Which, speaking as an avid slasher sequel fan, is forgivable to me, except in this case where they use mostly all the same deaths seen in previous entries.
Aside from hiring a technically skilled backstage crew (again, unlike "AvP" and "AvP2"), the only real coup scored here, the sole mark of invention, is in casting Adrien Brody as the hero. Not to make a big deal out of it, but it serves the movie better having a talented actor leading the way instead of some jarhead he-man (I'm surprised they didn't opt for a John Cena type, considering how much tribute is paid directly to the original 1987 film's technique). Brody, along with Topher Grace (one of the main reasons I wanted to see this movie, yet underused, as he shall continue to be for the rest of his career, I fear), and a more-energized-than-he-has-been-in-years Laurence Fishburne give the otherwise routine scenario some flavor. Plus the group of warriors is kinda cool with its variety of types. As far as honoring the machismo of the original, this was a clever ploy (even if their pointless badass posturing grows tedious quickly). As for the alien predators, they were more effective in the '80s and probably the younger you are as a viewer, but one of them has a freaky monster underbite on his mask, so that's something I guess.
Otherwise, a lot of the dialogue feels designed purely for soundbyte value in the trailers, and the intended surprises are easily forseeable. This is decent viewing for the undemanding, probably the most dignified "Predator" follow-up we could hope for, whatever that's worth
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.1 |
| No. Ratings | : 3 | |
| No. Reviews | : 3 | |
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