Predators Movie Review
Predators Movie Review
Team Brody!
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They establish who they are — Royce is a hardened military operative; Isabelle (Alice Braga) is a sniper; Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov) is an assassin; Stans (Walton Goggins) is a prisoner with a storied rap-sheet; Cuchillo (Danny Trejo) is a drug cartel enforcer; Mombassa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) is a member of the Sierra Leon death squad; Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien) is Yakuza; and finally, Edwin (Topher Grace) is a doctor accused of practicing bad medicine. Once everyone is sorted out, it's off to the slaughter as the group learns that they're actually on an alien game preserve and are being hunted by the galaxy's most cunning predators (played by Derek Mears, Carey Jones, and Brian Steele).
While the characters and story are paint-by-number and the subject matter could easily be sketched out and tossed onscreen, producer Robert Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal's love for the classic film franchise really shows. In a good way. Not a precious, fan-boy way. There are some nods to the first spate of Predator movies — and a few other cinematic winks — but it's nothing overt and it's nothing that takes away from the story at hand. There are a couple of one-liners that perhaps could have been left on the cutting room floor, but they are kept to a minimum and they're well-delivered by the talented cast.
Brody, Braga, Goggins and Grace are especially good (and I didn't just pick them for the alliteration of their names). The bony Brody of five years ago (think: hollowed holocaust survivor in The Pianist, and the skeletal psychotic he played in The Jacket http://www.horror.com/php/article-731-1.html) is gone, replaced by a sinewy, buff badass of the strong-and-silent Steve McQueen school of acting. Saying little with his grim line of a mouth but speaking volumes with the flick of an eyelash, Brody proves once again he can be anybody or anything. The actor trained rigorously for the role, exercising both his body and his brain — workouts, learning how to think like a soldier — and it pays off because luckily Brody was not alone in taking the subject seriously.
Pretty much everyone is on the same page; the above-noted actors are standouts, as is Laurence Fishburne in a small role. As Noland, an insane captive who's been hiding out from the Predators and eluding them for years, he reminds us that he's not just the guy we see week in and week out on CSI: Las Vegas. He really is a gifted film actor, and in this nuanced performance he sends chills.
But don't worry: Predators isn't the second coming of Apocalypse Now. It's the hardcore horror and sci-fi action thriller you've been waiting and wishing for. Beheadings abound, there's gore galore, bullets fly and guts unfurl. It's 'restricted' but there's nothing restrained about the death scenes. The elite group of hunters uses all the weapons at their disposal — everything from sophisticated camouflage techniques, to scent-sniffing mutant hounds, to old-fashioned slings and arrows — and it's highly entertaining to watch the non-stop suspense and gritty action.
The fabulous KNB F/X makes the impossible look organic with some truly eye-popping practical makeup effects, while the filmmakers don't go too overboard with all the CGI toys at hand these days (the only place I felt the pixel playground was a tad overused was in the dogs). Actors cast in the roles as the main baddies don't have a lot to do in the way of character exploration (which is smart; I like that the focus is on the earthlings), they make the most of what they're given… and they are SCARY!
That's really all you need to know, until you can experience it for yourself on opening day (July 9, 2010).
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson
Mid-Year Big Screen Horror Report Card [top to bottom 10]:
Best: Predators
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Crazies
The Wolfman
Terribly Happy
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Daybreakers
Legion
Godspeed
Worst: After.Life