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Predators (2010)

 
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The Spike
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 5:46 pm    Post subject: Predators (2010) Reply with quote



They can hear you. Smell you. They see you.

Predators is directed by Nimród Antal, and stars Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne, Oleg Taktarov & Danny Trejo. It's co-produced out of 20th Century Fox by Robert Rodriguez, John Davis & Elizabeth Avellan, with writing credits going to Michael Finch, Alex Litvak and Jim & John Thomas. It's shot on location in the Hawaiian jungle with Gyula Pados on cinematography, while John Debney reworks Alan Silvestri's score from the 1987 film Predator.

The plot sees eight former members of Earth — mercenaries, soldiers, criminals, and a doctor — all literally dropped into a jungle on an alien planet. Why or how they got there is not known, but pretty soon it is apparent they must work together,, for they are being hunted by an unseen enemy.

Hunted, it seems, for sport.

In 1987 John McTierrnan gave the movie world Predator, a ballsy Vietnam allegory that pitted Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a host of other considerably sized beefcakes against one bad-ass mandible-wearing alien hunter.

Since then the franchise has steadily gotten worse {though Danny Glover's sequel is far from a disaster}, reaching a crushingly bad nadir with Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007.

Enter Robert Rodriguez who, in the mid 90s, had done a treatment for a Predator sequel with Schwarzenegger in mind to return. However, it didn't happen and it's only now, with the franchise at rock bottom, that his script has been reworked and funded to give us Predators, the sequel to McTiernan's 87 ball buster.

The set up is a little different, but in truth the formula is exactly the same as the original movie. Macho guys and a girl in the jungle are being hunted by something very bad.

Cue deaths, explosions and much macho posturing. Here in lies the main problem with Antal' s movie. It's ticking off the same boxes and "homaging" for all it's worth — which is fine since it's hugely entertaining in that Saturday night popcorn way.

But there's little to no braveness in the writing. Sure there's some bonuses in the form of alien pets, a predator feud arc, and a bonkers midsection with the introduction of another character. But as the carnage unfolds, the plot doesn't go anywhere other than where we expect it to go. And there's a huge character misstep in the final third that is more laughable than being the twister it's meant to be.

However, if taken purely as a piece of salted popcorn, the film delivers enough thrills and excitement to warrant the viewing. The action comes thick and fast. From the breathtaking opening as we are literally dropped into the jungle with Adrien Brody, to the inevitable face off for the finale, we have been treated to stabs, chops, thrusts, dismemberment's, beheadings and everyone's personal fave; spine ripping.

All this and there's barely any blood spilt, lest of course the green kind counts.

While the new-look predators are awesome, meaner in tone, with new armour and devoid of the pointless characterization that others in the franchise have tried to give them.

And while it lacks the dark humor of McTiernan's movie, it does have a wry sense of knowing, normally with the portrayal of Royce by Brody.

Brody is just fine, it's a performance that shows that should he ever want to make the easy money available in action/adventure type movies, he would do well. Then he will have no problem getting work. He's buffed up, given himself a gruffer voice and more than shows a capable hand at punching, firing, and sticking the tongue firmly in cheek.

The others, unsurprisingly, are walking cliches, with some obviously only there to be slotted more quickly than others. The fun is waiting to see who gets it first/next and etc. It has to be said, though, that Topher Grace is not only annoying here, he's also very miscast. But in fairness he's not exactly helped by the writing of his character either.

Not great, but hugely enjoyable popcorn fodder. A sequel would be welcome, but with Rodriguez directing and a new face on the writing panel. 7/10

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My problem, see, is that I've got this great idea for a way to explain the origins of both the Predators and Aliens that builds a little on what we saw in Alien vs Predator, but Hollywood refuses to steal my idea and use it, so I go into movies like this with a negative attitude.

You know, like -- "Ah, that was okay . . . but mine wooda' been better." Confused

Actually, I kinda liked Alien vs Predator, but it needed something. It needed my idea.

I think I pitched the idea on the old All Sci-Fi, but that's gone now, so if Hollywood ever does steal my idea, I won't be able to prove a thing.

Man, there ain't no justice . . .

Anyway, your review convinced me to watch this one again, so I put it on my Netflix list. I hope you're satisfied, mister! I was supposed to go to the gym on the day the movie might arrive next week, but now . . . well, I'll probably forget to go! Rolling Eyes

Darn.

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:08 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 07, 2016 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I hate to say it, but this is one of those trailers that presents quick scenes like a slide show, with a dark screen between each scene.

We should find out who first came up with this brilliant idea and mail him a large sack of cow manure, C.O.D.

On the other hand, the movie is worth seeing if you know what to expect.

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_______________Predators 2010 Movie Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon May 16, 2022 4:39 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2022 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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The thinking behind this one is that it's a sequel to Predator (1987) in much the same way that Aliens (1986) is a sequel to Alien (1979). Proceeding on this trajectory, this means that this film generally ignores the other sequels — Predator 2 (1990) and especially the AVP films.

That's actually a good way to go. The story wastes no time — the first shot is of the main character (Adrien Brody) waking up during freefall onto an alien planet. He and a few others have parachuted in and find themselves as the prey in a hunt. Yet, each of these humans is also a hunter, a killer; that's the hook of the story.

____

That's also a good way to go; rather than having a bunch of helpless humans — a drawback of the other sequels — there's this group of deadly human predators. Besides the pro merc played by Brody, there's a Mexican drug cartel enforcer (Danny Trejo), a Russian soldier (ex-Ultimate Fighting Champion Oleg Taktarov), an Israeli sniper (Alice Braga), a death row inmate and rapist (Walton Goggins), a Yakuza member who can duel with swords, and a young doctor (Topher Grace).

This last one doesn't seem to fit in, but I figured he was there to patch up injuries.

_______

Also popping up later is a slightly addled soldier (Laurence Fishburne) who had been parachuted in years earlier and managed to avoid getting killed by being extra sneaky. There are a few surprises as the film unspools, but at the same time there are serious limits to how surprising this story can be. We all know the formula; the characters will get killed off one-by-one, until there is only one or two survivors . . . of course. I managed to predict which would be the ones left alive towards the end, so this was overall predictable, but there was one twist near the end I didn't foresee.

___________

The main strength of this one is the group of characters; each is memorable in his own way and they're quite varied.

There's sufficient tension and action to propel the film along; it's pretty good for a first viewing. Some things don't make much sense; the doctor describes a poisonous plant, but this is not Earth. So, I guess the Predators terra-formed this planet to be like Earth? Seems far-fetched . . .

This also added to the whole Predators mythology by having two breeds of Predators, a smaller and larger sub-species which are having some kind of blood feud. I dunno if any of this was necessary; it does add another layer to the whole deal, but it also seems like a lame way to give the humans another advantage.

The last line of a survivor about finding a way off the planet seems strange also, since it looks certain that there isn't a way.


BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10



BoG
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2022 4:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

The premise of this movie is perfectly consistent with the established nature of the original Predator!

In the first movie, the alien chose to hunt humans in an dense jungle, with the humans well equipped to defend themselves. This demonstrated that the alien didn't want to simply slaughter defenseless humans — it wanted to be challenge by them in a fight-to-the-death.

In Predators, the aliens establish a jungle environment — into which they deposited sentient beings who could provide them with that same kind of challenge.

All-in-all, this is the most intelligent and consistent Predator sequel we've seen.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 11:31 am    Post subject: Re: Predators (2010) Reply with quote

The Spike wrote:
Since then the franchise has steadily gotten worse {though Danny Glover's sequel is far from a disaster}, reaching a crushingly bad nadir with Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007.

Actually, I like The Predator (2018) almost as much as the Danny Glover sequel.
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~ The Space Children (1958)
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