A lot has changed in the action genre since the 1987 release of the original Predator. In the 80s action films were built around men with muscles, big guns, and bad attitudes. Now a decade into 00s action films have become about agility, slow motion and special effects. Nimrod Antal's Predators tries to bridge the gap between these two different types of action films and aside from some pacing issues it succeeds.
It would be easy to spoil any surprises in the film, but since the plot is very basic it is easy to describe the goings on. A group of tough guys and girl end up in a jungle and have to face off against the ultimate hunters. Adrien Brody plays the lead tough guy and he is great in the role. You may think that Brody is a strange choice as an action star, but he delivers the lines like a real bad gringo. His only equal in the group is played by Alice Braga. I have seen her act in I Am Legend and Redbelt, but have not been that impressed until now. She is very believable as the tough as nails Isabelle and holds her own as the only female in the film. Other members of the group include Danny Trejo (From Dusk Till Dawn), Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Walton Goggins (Miracle at St. Anna), Louis Ozawa Changchien (Gigantic), Topher Grace (Spider Man 3), and Oleg Taktarov (Righteous Kill). These characters are very enjoyable to watch and that is good because the story they are involved in is at times rather dull.
At the beginning of the film there isn't enough action. The gang in the movie is trying to figure out what is going on and the lack of excitement really hurts the film. Most people going into this film know what the Predators are what they do, so when the film tries to build the tension it fails. We know what is hunting the group so let's get on with it was a though I had during the film. When the action does happen it is cool, but there is enough gore and a lot of the blood is digital which I hate. There is some very dodgy computer generated effects in the film. There is an huge explosion in the film that looks horrible. It is SyFy channel bad. Now that a film like District 9 has been released it is hard to forgive bad cg even in smaller budget films.
Predators is able to work well within its smaller budget for most of the film. The movie is an enjoyable 80s type action film that exists in a modern action film world. Predators as enjoyable as Predator 2 and is much better than the AVP films. The lack of muscled men was a negative but the addition of Adrien Brody is a positive. This movie breaks even on the 80s, 00s action movie scale.
A Good Banana
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