Predators

The cinematic world is full of sequels, reboots, and remakes and, for a significant portion of our lives, we’re excited, enraged, or indifferent to these bi-products. In a world where so many movies piggyback off some classic (or non-classic) original, you really can’t afford to invest so much time and energy fretting, raving, or thundering about what a sequel or remake is going to be like. Sometimes it’s just better to sit down indifferently and let the thing come at you. This is what I did the other night when I sat down to dinner and Predators. Coming years after the original Schwarzenegger classic, Robert Rodriguez’ 2010 “bold new chapter in the Predator universe” re-imagines and re-presents us with the suspense and violent thrills of Predator whilst simultaneously busting out that ol’ jab at the human race: ‘you’re not as tough as you think you are’. 

In an exciting opening scene, we see mercenary Royce (Adrian Brody) hurtling towards the jungle with no idea where is or how he got there. On the ground, he meets a group of people similar to him: criminals, mafia, death squad members; all killers and all with no idea what’s going on. Royce reluctantly assumes leadership of the group and things get interesting when they start to be systematically hunted and eliminated. The tables suddenly turn when they realise that they’re not on Earth anymore, but in an alien game reserve on a planet where they’re no longer the predators, but the prey. A film that puts you in a similar place as its characters is always enjoyable. Of course, we’re never completely in the dark because we know that the Predator is going to appear and start hunting the humans. But from the beginning of the movie, we are asking the same questions that the characters are: namely, where are they and how’d they get there? And we’re learning right along with the characters, which makes for a good movie experience because it develops this good sense of time and development. We get to feel it rather than just see it. 

As a sequel, this movie works well. Its references to the original are nice and clean, not cumbersome and forced, and I really appreciated the continued simplicity of the story. The Predator movies are all about the simple thrill off the hunt and whilst this movie does modernise the technology, the alien design, and the general development of the story (beefing it up with references to the original as well as an interesting survivor character), it’s just as simple and enjoyable as the original and it makes you feel as though you could be watching Arnie and his men all over again. The modernisation of the alien design as well as the weapons and computer graphics are balanced perfectly, heightening the thrills rather than taking anything away from them, as seems to be the case with many modern sequels or prequels, I’m staring directly at you Star Wars prequels! 

All in all, there is very little to be enraged about or disappointed by within this movie; it provides a similar yet updated experience of the original and story-wise, it’s a downright good thrill! If you’re a fan of the original movies and have been dubious about seeing this one, I would definitely say bite the bullet because Predators is a well-balanced and highly enjoyable movie. 

Starring: Adrian Brody, Danny Trejo, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walter Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershala Ali, Carey Jones, Brian Steele, Derek Mears, and Laurence Fishburne. 

Rating: MA