Predators (2010)

Grade:  B-

Directed by Nimrod Antal

Judging by the fact that there was only 3 other people in the theater when this film started, I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  I'm not usually comfortable in crowds, or trying to elbow wrestle the person next to me for the arm rest.  But seeing an occasional film on opening night surrounded by good fans can be fun.  I'm thinking of Batman Begins in particular.  There's something that brightens my heart about people clapping in a theater after a good film is over.  However, this wasn't the case for Predators.

I'll start with the good things and then I'll bring in the reality later on.  Honestly, I liked this film.  I did.  It wasn't earth-shattering, but it was good.  For those that don't know, this film was supposed to be somewhat of a sequel to 1987's Predator with Ahnold.  I loved that original film, and have been dying for someone to elaborate on a good sequel for years.  They gave it a valiant effort with 1990's Predator 2, but came up short.  I liked Predator 2, but I didn't love it.  I was one of the few people who did actually like Alien vs Predator.  But I really loathed Alien vs Predator Requiem.  That film was horrible.  Like, English Patient horrible.  No wait...the English Patient was better.

Predators is gritty.  Robert Rodriguez was involved...so naturally it's going to have a Quentin Tarantino sort of feel to it.  It's not over the top gory, but gory enough.  Our story takes place on what I'll call a 'hunting planet.'  The eight foot alien hunters seem to have developed a game preserve on some distant planet.  What better game to hunt than humans, right?  The remote planet resembled the Asian jungle from the original film...hmm coincidence?  Doubtful.  Adrian Brody and company are dropped there, not knowing what the hell is going on.  They do however, figure out pretty quickly that they're being hunted by our favorite trophy-seeking hunters of the universe.  An interesting aspect of this film was that the alien hunters also hunted their own kind and not just the humans.  Overall, the film worked story-wise and was pretty good.

Now, comes the reality of the situation.  Throwbacks.  I am beginning to hate throwbacks.  I don't like using the word hate, but it's really appropriate here.  My grandfather always asked me when I was little, 'Why do you want to be like them?  Be your own person.  Be original.'  Watching Predators was a bit like watching a little brother trying to mimic his older brother in some parts.  We all get that the original Predator was freakin' epic.  Why?  Because it was original!  What a concept.  While the film was good, you couldn't help but notice the throwbacks to the original film.  There were WAY to many.  Even the score was a cookie cutter version of the original.  You could've laid the original score over this film and not noticed a difference, right down to Little Richard.  There were also throwbacks to AVP.  One piece of advice for writers and directors out there - keep the throwbacks to a minimum.  Be original.  Be your own movie.  That's what makes you great in the first place!  I'm not going to waste time writing about each one, but anyone who has seen Predator or AVP once or twice would know what I'm referring to.  They even through in the gigantic Gatling gun that Jesse Ventura used.  I mean, really?  No new weaponry?  Not even for the Predators themselves?  They managed to do all the throwbacks, weapons and all, but left out the part of predators killing only people who were armed.  I really liked that aspect the older films.  It gave the hunters a sense of honor.  But alas, no dice. 

At first, it was a little difficult to get my head around watching Adrian Brody as a tough, black ops soldier.  But he did a good job.  Loved Lawrence Fishburne's character.  Too little screen time for him, but great nonetheless.  I could've taken or left Topher Grace.  He was alright.  I kept thinking, they're hunting Venom!  Who hunts Venom?

In contrast, the film was good and worth seeing it in the theater.  It was better than Predator 2 and AVP.  And I'll keep my hopes held high for another fantastic sequel featuring my favorite aliens.