Predators

Predators would like to appear as an enriching tribute to the original, but they turn out to be a weaker and oddly strange remake. Unfortunately, what worked twenty years ago as an uncompromising rampage now occasionally seems amusing and tiresome in a more psychological sense. The disappointment is even greater because the introduction, full of confused tough guys and tension, promised a lot. However, when the script decides to involve the strategic side of things in the finale and clumsily adds complications and twists involving the characters themselves, everything goes downhill. Not even the good acting duo of Brody-Grace can save it. 50% (01/08/2011)

A tribute to the old films with all the trimmings. The slightly identical structure of the plot (a group of mercenaries, dying one by one, etc.) bothered me, but that’s probably the only flaw. The action starts right in the first seconds of the film, it has brilliant one-liners, solidly outlined characters, and the Adrien Brody is brutally cool, to the point where I didn't even want to believe it. The old good music, original sounds, and pleasantly “restored” effects, with their backbone still original, and even better. (07/23/2010)

If I wanted to use a strong word, I’d probably use "disappointment" first, but "wasted potential" seems more appropriate with hindsight. Antal is talented, there’s no denying it because for two hours I felt like I was watching unadulterated 1980s carnage. It’s aided by good cinematography, and Debney’s brilliant soundtrack (those native drums just work even twenty-three years later). The present bunch is worse. True, I can't expect psychological miniatures, but... damn, couldn't it have been stretched for a few more minutes so we could learn a little more about them? There are all sorts of excuses for this, such as the fact that action movies were made this way when the first film was made. But what do you do with one random survivor and a nutcase with a scalpel? It’s also hard to love a film where I have to hit my head a lot to shake the memory of any significant action out of it. In that regard, I'll be eagerly awaiting the Director's Cut on DVD. Until then, it gets a hesitant 3 ½ stars. PS: The first half earns five stars. (07/09/2010)

After “Arnie’s” first one, this is hands down the best film in the Predator universe, though the original holds that first place mainly for the cult status it has gained over the years. By this I mean that both are basically the same, but whereas Predators is intentionally silly in a cute 1980s way, in Predator  that’s unintentional and therefore better (or worse, depending on how you see it), thanks to is earnestness. Nimrod Antal proves that the fears about his choice as director were unwarranted. I wasn’t expecting any interesting directorial tricks, but Predators is a film where the craftsmanship and the sense for execution and atmosphere are more than enough. I had a little problem with Adrien Brody, who’s maybe a bit too good a character actor for the role. In short, Predators is almost excellent, I got exactly what I wanted. PS: “Die, you space faggot” is almost as great as “You’re one ugly motherfucker”… (07/08/2010)

The weakest predators in the history of film were playing cat and mouse with the worst soldiers on the face of the Earth. Adrien Brody put on about 15 kilograms of muscle for this role, yet he still looks like a stick. Goggins, on the other hand, generally plays fags in most movies and here he is supposed to put in an absolute performance worthy of the SAS. Neither of them managed to clear that hurdle. It looks embarrassing, and what’s even worse is the Chinese guy, who swordfights one of the predators. I don’t know if the predators were just sick of what a bunch of amateurs those morons were, of they were the weakest predators ever. However, both those things made sure that even otherwise good ideas were buried with everything else in this film. (10/03/2016)