Predators

Two stars. Predators is a B-movie, a bad B-movie. I was really looking forward to the film and I expected many things, but not blandness of this caliber. That’s a big shame, because this was a big missed opportunity. What bothered me: There were very few Predators in the film (I don't know about others, but I expected a lot more of them based on the title and the sighting scene in the trailer), they appeared after maybe twenty-five minutes (admittedly, in a nice shootout in the camp) and they didn't stay on the screen for the rest of the film. They always just peeked out somewhere, killed somebody, and that was it. Plus, there's only one classic Predator - the rest are "new species" with not very nice "designs" (I don't understand why Stan Winston studio didn't work on them). Adrien Brody in the lead role didn't impress me either, but he didn't get on my nerves - the others were worse. I formed virtually no relationship with the characters (they were either poorly written or given woefully little space), their badass catchphrases sounded more or less cheesy (including Danny Trejo, sadly), and the atmosphere was probably mostly brought down by the fact that, while the whole group of characters were still searching for what they were hunting in the jungle and wondering about it all, the viewer already knew, and so wasn't too interested by their vigilant looking behind every tree. Tension = 0. Pros: A couple of fairly decently shot scenes (the opening, the camp scene, the fiery ending) and the music, which of course was 90% Silvestri's and John Debney actually "only" tweaked and innovated it. Said at the beginning, confirmed at the end - two stars. The first movie is unattainable, Predator 2 is more than decent, AvP (both of them) suck, and this is only slightly better. It was misery. (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)

It is very clear that Roberto as a producer really took care (from the cast, to the director, to the soundtrack, etc.). I have to agree that the first half is more mysterious, more suspenseful, and much more atmospheric; the second half lags a bit compared to the first, but still the result is great. Seeing it in the cinema is a must! :))) (07/09/2010)

Too bad there wasn’t more money, it could have been a great picture. Anyway, it’s made by fans, for fans, and that really showed on Predators. Blood, even the green kind, flows in copious amounts, there’s a thousand and one snappy lines, and, most importantly, it honors the original. Adrien Brody is ripped, I wasn’t expecting such a scrawny little guy to get in shape like this (maybe it’s time for me to hit the gym, if he can do it, why can’t I? :D) and his Royce is the classic type of soldier that you can’t help but fall in love with. The same goes for Oleg Taktarov and the Yakuza guy. A mention belongs to Topher Grace, who spiced the whole cast up very nicely. But casting Laurence Fishburne was a big mistake, he spoiled the whole middle of the movie. He wasn’t the right guy for the Noland character and overall held the movie back. Antal did a fine job, and thanks to him everything runs like clockwork, and the whole movie flows along nicely. This is also thanks to John Debney, who utilizes every last note of Silvestri’s original score, subtly embellishing it here and there for a more modern fit. P.S.: I wish I could say that more often about other translators too, but alas I cannot. (08/20/2010)

Antal has an incredible sensitivity for getting that eighties feeling right, in the end Brody surprisingly doesn’t seem like Arnie’s androgynous embryo (in the ending sequence his muscle-bound body was particularly impressive... or else CGI technology is much more advanced that I thought) and so only the more expensive half away from the jungle is the only thing that spoils it; not that it’s outright bad, but it lags far behind the first half in terms of quality. In the better half, it’s so good that it is better than the original. (07/09/2010)