Steven M. Finkelstein

The newest sequel with the Predator theme, starring the dredlocked creatures that first appeared in the Schwarzenegger original, is exactly what was advertised: a bloody return to the series’ roots, with much of the same brooding menace that made the first one a success. People discount Predator 2 as being inferior to the original. I thought it was every bit as good, just…different. The unlikely substitution of Danny Glover for the musclebound Governator worked surprisingly well. Then came the Alien vs Predator and Alien vs Predator: Requiem films. They were watchable, but not great. I attribute it to two problems: one, they went with the PG-13 rating for the first one, which eliminated the possibility of most profanity and excessive gore, and pretty much killed it dead before they even got started. Even though the second was R rated, it was a fairly lifeless outing, with the plot seeming phoned in and no name actors to speak of. Two, there was such build-up over the years for the clash between these legendary movie monsters that anything less than Citizen Kane with Aliens and Predators was going to feel like a letdown, and both of these surely did. They were lackluster, and the box office gross reflected that. But this time around, Robert Rodriguez promised to do things right and recapture the spirit of the first installment, and I’ll give the guy credit where it’s due. I would have liked to see him direct, rather than Nimrod Antel, but hey, you can’t have everything.

This time around the hero is Royce (Adrian Brody), a mercenary stolen from Earth and airdropped onto a foreign planet, along with six other assorted combat vet/assassin types, plus That Seventies Show’s Topher Grace, presumably as Predator bait. The most recognizable of the other actors is Danny Trejo, who finally, after putting in twenty years as a Hollywood set piece, will get his long overdue starring role in Machete, due out soon. It doesn’t take long before Royce and the crew figure out that the planet is a game preserve, and they’re being hunted by interstellar baddies. They band together, but human nature being what it is, there’s tension among the group due to different priorities, mindsets, etc. It’s a bit formulaic, borrowing from “The Most Dangerous Game” short story and about two dozen other Hollywood action flicks roughly based on it from the past three decades. Still, what makes things work pretty well here, for the most part, is the sense of anticipation built up before the appearance of the first creatures (they don’t show up for close to an hour), fine cinematography, and the ability to avoid overly cheesy dialogue. Adrian Brody isn’t exactly miscast as Royce…everyone keeps saying he’s “playing against type” in this film, but does Brody really have a type? He’s a chameleon, and he tackled an action role successfully in King Kong, lest we forget. Still, having him growl into the camera and act like a tough guy feels a bit strained at times…I’d like to buy it but I just can’t…and having him take his shirt off in the last few minutes of the movie, presumably to show off his chiseled abs, wasn’t doing me any favors either. Sex symbol this man is not. But aside from these minor gripes, everything progresses swimmingly. There’s a Predator vs yakuza fight sequence that pretty much makes the movie, we get some new insight into Predator mythology, we’re introduced to their canine-like attack critters, and they’re packing some fun new technology. We even get a great cameo from Lawrence “Morpheus” Fishburn, who must not have had anything to do some weekend.

If you’re a fan of the action and sci-fi genres, bottom line, you’re probably going to like this. I felt like the last third of the movie probably suffers most (I especially thought the last twenty minutes could have used a good re-write), but there’s a lot more working here than isn’t. The sense of a human protagonist fighting something that is so alien to us and so frustratingly superior that dominated the Schwarzenegger classic is back again, and taking it back to the jungle, albeit on a different planet, was a wise decision. Is this high art? No, and it wasn’t meant to be. Let’s face it, if you go see a movie like this, you know what you’re getting yourself into. If you don’t think too much, and you’re looking for violent, testosterone-laced entertainment, this is the way to go. My rating: 6/10.