Predators
At last, 23 years after John McTiernan and Arnold Schwartzenegger first took on this “ugly motherfucker” of an alien hunter in the South American jungle, fans of that great, B-movie original finally get the sequel we deserve. No just transplanting the monster to the asphalt jungle of L.A. (against Danny Glover). And none of the duel franchise-murdering that went on in the “Alien vs. Predator” movies thank God. Finally, someone got it right…ish.
Question: What is the most interesting aspect of the original “Predator,” besides how the Hell you can film all those steroid-infused biceps in anything smaller than Cinemascope? (Yes, the original was in 1.85:1 widescreen.) It’s the idea of seven badass military types being hunted by something far more dangerous; the result is one of the best hybrids of action/sci-fi/horror we’ve seen (as well as a knockout riff of “The Most Dangerous Game”), with one of the best original movie monsters of all-time.
With this film, producer (and DIY filmmaker par excellence) Robert Rodriguez has set off from an idea he had back in 1994 to take that concept, and up the ante. What if the humans were brought to a planet by these hunter aliens, and had no way of getting off this rock alive? Ok, admittedly the result lacks the freshness (and thus the suspense) of the original, and the pacing isn’t really that solid, but the cast and director Nimrod Antal (working from a script by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch that doesn’t skimp on homage or quips) deliver some solid B-movie entertainment.
The first thing we see is Adrien Brody’s Royce in mid-free fall. His chute isn’t opening. When it does (as if on cue), it doesn’t lessen the blow of hitting the ground, but the impact isn’t fateful. He’s not alone- soon we see seven others (all among the most vicious of killers, except for Topher Grace’s doctor, who isn’t without his secrets). As they search the forest, they gradually learn about what they’re up against. And like in the original- they start to meet their fate one at a time.
With a rogues gallery of human predators (including Danny Trejo’s cartel enforcer, Alice Braga’s latina freedom-fighter, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali’s Seria Leonnian mercenary, and Walter Goggins’ death-row killer), Rodriguez gives these Predators some serious game to hunt, but we genuinely feel the chemistry these eight develop under the odds, especially with Brody’s black ops soldier, Oleg Taktarov’s Slovakian armyman, and Louis Osawa Changchein’s Yakuza warrior, who I found myself identifying with most. True, they don’t have the who’s-who appeal of the original film’s motley crue (which came with an awsomely-’80s banter that still feels fresh), but it’s an engaging crew to follow into this forest. (Only Laurence Fishburne, as a Kurtz-esque survivor of the planet, didn’t really resonate with me, but that was only because of how looney his character was supposed to be.)
Another thing the film gets right- for the most part- is the part the location plays in the story. The jungle in the original “Predator” was like another character of the story, especially since the Predator was often camoflaged by it, making the threat that much more terrifying since we couldn’t see it. Here, the forest isn’t quite as effective as the South American jungle of the original, but it allows for a lot of the same mood and evocative tension when we see the traps that are set, the campground with the Predator’s prizes, and the predator dogs that are sent to sniff out the human prey. All is set to John Debney’s score, which borrows a little too liberally from Alan Silvestri’s classic soundscape for the first one, without really bringing anything original to the table itself.
As for the action itself, none of it compares to the brilliantly-staged showdown at the end of the first film, but there is a lot of great, fun moments. Like when two Predator’s- one of which has been tied up for an unexplained reason- battle it out. Or when the Yakuza warrior and one of the aliens meet blades in a field of tall-grass (my favorite moment). Or when the empty corridors of a ship (and the unseen dangers within) evoke the dread of Ridley Scott’s “Alien.” Or the way in which Brody and Braga’s characters face off with the final of their Predators, fighting for the chance to survive. The filmmakers end on an uncertain note for the characters, and I’ve gotta say- part of me wouldn’t mind seeing where they can take the franchise from here…
