Review: Predators Evolves From Muscles to Movie

Predators, the 2010 addition to the twenty-year old action series, takes us back to the jungle, only this time, on a different planet that serves as a game preserve for the nameless, “mandibular” aliens. As the human mercenary Royce cleverly puts it: “we’re the game.”

Minus the body-builder frame and famous Austrian accent, Adrien Brody (above) channels Arnold Schwarzenegger (who starred in the original 1987 version) to a surprisingly accurate degree as Royce, the leader of a ragtag group of elite killers.

With his voice an octave lower than normal — reminiscent of Christian Bale’s Batman — Brody commands the screen with a harsh survival instinct that one wouldn’t expect from the dough-eyed actor. Of course, if you’re going to be part of a franchise that began with beefed-up powerhouses like Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Jesse “The Body” Ventura, you need a tough persona. And Brody delivers, as does most of the cast.

Read the full review after the jump. Spoiler alert!

Alice Braga gives a solid performance as an international soldier for hire and acts as the conscience of the group, while maintaining the tough image a la Michelle Rodriguez — without Rodriguez’s unfortunate habit of trying too hard. Though he’s not around for long, Laurence Fishburne steals the screen as Noland, a soldier who has been trapped on the planet for years and has clearly lost his mind. The eerie subtleties Fishburne brings to his character make you wonder if perhaps he really has gone insane.

The film doesn’t weigh itself down with unnecessary back story. It abruptly opens with Brody falling through the sky — in a world of new alien creatures and an entirely different solar system — and it keeps up the pace from there.

And Predators manages to retain all the charm of the original: heavy on the f-bombs, inappropriate humor here and there and plenty of action, adding some variety to the typical formula: less guns, more focus on the characters’ survival instincts.

Paying homage to the original, writer Robert Rodriguez sprinkles references to the ’87 flick throughout the film, from the Gatling gun wielded by the stocky Russian Nikolai, to character references, to direct quotes.

To our relief, there are no references to Predator 2.

The Predator series has grown up from a stereotype bordering on farce to a quality action movie with a bit more to it. This is evident throughout the film, from a wide range of interesting characters that weren’t picked solely on bicep girth (though they aren’t completely free of stereotypes: this is the Predator franchise after all) to actual thematic elements and tension.

Rodriguez clearly uses the title Predators as a double-entendre: he seeks to show the predatory nature of man just as much as the predatory nature of these aliens, and succeeds both subtly at times and quite obviously at others.

If this is the new B action movie, I’d say we’re in good shape.

Don't worry. The spirit of the original Predator isn't totally gone. Visit the movie Web site for a chance to "target your friends" (i.e. blow up pictures of their heads).... What fun.