Director: Nimród Antal
Running time: 103 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15
Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 8th July 2010
Watched on Sky+ Sunday 12th June 2011.
PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.
Having seen this at the cinema almost a year ago it finally arrived on in the TV schedules. Since I quite enjoyed it first time around I thought I’d give it a second look. Below is pretty much my original review with just a couple of adjustments and a slightly revised score. On second viewing it didn’t quite have the impact it did first time around, but it was still entertaining where it needed to be and I finally figured out just what Noland added to the plot.
The film opens with a man dressed in battle fatigues falling, he is unconscious, but comes round. Shortly before impact with the jungle covered ground below a parachute opens, but he still lands with a bone-crunching thud. Others land around him and are, at first, aggressive towards each other until the first one persuades them it would be better to band together. They are all from the less desirable side of the tracks, there’s a mercenary, a convict, a sniper from Guatemala, a yakuza, a freedom fighter from Chechnya, a kidnapper, a religious fighter and a doctor. It soon becomes apparent that they are not on Earth and that they are being hunted by an unseen enemy. One by one they are eliminated by this foe. Eventually a plan is formed to defeat them and get off this planet.
Very reminiscent of the original film, Predator (1987) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but maybe without the same impact. All very well done with some excellent special effects and CGI. Decent performances from all involved. Honourable mentions go to, Adrien Brody as Royce, Topher Grace as Edwin, Alice Braga as Isabelle, Walton Goggins as Stans, Oleg Taktarov as Nikolai, a nice cameo from Laurence Fishburne as Noland, Danny Trejo as Cuchillo, Louis Ozawa Changchien as Hanzo and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali as Mombasa.
Although not as good as the 1987 original, I quite enjoyed this reboot. Having seen several films featuring the Predators since then, they don’t have the fright factor they used to. But it was an entertaining film with some great action sequences and a nice twist at the end. It’s not the best film in the world, but over all recommended for those who like this sort of thing (I did). Oh, and it ends wide open for a sequel.
My score: 7.1/10
LINKS:
(RT=Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1424381/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10012256-predators/
Official Site: http://www.predators-movie.com/
Trailer:
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