Predators

The original Predator movie was a classic, largely because of its simplistic plot, but naturally helped along by the presence of Mr Schwarzenegger up against a cool alien.

Then came Predator 2 - the same cool alien, but no Austrian counterpart. Then came those Aliens vs Predator movies and the less said about them the better. Unfortunately, these three misfires left the Predator franchise a bit dead in the water.

Hooray for 'Predators.' Okay, so it'll never outdo the original. In fact, sometimes it gets so close to the original that you could be mistaken for thinking it's a bit of a remake. But it's not. Don't worry about it. Although technically more of a sequel to Predator 2 than the first movie, Predators keeps everything that is good about the original and just sort of shakes them all around a bit.

Predators gives us another jungle, albeit on an alien planet instead of South America, a bunch of hunted humans, this time all sorts of mercenaries instead of one platoon of Americans and three hunting aliens instead of just the loner.

If you can get over having (the only slightly skinnier) Adrian Brody in place of Conan the Terminator and were a fan of the original, you'll probably like this. There are plenty of nods to the first film and it shows us a little more of what those dastardly head-hunting aliens get up to. They even bring their 'dogs' along for the ride.

If you like your action bloodthirsty and non-stop, this ones for you (even if Arnie couldn't make the cameo that was originally written for him).

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Predators, an entertaining film with genuine surprises, may be the first movie I've seen to start with a deus ex machina. Yes, the whole plot and all the humans plummet into the movie from the heavens, dropping toward the alien soil, shrieking, groping for ripcords on the parachutes that they didn't realize they had. The last thing they recall is a blinding blaze of light. The first to land, with a powerful thud, is Royce. The others then crash all around him.

These people are bitter specialized murderers from all over: a mercenary, a yakuza (who uses a Hanzo sword; probably QT buddy Rodriguez's idea), an Israeli markswoman, a serial killer, an African warlord, etc. How did they find themselves in this dense jungle, and why? They determine they're on another planet: a flawlessly terra-formed one, it would appear. The gravity lets them walk as usual, and they can breathe and hydrate. Royce observes something bizarre: The sun never moves. They see there are three or four moons in the sky, which are either colossal or very near.

Even more bizarre, it never becomes molten lava yanked around by enormous tidal waves. But as you always have to say when Rodriguez is involved, "Whatever." After the characters are assaulted by massive eponymous monsters, Royce nails it: They're in a game reservation. He solves a lot of questions in the movie, which might've been more interesting if he hadn't. But it's all still much more intriguing that just pitting two franchise monsters against each other. Instead, this movie is smart enough to again pit predators against humans, who are predators with the weakness of being human. It's the sense of compassion or empathy for our fellow human that makes us vulnerable to predators.

But who oversees this game preserve, and why? If you remember the first Predator, Schwarzenegger and other mercs were in the Amazon pitted against an invisible predatory extraterrestrial. Has that alien race snatched humans into its galaxy for a rematch? Is it a sensible consumption of assets to transfer numerous people countless light years merely so you can kill them purposelessly? No time to ponder. Here come some extremely ferocious four-legged creatures whose horns and fangs continue too far in front of their mouths for them to be able to eat their prey. They don't even look like they can lie on their backs and scoop the quarry in with their feet owing to all the spikes on their backs.

This is a Rodriguez production: Making sense is not an issue. The movie is generally about our malevolent protagonists being mauled by frightening mandible-jawed creatures. who use active camouflage and energy weapons, reposition as swiftly as panthers, can see in a variety of spectrums, and are equally as self-aware as humans, sans compassion of course. Nimrod Antal gave Vacancy a masterful sense of what to show and when to reveal it, and so is a proficient enough director to keep these villains intriguing throughout unintelligible jumbles of bullet-paced visual effects. The eponymous indigents see all in infrared POV shots via what seems like a closed-circuit monitor. Or sinister videotape on a motel TV set perhaps? There are invariably a handful of characters who get slaughtered in manhunt films like this. What puzzles me is why they all don't get slaughtered? Consider if that spiky warthog tackled you to the ground at 20 mph and all you could do was stick it with your knife, would you imagine you'd be making facetious comments on it later on? Still, a charming moment where Apocalypse Now alum Laurence Fishburne hums Ride of the Valkyrie nonetheless pulls us out of the claustrophobia by being meta-referential. On the other hand, lines like "Say goodbye to your little friend" work as momentary relief from the claustrophobia.

I'm surprised at the polarized opinions of Predators here on IMDb. From fans of the original movie (like me), I would have expected a degree of respect for this latest iteration; it seems to honor its predecessors while still offering new twists and depth. Without presenting spoilers, I would simply say that there were developments in Predators that present some exciting opportunities for future films. I also always appreciated Predator for its "gravitas", and Predators continues that somber and grim tradition with arguably better acting.

For new viewers, I don't see what more could have been expected. It's an old concept (The Most Dangerous Game, with hunted humans), but Predators does a good job with it. The acting is great, the lines are not successive groan-worthy quips, the cinematography is delicious, and the soundtrack is fantastic (segments of the original with new score!). Again, the overall plot isn't new, but at least it's not stupid. The characters behave in a realistic manner, and I wasn't plagued by the "why-didn't-they-just-do_____?" question for the entire movie.

Frankly, if you read a review from someone with a rating lower than five, they're just not being fair. Predators AT LEAST deserved to be watched and appreciated for what it offers.

By the release of 2007's dismal "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem," the "Predator" franchise was all but left for dead. Then, a miracle happened as Robert Rodriguez ("Planet Terror," "Desperado") got his hands on the property. Drawing from a script he had originally penned in the mid-90's, Rodriguez teamed up with director Nimród Antal ("Vacancy") in an effort to restore the series to its roots. "Predators," the latest saga concerning the jungle-dwelling hunters, is an action-packed roller-coaster ride that successfully ignores the maligned "Alien vs. Predator" franchise and plays as more of a direct sequel to the 1987 original.

Although there's no Arnold Schwarzenegger or even a "CHOPPAH!" to be found, "Predators" succeeds in delivering the same high-octane thrills as the original film. Although admittedly not as fueled by testosterone as its predecessor, "Predators" gets by with a solid cast that includes Adrien Brody as the unlikely hero of the story, as well as Alice Braga, Danny Trejo and Topher Grace. Dumped on an alien planet against their will, this group of unsavory characters finds themselves being hunted by a gaggle of bizarre and deadly creatures, the least of which being the titular character(s). Brody has big shoes to fill – essentially replacing Arnie as Dutch – and wouldn't you know it, the Oscar winning actor pulls it off. Laurence Fishburne also appears, making the best of a brief appearance. Fishburne chews up the screen and steals just about every scene in perhaps his juiciest role since "The Matrix."

The film certainly has the Rodriguez touch, but Antal definitely puts on a good show on his own. Not only does the film look good (taking advantage of its Hawaiian ___location), but it is every bit as fast-paced and fun as it should be, too. The only real flaw at hand would be that the central characters aren't fleshed out enough for us to truly connect with them. While the actors themselves turn in fine performances, it's the fault of the script for not giving us enough to care about when the group starts getting picked off one by one. In the end, though, it doesn't serve to tear down the good times at hand. "Predators" is a more than worthy trip back to the jungle and aims to please its core audience. Possibly the most faithful sequel in recent memory, it's worth watching to be reminded of a time when sci-fi and action were at their peak and goofy looking creatures from across the universe rocked our collective world.

First off I'm a huge predator fan. I love this film. It gives a great take on the predator hunted theme which is basically the same story every generation, and also a smart remake. Great cast every performance hits the write mark and the script does everything it should without any fluff. The ever evolving Predator works perfectly with some great updates. It's a shame Rodriguez didn't follow this on cause that I would have wanted to see. I can see why some fans weren't happy, especially with the Fishburn character but for me it's all very good.