PREDATORS
(guest review by Mike Anthony)

Finally a "re-boot" that is gold.  This takes you right back to the first classic; iconic jungle-alien monster-Arnold testosterone fest.  It's as if all the lame sequels (Predators fight Alien monsters, Pradators fight Freddy & Jason etc etc) never happened.  This is like a re-make of the first; but it's actually more of an update meant to follow the first (the Arnie-classic is mentioned in here by one of the characters).

 

Basically a bunch of the world's deadliest types (soldiers, mercenaries, japanese mafia, crazed killers etc) end up being dropped in a jungle.  Where they are and what's going on is all part of the fun of them realizing the Predators are looking to hunt (this is not a spoiler; it is simply the premise of every predator movie).

 

The characters are interesting (some more then others) especially a nerdy; non-athletic Doctor played by Topher Grace.  Why is he dropped in there with all the other hardcore tough-targets?  Will his medical skills come in handy?  Also; Laurence Fishburn is in it; but probably not what you're expecting from him.

 

Overall; this is fun as fun to watch as it would be terrifying to experience in real life.  So; it lives up to the feel and adrenalin of the original.  If you like the first Predator; see it.  If you liked the crappy sequels that have been made over the years; see it and see what those lesser films SHOULD have been.

 

Three good things about this movie:

1 It's true to the original without boring you.  For example: the Psycho remake in the 90's that was just an exact duplicate with new actors...so exact a copy of the original that you know every single thing that is coming.  They DON'T do that here.

2 one cast choice in particular: Adrien Brody is surprisingly acceptable as an action-hero type.

3 the other cast choices in general: Topher Grace and Laurence Fisburn both deliver; and it's so nice to see a female character in action films that can kick ass with the boys

 

Three Bad things:

1 the end of the Fishburn segment left me unimpressed

2 how come the guys without guns (the Doctor and a Criminal for example) don't grab all the guns left by the people being killed?

3 The dialogue is a little stiff or b-movie cheesy (watch for the very last line of the film for an example) but the rest of the action carries it.

 

Rating: 4 cookies for fans of the genre; 3 cookies for everyone else.