Predators - Review!!!

A Jungli Hello, frEek fellows!!

For all the action buffs amongst us, John McTierman's 1988 "Predator" remains a masterpiece. It pulled of the impossible task of making Arnold Schwartznegger, look scared and introduced the world to the bad-ass alien hunter species known only as the PREDATOR. Sadly, none of other sequels (Predator 2) or even the cross-over with the alien species (Predator Vs. Alien 1 & 2) failed to live up to the tone set by the first one, which is a shame given that you would expect better movies due to better CGI, make-up and so on! When Robert Rodriguez, announced a re-boot of the Predator franchise to be helmed by Nimrod Antal (Vacancy), much hype was generated. When Oscar winner Adrien Brody was added to the cast, the hype bubble grew bigger! And when the final product released...

What it is: Continuing the tale of the Predators "hunting" other species, Predators tells the tale of several humans who find themselves on an alien planet, these being: Royce (Adrien Brody); A mercenrary, Mexican drug cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Spetsnaz soldier Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), Israel Defense Forces sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga), Revolutionary United Front officer Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), death row inmate Stans (Walton Goggins), Yakuza enforcer Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and doctor Edwin (Topher Grace).

What Works: On a much larger scale than the 1988 original, Predators features some great visuals, the dark jungle locations are put to great use, the usage of CGI to create alien creatures is also nicely interspersed. The movie also benefits from the unique casting. While many had cried foul over casting someone like Adrien Brody (obviously much skinnier than Arnold), you may realise, that real-life soldiers/mercenaries, are actually lean rather than the bulk-a-saurus that Arnie was!! The fight sequence between Hanzo and a Predator, is one of the highlights of the movie ( cheesy, but fun!!)



What doesn't: The original Predator featured only one Alien, massacaring an all star team of mercenaries, hence the concept of a rag-tag team of convicts taking down several predators is a bit unsettling!!! While Adrien Brody does his best to play the "mercenary-with a conscience" none of the other characters do make a lasting impression.

Verdict:


A measly 2 FreEkies!!


Extra FreEky: Manliest Greeting ever...