My oh my, Adrien Brody, what has become of your career? Since winning the Best Actor Academy Award in 2002 for his role as Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist, Brody’s career has been hit or miss. His successes were The Village (2004), the under-appreciated The Jacket (2005), and the blockbuster remake King Kong (2002). Brody has also had starring roles in such box office failures as Hollywoodland (2006 – $14.3 million box office revenue), The Darjeeling Limited (2007 – $11.7 million), Cadillac Man (2008 $8.1 million), and The Brothers Bloom (2008 – $3.5 million). In 2010, Brody had five movies set for release. Two of those films have been completed but have since been shelved. A third (The Experiment) went straight to DVD. A fourth (Splice) made just $17 million at the box office. The fifth, Predators, grossed $52 million but would have earned that money regardless of Brody’s presence.
Predators is the 4th “sequel” of 1987’s action-packed Arnold Schwarzenegger Predator, although two of the first three were part of the Alien vs. Predator cash cow. Predators tries to get back to some of the basics of the original. A group of eight strangers awake to find themselves parachuting into the middle of the jungle of some unknown planet. They do not know who each other nor how they got there. Royce (Brody) is ex-military, as are Isabelle (Alice Braga – I Am Legend, The Rite) and Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov – Righteous Kill, Miami Vice). Though they should all be scared out of their minds, each handles it uniquely. Royce tries to act all cool and collected, not wanting to be bothered by the others, though he knows it’s in his best interest for the group to stay together. “You can follow me if you want.” Also among the group of eight are a convict (Walton Goggins – The Shield) and science nerd Topher Grace (Traffic, In Good Company). Laurence Fishburne (Higher Learning, Boyz n the Hood) also has an extended scene in this movie. If you wondered, like me, why Brody agreed to this movie, you’d also be scratching your head as to why Fishburne wasted his time playing a character only used to explain a storyline of no interest.
Part of the problem with Predators is it is far too complicated and unbelievable. As I’ve stated in many reviews, I don’t always mind the unbelievable in a movie if it doesn’t try to be both believable and unbelievable simultaneously, depending on what serves the movie’s best interest at the moment. Predators tries to develop its characters, show human emotion, and make the characters as accurate as possible while also trying to showcase the Predators (the real stars of the show). As a result, you’ll find yourself laughing at the dialog and terrible acting as much as you will appreciate the action. And while the action was, at times, okay, it also felt very, very pointless to me. For example, if the Predators can blow humans up with a laser gun attached to a shoulder, then why are they engaging in sword fights or hand-to-hand combat with the humans they are aiming to destroy? Also, the back story of why certain Predators are killing other Predators is pointless. As an audience, we don’t care. We don’t want to see the characters turn on each other. Nor do we want to see the Predators kill each other off. We want to see the Predators kill the people or the people kill the Predators.
This movie was out to make a quick buck, and it shows. It’s another example of the lack of original ideas in Hollywood right now. Rather than coming up with something new, sequels and reboots have become the norm. This movie takes place over, at most, two days. During that period, Brody’s character changes from a cold, almost callous warrior who cares only about himself to this man who would risk his life for a stranger. I’m curious why director Nimrod Antal (Vacancy, Armored) would even try to develop these characters. It shows that a combination of a terrible plot, horrible character development, well-below-average acting, and poor directing can piggyback a once proud and original movie to the bank.
This movie falls into the horror genre, but it is not a horror. Of course, it falls into the action and adventure genre, too, but the action is mostly dull and the adventure non-present. This movie is terrible, and it further ruins the reputation of the original Predator. If you don’t want to tarnish your impression of the 1987 film, stay away from Predators.
Plot 1/10
Character Development 0/10
Character Chemistry 1/10
Acting 1/10
Screenplay .5/10
Directing 1/10
Cinematography 8/10
Sound 1/10
Hook and Reel 4/10
Universal Relevance 0/10
17.5%