Predators
Year: 2010
Director: Nimrod Antal
Starring: Alice Braga, Adrian Brody & Topher Grace
Runtime: 107 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 20/09/22
Director: Nimrod Antal
Starring: Alice Braga, Adrian Brody & Topher Grace
Runtime: 107 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 20/09/22
The Predator franchise didn’t have the best run of sequels and spin-off’s for the first two decades following the 1987 original. 1990’s Predator 2 took away everything great about the original and in its place audiences were given a campy anti-drug PSA, and then in 2004 and 2007 the Aliens vs Predator films butchered both properties in ways I didn’t even think were possible. It seemed as though the Predator franchise would sit and gather dust as nobody knew what to do with it. However, in 2010 a third mainline Predator film would go back to basics in the hope of restoring the property to its former glory. Though Predators didn’t receive the warmest welcome from critics and audiences, I honestly believe it’s tied with the recently released Prey as the best film in the franchise.
When a group of strangers awake to find themselves in a mysterious jungle, they quickly realise they are prey in a hunting reserve for a group of technologically advanced aliens. Realising they are all proficient killers, specially selected to make the hunt more enjoyable, the strangers’ band together to fight back against the Predators (Derek Maers, Carey Jones, and Brian Steele) and find a way out of the jungle.
When a group of strangers awake to find themselves in a mysterious jungle, they quickly realise they are prey in a hunting reserve for a group of technologically advanced aliens. Realising they are all proficient killers, specially selected to make the hunt more enjoyable, the strangers’ band together to fight back against the Predators (Derek Maers, Carey Jones, and Brian Steele) and find a way out of the jungle.
Predators is a pure white knuckle thrill ride right from the word go. The very first thing you see is our leading man, Royce (Adrian Brody), regaining consciousness as he falls out of the sky. The next few minutes see Royce encounter the others also falling out of the sky, and in a state of panic beginning to shoot at each other. From here our group encounters traps, is hunted by animals, and of course tracked down by the Predators. In fact, this breakneck pace lasts right up until the films second act wherein the group encounter Noland (Lawrence Fishburne), a man who has been in hiding for months or maybe even years working out how to escape from the jungle.
This constant fast pace could be off-putting for some, but personally it gives Predators a rollercoaster like thrill as for the first forty minutes or so our characters are in perpetual danger. It’s a bold choice to open the film in such a way, but I’ve not really ever encountered another film like it.
The biggest problem with Predators are that the characters are a little threadbare. Alongside Royce there’s Israeli sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga), death row inmate Stans (Walton Goggins), Russian commando Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Yakuza member Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and a Sierra Leonian death squad member Mombasa (Mahershala Ali). With this group is Edwin (Topher Grace), a doctor who doesn’t seem as though he belongs. Whilst each character is given a little bit of backstory, enough to give them a personality, we never learn anything about them and Royce is the only character to go through any kind of growth. I don’t necessarily mind that the characters are shallow considering what kind of film this is, but don’t go into Predators expecting substance because every single character is one dimensional.
This constant fast pace could be off-putting for some, but personally it gives Predators a rollercoaster like thrill as for the first forty minutes or so our characters are in perpetual danger. It’s a bold choice to open the film in such a way, but I’ve not really ever encountered another film like it.
The biggest problem with Predators are that the characters are a little threadbare. Alongside Royce there’s Israeli sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga), death row inmate Stans (Walton Goggins), Russian commando Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Yakuza member Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and a Sierra Leonian death squad member Mombasa (Mahershala Ali). With this group is Edwin (Topher Grace), a doctor who doesn’t seem as though he belongs. Whilst each character is given a little bit of backstory, enough to give them a personality, we never learn anything about them and Royce is the only character to go through any kind of growth. I don’t necessarily mind that the characters are shallow considering what kind of film this is, but don’t go into Predators expecting substance because every single character is one dimensional.
The action sequences are great though. It cranks the mayhem up to eleven without losing sight of what made the 1987 film’s action scenes awesome. Big guns, big explosions, and some grisly deaths. It’s also great seeing the Predators work as a unit, the way they lure the group into specific situations is fantastic. One highlight for me is booby trapping a dead body and using their voice modulator to try and get the group to think the person is injured and needs help.
The visual effects are a bit ropey for 2010, the animals appear rubbery and I distinctly remember an explosion looking horrendously fake. Thankfully the effects aren’t used too often, but when they’re there they stick out like a sore thumb.
The music doesn’t have the same punch to it that the 1987 original did, but John Debney does produce a reasonably good sounding score for the film. It definitely aids that breakneck pace and keeps the film moving.
Predators is good fun. It’s not a great film, and it definitely has issues. But it’s the kind of film I can stick on, switch my brain off, and have a good time with a couple of beers and maybe some friends. What it loses in story and character depth, it makes up for in its thrilling action. It’s probably the only entry in the Predator franchise that I would return to over and over again without getting tired of it.
The visual effects are a bit ropey for 2010, the animals appear rubbery and I distinctly remember an explosion looking horrendously fake. Thankfully the effects aren’t used too often, but when they’re there they stick out like a sore thumb.
The music doesn’t have the same punch to it that the 1987 original did, but John Debney does produce a reasonably good sounding score for the film. It definitely aids that breakneck pace and keeps the film moving.
Predators is good fun. It’s not a great film, and it definitely has issues. But it’s the kind of film I can stick on, switch my brain off, and have a good time with a couple of beers and maybe some friends. What it loses in story and character depth, it makes up for in its thrilling action. It’s probably the only entry in the Predator franchise that I would return to over and over again without getting tired of it.