Predators

A sequel twenty-one years after the 'original' sequel is no mean feat; Predators claims to be a sequel. It even references the Alien films in its nomenclature, that subtle addition of an 's'. But consequently it's riddled with the same problems most sequels have to face.

For a film as limply plotted as Predators (Selected elite soldiers plus one hapless doctor are ditched on an alien hunting preserve for the predators to practise their skills on... That's literally it.), there were some surprisingly effective moments amongst the dross. Adrien Brody is passable enough in Swarznegger's shoes, remarkable as that might sound; the conversation that directly refers to 1987 (the year of Predator's release) is comicly rendered. But he's not passable enough, and the film never really accepts that it's comic. It's so deadly, dully serious throughout, one can't help but get a little tired of it all.

The film also falls flat on the simplest of moments. The dialogue drags throughout; the landscape changes every five minutes (Continuity people, did you put jungle to evergreen in two minutes down to the planet being 'alien'?); the characters are sketchily drawn at best and killed off in the most meaningless of ways. But I cackled through it. I embraced the idiocy, Hollywood churning out drudge in a style true to form. I'd not go out of my way to see it again. Then again, I probably wouldn't for most films.

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2010

Adrien Brody, Alice Braga

dir. Nimrod Antal