Friday, July 9, 2010
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Friday, July 9, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Predators
The Thrill Of The Hunt, In A Most Dangerous Game
Adrien Brody as Royce and Alice Braga as Isabelle in
"Predators", directed by Nimrod Antal.
Rico Torres/Fox
by
Josh Youngerman/PopcornReel.com
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Friday, July 9, 2010
Nimrod Antal’s “Predators” delivers on what it sets out to do.
It is a fun action film that respects its audience and gives them a
Predators film worth seeing.
Robert Rodriguez developed the film as a sequel/reboot of the Arnold
Schwarzenegger franchise in the late ‘80s and ‘90s.
The film is almost a throwback to the old Hammer horror film days: you
cast really great actors so that they can sell this often ridiculous material.
The film starts with Royce (Adrien Brody) crash-landing on a distant planet that
looks like the jungle. We than see
two other characters, Cuchillo (Danny Trejo, always welcome) and Isabelle (Alice
Braga), a sniper. They are soon
surrounded by a Yakuza named Hans (Louis
Ozawa Changchien), a Southern death row inmate, Stans (Walton Goggins, reprising
his role from the TV drama “Justified”), and a snarky American doctor, Edwin (Topher
Grace). They have no idea how they
got there, and of course, like all jungle movies, they have to find a way out.
Soon they realize that they might be the ones who are being hunted by
creatures.
The opening 45 minutes are effectively creepy, with Antal and Rodriguez
subscribing to the theory that what you don’t see is scarier than what you do.
There are a couple of good scares, and Antal builds a surprising amount
of dread and tension. The action
sequences using mostly practical effects are really effective.
Unlike “The Last Airbender”, the CGI doesn’t really overwhelm Predators.
The thing I admired most of all was the respect Antal shows the audience.
“Predators” could easily have started with voice over similar to "The
Last Airbender" but doesn’t. As a
film “Predators” does a very good job of showing without telling.
There is no voice over, yet the
temptation to include it was surely there, especially with the talented group of
actors on display. Rodriguez, who
wrote “Predators”, didn’t receive a writing credit because he is not a member of
the Writers Guild of America. He
uses familiar characters here, but does so effectively.
These characters are all archetypes but each of the actors fleshes them out to
the best of their abilities. Adrien
Brody is probably the key to everything.
He won an Oscar for “The Pianist” and he is widely considered to be one
of our great young dramatic actors.
Yet I loved watching him sell all of this insane and stupid stuff.
He gives it his all and it works. If
the film went with a traditional action star I don’t think it would have worked.
Walton Goggins, another great actor, is a lot of fun to watch as Stans.
He’s playing a mollified version of Bo Crowder from “Justified”, a
performance which should have garnered him an Emmy nomination.
Goggins is very funny and we buy him as Stans.
As for the rest of the cast,
Topher Grace is at his most sarcastic in the role of Edwin. He’s basically
playing the
“Topher Grace
role” but does a good job. Braga probably has the toughest
challenge of all because her character is actually supplied with a soul and a
conscience. Still, she is effective, especially in the first half, as the
sniper. Danny Trejo is great as Cuchillo, a Mexican drug lord.
Though a familiar role, Trejo brings something fresh to it. He is one of
my favorite character actors. I can’t wait to see him in “Machete”, a film
that will finally allow him to be a leading man.
The highlight of “Predators” however, is Laurence Fishburne.
Let’s face it: “Predators” is far from being great or even a classic. The
film relies on really bad-looking CGI. There are specific scenes that are
noticeably bad. The film’s third act is not as effective as earlier parts
of the film, and there’s a good ten-minute stretch which just falls flat.
When “Predators” tries to be philosophical it almost falls flat, although the
actors do a good job of selling it. The tension in the first act
disappears. Later, in the third act, it threatens to overstay its welcome.
Vincenzo Natali’s recent film “Splice” deals with a lot of the philosophical
questions “Predators” doesn’t bother with until its third act.
If you want to see a film that approaches the level of greatness, watch
“Splice”. (Adrien Brody also starred in that better one-word monster
movie.)
Right now though, “Predators” isn’t even the best movie playing in theatres.
If you have an opportunity to see “Winter’s Bone”, “Splice”, “Exit Through the
Gift Shop”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, and “Please Give”, you should
take full advantage. A lot of those titles however, aren’t easily
accessible. In this lackluster summer for mainstream films, “Predators”
(with “Toy Story 3” aside), is the best movie playing at your local multiplex.
It is stupid fun.
“Predators” is very good trash.
"Predators" is rated R by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive
language. The film's running time is one hour and 46 minutes.
Josh Youngerman is Chicago's Horror Movie Examiner. He will be
contributing film reviews to The Popcorn Reel. He is on Twitter
@Josh_Y.
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