Just got back from this and I have to say that I enjoyed it thoroughly. The Good This film wastes no time getting straight to the story. I mean no time at all. You definitely don't want to walk in late to the theater. The story is reminiscent of the original but with enough new material and twists to make it more of a cousin than a twin. The casting was surprisingly decent with only a couple exceptions. I also thought they did a good job of letting each character have enough screen time to establish themselves. The pacing is good and there is enough action to go around. At the end of the day, they went back to a proven formula, spiced it up a bit, threw in some anti-hero characters, and pumped life back into a dead franchise. If this movie does well, we are guaranteed a sequel and that suits me just fine. The Bad I had a problem with a couple of the casting decisions. Surprisingly, Lawrence Fishburne was a flop for me. He just looked fat and washed up. Didn't fit his character at all. They went for a name and it backfired. The chick was also a flop for me. I had no problem with her character, but the actress just wasn't believable. Her movements, her handling of the weapon . . . all of it just seemed off. They needed more of a badass, imo. The only other complaint I have is that they failed to cultivate the level of suspense found in the first film. They could have used about 10 more minutes devoted to that aspect. Maybe the director's cut will be an improvement. The Ugly I wouldn't call anything in this film "ugly". It's weaknesses were not fatal, and overall, it was just a rock solid summer action flick. They did brush over a huge and previously unmentioned aspect of Predator culture and society that kind of frustrated me but I don't know if it's the kind of thing that would bother a non-nerd. Final Grade 7/10
I really want to see this one . . . imagine, a Predator movie that doesn't suck. How long has it been?
Okay, Ash gave it the good/bad/ugly treatment and I pretty much agree, except that I thought the chick was okay if a bit soft. She REALLY reminded me of Elpidia Carillo from the original- and I just pulled her name out of my ASS. Okay, a couple things I'm going to add: a couple of really cool easter eggs here, and Danny Trejo followed his tradition of dying early and ugly in every film he's in. I don't know how he's gonna last all the way through Machete. There was one moment that had the theater cheering like crazy, and it was definitely a throwback to the first movie: One thing I couldn't figure out: were the smaller breed the ones we saw in 1 and 2? Sort of looked like it. The bigger breed just seemed uglier and the mandibles seemed to permanently jut out. Either way, they are still some ugly motherfuckers. Another thing Ash forgot to mention: NO MTV STYLE EDITING!!! No headache and you can actually SEE the fookin' action!! AWESOMENESS!!! Hope we get a sequel out of this one. 8/10, easy.
The whole "smaller breed" issue was the frustrating element I referred to in my "Ugly" section. I think the classic Predator was definitely the smaller breed even though the size difference wasn't massive. I found that whole concept really interesting actually. They seemed to be culturally different as well.
Caught it last night, more a DVD movie than a cinema outing if you ask me though. It was enjoyable enough, but came across a little Pitch Black-y, and what was the point of Fishburns character? More to the point, what has happened to Fishburn? He's getting as tubby as me... They shouldn't have asked how many Predators he'd killed, rather how many he'd eaten. Film was a 7 out of 10 at a push.
I always thought a nifty wrinkle in the storyline would be if they went to the actual Predator homeworld, and you find out that outside of their hunts on Earth (and now also the "game reserve", planet) that back home, they're doctors, lawyers, clerks, economists, plumbers, etc, etc. Like, have a human hitch a ride on their ship, and pull a "Hostel", style revenge on Glorg from accounts receiving in the stall of the men's room.
That is the sort of impression I got from Predator 1, that the Predator was akin to some survivalist gun nut just out on a hunting trip getting trophies.
I think it did a great job of canon, it just showed some more wrinkles. The evolutionary concept of the Predator society is interesting, and it begs a very interesting question - are they changing tactics because of the potential threat they see coming from Earth, or for some other reason? Thought it was solid and fun. Brody was surprisingly believable as the merc. Fishbourne was a waste of time. Don't care for the Predator accountant idea at all. It would completely destroy the concept of the mystique of the species - after that the franchise would certainly be done. I think a more interesting idea would be an examination of how such a hunt based society could function and how they got to what they are now. Especially with this new wrinkle on their training programs - the constant need for improvement could be innate, or it could come from an external threat. Imagine what makes the Predators scared... Oh, and the first Predator was certainly one of the 'big' variety. He towered over Ahnuhld. The concept probably comes from 2, where not all the Predators appeared to be the same size. However, I didn't care for that interpretation actually - the first Predator seemed to be the more skilled hunter, who relied on his toys less. The 2nd had more toys, but appeared as if he was trying to win the approval of the rest of the hunters. The 'small' Predator I thought just represented one that hadn't reached maturity yet. Several teenagers watching the rite of passage of one of their own facing off against Danny Glover. Still, some fun new things in the Predator mythology now, and lots of clever ideas in the movie. Oh, and one other thing of note:
I disagree. The first Predator was almost identical to the "smaller" Predator in this latest movie. Even their gear was the same. This was in sharp contrast to the new breed that was introduced. Different facial features, different armor, different weapons, different tactics. Rodriguez even referred to the new ones as "Super Predators" and the captive one as the "Classic Predator". The movie just didn't do a good job showing any meaningful size difference.
Considering Kevin Peter Hall as the original Predator at 7'2" is half a foot taller than Derek Mears, the guy they got to play the 'small' Predator, yes, if that was their intention they completely botched it.
Maybe that they 'recognize' other predatory types, and occasionally walk over earth to seek them out rather than an embedded network. That could offer some interesting storylines, not least cults vying to get their attention. You just know some nuts would see the Game Planet as a destination to achieve.
I finally caught this last night and as a fan of the first two movies I have to say that I think the picture absolutely stunk. Predator 2 is far superior. The Good 1) The soundtrack was good. Loved the fact that it contained the musical cues from the first two movies 2) Seeing the classic Predator was a big kick. 3) As mention above, no shakey cam MTV shit. The old style look was most refereshing. 4) The use of a rail gun by the russian was a nice nod to the original picture. That's about it. The Bad 1) Despite a two hour picture we learn nothing about the Predator that we didn't already know, save that there are two castes. Hardly a ground-breaking revelation for a movie set off of Earth. 2) What was the plot of the movie? Ok, so they have been dumped in a game reserve. Yeah, we get that. They have been selected because they may also hunt each other. Yeah, we get that. But what else? There's nothing else to the picture. Where did Fishburne's alien drill come from? Why did we see no new Predator tech? Why are there, it seems, only four predators on the planet? 3) Talking about the number of Predators on the planet, assuming that there are more than four, what is the surviving characters' payoff? In the original Arnie's survived and rid the Earth of the threat that the Predator represented. In this, Brody kills the taller Predator.....and that's it. We don't see them escape.....and we must assume there are shit loads more predators, so what's the payoff? They've killed on but walk off into the mist to face another load. Meh. 4) I hated the fact that the Classic Predator was dispatched so quickly and easily. It kind of made a mockery of the Predators we see in the previous 2 movies as they are no longer fearsome killing machines, but rather lower caste weaklings who don't last very long. 5) What was the point of Fishburne's character? Seriously? He's in it for ten minutes and then it turned into spagetti sauce. He adds nothing to the plot. How has he survived for ten seasons? What has made him able to do what others can't and, with that in mind, how come he get's killed so easily? 6) The deaths of the squad at various stages are meaningless since you have no empathy for the characters, save for perhaps Nikolai. In the original they are all military and they all have great camaraderie. That is why squad deaths are taken personally and they go out to avenge the fallen. In the second movie the lead characters are friends and police officers so you get behind them as good people. In this they are all individual shitbags (well, except for the woman). Their characters are not explored so when they die we have no empathy. Take Hanza. He bearly says a thing in the movie so we learn nothing. What is his motivation therefore for abandoning the others and having a personal face off with a Predator? 7) Why don't the characters freak out when they learn that they are stuck on an alien planet? I'd shit bricks if I found that out. 8) Why is Brody desperate to sound like Clint Eastwood? It's like he saw Christian Bale doesn't it and though, yeah, cheesy husky voice, that's the way to go. Meh, load of old tosh. A totally wasted oppurtunity. 4/10.
Except for the fact that the Russian couldn't hit shit with it. Especially in the dog scene. At least in the first movie you could say that he didn't know what he was shooting at and was just shooting blind. It's a private hunting reserve. Unless you have permission of the owning Predator you have to hunt on public land. There is a human bag limit of two, plus you need your license on you, your weapon can only hold two shots before needing reloading, you can't use spears or arrows or throwing knifes and you have to wear orange. Agreed. How they going to do a sequel? I was so hoping some other Predators would show up and give them a ride home as a gift for kicking ass.
I think part of the idea here is that when you are picked up by aliens who view you as entertainment and dumped on a game preserve planet, you are well and truly fucked. There is no happy ending here- there really can't be.
I liked it. Too much character development and dialogue ruins a good action/horror movie. I personally don't need to be beaten over the head with dialogue to convey every plot revelation or emotional reaction, and I actually dislike the old by-the-numbers approach that has writers making an obvious attempt to get the audience attached to a character they intend to kill off. And you should be expected to just understand some things on your own anyway. The Japanese guy's death is a perfect example. I even enjoyed Fishburne's brief little "Hi, I'm crazy. Hi, I'm dead." role. If I had to pick a weakness, it may have been Topher Grace's character. I mean, he played it well enough, but you knew as soon as he told everyone he was a doctor that he'd turn out to be Mr. Evil Mass-Murdering Doctor, and you knew damn well he was gonna use that plant-poisoned scalpel on someone. Also, they killed off Danny Trejo way too soon. The fact that we didn't really get a happy ending that wraps everything up is a bonus of movie-making in modern times, and I like that too.
My biggest complaint about Fishburne's character is that he was too fat and soft looking for a hardcore survivalist living on a alien planet and scavenging to stay alive. Horrible casting choice. The director should have kicked his ass of the set the day he showed up. I was happy when he got blowed up.
Just watched it, like most of you, formulaic but good. Personally I liked the allusions to other races being hunted, any sequel should up the FX budget and invest in some alien team members. I also liked the alien mining equipment set piece. Was it abandoned, was it Predator tech, was it from a conquered race? Little things like that and the possibility of predator castes add a little depth to what is a pretty shallow premise on the surface. Overall, 7/10. I'd gladly rewatch it when it hits FX, or AMC.
