Predators

Predators 2010
Director: Nimrod Antal
Writers: Alex Litvak and Michael Finch
Starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali and Derek Mears
The Predator film series has a long career, but none of the following films have lived up to the legendary original. They all seemed to lack the machismo and the awesomeness of the original Predator. Predators is the first one to get it right. It really hit on something by returning it back to the jungle and bringing in a ensemble cast that really played well off of each other. The film feels so genuine that you actually think it is directed by John McTeirnan. The film is filled with machismo and great action sequences. It also showed us something we never saw in the original a awesome sword fight between man and Predator, that alone makes this film an awesome sequel that stands head held high as a superior sequel. The direction is very tight and the script is kept very simple, which really works on the films behalf. It has a great ensemble cast that plays off of each other very well. This is a film that is fun form start to finish and is really a man’s action movie, something we see far too few of nowadays.
The plot basics are this, a man (Brody) wakes up falling in midair into a jungle. He soon meets up with 6 other people who have ended up in this jungle the same way. It soon becomes clear that they are all deadly killers without a conscience and they were brought here for a reason. They are the game to be hunted by a alien race who brings people with their skills to this planet to sharpen their hunting skills. These 7 people will now have to pool their resources if they are to survive the traps and hunting practice of these alien predators. And they will be tested to the nth degree on all counts by these predators.
This is a pulse pounding action film and one of the best films I have seen this year. The direction by Antal is phenomenal, he really amps up the tension in every scene. My favorite scene had to be the samurai sword fight between the Predator and the Yakauza hitman. That was something I really wanted to see in the first Predator when Sonny Landham squared off against it, but instead they cut away. This time though, they showed all of the bloody fight. The script was kept simple and that really worked. There is not a lot of characterization but that really works for the tone of the film. That would just slow the action down and you don’t want that. The cast is excellent. Brody plays an excellent brooding hero type and really carries the film. Braga as the female lead is quite good too. The shining examples of the film for me though are Goggins and Fishburne. Goggins has all the best lines as a oily serial killer and Fishburne in his brief time on screen is captivating as the lunatic survivor who has seen to many sunrises on this planet. The SFX and effects are amazing. The Predators look amazing and the blood and guts really is let loose in this film, and that is something you definitely need in a Predator film. The score by John Debney is very epic and it is great how he uses the music form the original Predator during key scenes in the film. This is a great SF action film and a must see.
This one gets 5 out of 5