Monday, July 12, 2010

Predators


From the first second I heard those jungle drums I knew I was back in the world of the 'Predators', the nickname for a race of beings who live only to hunt the most dangerous game in the universe and in this universe you cannot call yourself a true HUNTER if you do not hunt MAN.

The concept is such a strong one. Take a group of individuals (in this case, killers and lowlifes and mercenaries) and drop them in a place where they are no longer the baddest things around. From there is just a manner of brains and survival skills. In any normal combat situation, this group would be more than a match for any adversary but against only three Predators, they are all but ready to become lunchmeat.


This movie moves fast with only the thinnest of dialogue necessary to establish the setting and plot. That is all we need. From there it's a game of cat and mouse as our humans try to stay one step ahead of the hunters and maybe, if they are lucky, turn the tables and kill before being killed.

I liked this one. It never promised to be anything other than what it was - a slick syfy action thriller. The effects are very well done and the cast is top notch. Adrien Brody as the tough guy - who knew? But it worked for me. Each other killer had their own unique quirks and I especially enjoyed the Yakuza guy who fought against the Predator with his samurai sword, in a field, under the night stars. Very nicely done and different than anything we had seen in this series before.


Speaking of the series, this movie reinvigorated it and if we get quality films like this in the future, it can go on as long as the Dark Horse comic books that I hope may serve as the basis for future efforts on screen.

4 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I liked it too! It was exactly what I expected and done very well. Action, gunfire, and Predator ass-kicking - what more could a guy want?

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

I agree. Just give me a good story and good action and fun deaths and I am pretty easy to please. All action films should be this effortless.

Pat Tillett said...

I haven't seen it yet, but you know I'm going to...I have one problem going in though. It's the Yakuza guy. Yakuza represents nothing other than the Japanese underworld. Just because he's Yakuza, it doesn't mean much. He could look like Tony Soprano...
I'm still going to watch it, I'm just saying...

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

This guy was one of their hitters though. But you are right. You really have to be specific with those guys.