Predators

Last month I saw the rather dismal Sabotage that looked to offer a fun action flick but couldn't deliver on that 'ragtag team on a mission' troupe we've seen before. It's a popular technique and it can be a blast when it works, for example, Aliens, Kelly's Heroes and even The A-Team film. Another great example is Predator that also starred Arnie but that was let down by a disappointing Danny Glover sequel, so when news came of the series going back to what it's known for with Predators, a lot of fans became excited again.

Predator saw a group of soldiers fighting in South America before becoming under attack by the alien beast and became a classic 1980s action movie. Predators changes things around a little and forces a group of vicious killers, after being thrown out of an airship, to fend off against the beasts but this time on their home planet. I liked the idea of this and to cast Adrien Brody as a tough mercenary, while unexpected, made a change from the body-builder protagonist of the original.

Once everyone has crash landed, we then meet our colourful cast that includes Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins, Alice Braga and Topher Grace. Whereas we had a group of tough soldiers, this time we have convicts, cartel enforcers, the yakuza, death squad members among the pleasant crowd and it does add something new but never manages to quite satisfy on any level.

One of the challenges Predators faces is the introduction of the beasts themselves. Now everyone knows what they look like, the film is quick to get introductions out of the way to the three predators and automatically we loose some suspense. While I liked the decision to avoid having too much CGI, we rarely get that level of intensity fans will recall from the original, and when the action kicks off it falls flat.

When a character died in the original it was a big moment as we knew odds stacked against the survivors as it started to escalate and the deaths had that Game of Thrones "oh no, not them!" impact. Like the script to this, these characters feel half-baked and when we see them fall there isn't half the reason to care. Fans will want to see the iconic hunters in their prime, using every gadget and tool to hand but these moments are few and far between.

That said, Predators isn't a terrible film and I still found some enjoyment. While the cast deserved a stronger script, they all do a very decent job and with some tightening in a few areas, this could have been a more worthy sequel to the franchise. Predators ultimately triumphs over the first sequel and sets an interesting scene for whatever comes next.