Oscars Flick Picks

It’s Not Original But It’s Still A Lot Of Fun

I’m going to say right up front that if you are looking for a picture that will take you somewhere that you’ve never been, then “PREDATORS” is not for you. But if you you are looking for a good time, and have about one hour and forty-seven minutes to spare, then this latest entry in the “PREDATOR” series will keep you entertained.

Maybe I shouldn’t link this one to the previous sequel attempts because with each succeeding sequel there was a marked decline in originality and excitement, the problem being that as the predator got more screen time, and as its abilities and methods became well known, audiences had less reason to anticipate being surprised. Eventually the movies devolved into a rote exercise in formulaic movie making and mindless macho posturing, ending in the same human carnage.

A buffed out Adrien Brody

But this one is a bit different. Not quite a sequel and not exactly a reboot, “Predators” is perhaps best described as a revival, and a reverent one, kind of back-to-basics approach to B-movie film making that fans will love, filled with great characters, snappy dialog, and plenty of action. What it lacks in imagination, it makes up in execution. It fulfills its limited potential, which is more than can be said of most of this summer’s movies. And then there is the cast, beginning with the unlikely presence of Adrien Brody, fit and bulked up, in the leading role.

At first I had my doubts that Brody, who is usually known for less physical roles, could pull of portraying a hardened mercenary, and indeed it DID color my judgment of him for the first 30 minutes of the movie, but in the end he came through as the professional actor that he is.This IS only a “B” movie after all, and not “cinema”. And if you are wondering how it is that he was cast in this role then read this interview that he did not too long ago.

The movie opens suddenly, with Brody’s character plunging through the atmosphere, coming out of unconsciousness and panicking as he cannot find the release handle for his chute. But just as it looks as if he is going to become part of the ecology his chute opens and he is deposited in a tropical setting with nothing but his clothes, pack and weapon. Immediately he discovers that he is not the only unwilling refugee as seven more humans are dropped in the near vicinity.

Brody with Alice Braga

What soon becomes clear is that all eight have one thing in common: they are killers, some military, some not. Among the characters we meet an escapee from death row, a member of the Russian Spetsnaz, an enforcer for a Mexican drug cartel, a guerrilla fighter from Africa, a Japanese Yakuza, an Israeli sniper, and a doctor whose reason for being included are revealed near the end of the movie. Alice Braga’s Israeli sniper, a refreshing female presence in the mix, reveals she knows something about the alien hunter, and shares the basic plot of the Predator story which she heard about through the elite military grapevine. The gang gets more detailed info about what they’re in for with the surprise arrival of Laurence Fishburne, in an over-the-top turn as a lone survivor who had scavenged to stay alive while slowly going cuckoo a la Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz

Brody and Fishburne

As the unwilling team work through the usual “I’m badder than you are” pissing contests and realize that they are mere prey for a bigger, and BADDER, enemy they quickly become aware of the futility of trying to escape the alien game preserve onto which they have been deposited and settle down to trying to survive under Brody’s leadership. The outcome is already a foregone conclusion, but how they get there is what makes “Predators” so much fun. It is best for the viewer to just sit back and laugh, or groan, at some of the obvious plot devices rather than treat them seriously, imagining that you had never seen one of the previous movies in the series, and remember, this is only a “B” movie so let it entertain you. You certainly could do a LOT worse!

Despite the obvious plot, the better than average production of “PREDATORS” leads me to award it with

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