Predators Movie Review …

On a distant planet, not too unlike the thick jungles of Earth, some of the most ruthless killers awake to find themselves in a game not of their choosing. Mercenaries, murderers, gangsters, and convicts: They were the most feared men on Earth, but now they’re a long way from home, and when the predators of Earth become the prey, fearless mercenary Royce (Adrien Brody) prepares for the fight of his life. And he’s not alone, because Mexican gangster Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Israeli Defense Forces veteran Isabelle (Alice Braga), notorious mass murderer Stans (Walton Goggins), Russian Special Forces operative Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), RUF death squad member Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), and sword-wielding Yakuza Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien) are all armed to the teeth and out for blood.

The odd man out is Edwin (Topher Grace), a once-prominent physician whose career came to an end following a big scandal. When the mixed crew encounters Noland (Laurence Fishburne), a resourceful human who has somehow managed to survive on the alien’s hunting grounds for some time, they prepare to take the ultimate stand against the most powerful Predators the human race has ever had to face.

For those of you who are too young or are new to the Predator franchise, the franchise began with the 1987 film Predator starring action titan Arnold Schwartzeneggar. The film was gritty, violent, and featured the newest, and probably coolest, villainous movie creature of all time, the Predator. The Predator is an alien that is an elite warrior that lives for no reason other than to hunt the most dangerous game available. It just so happens that humanity now contains some of the greatest warriors and these predator aliens want to get a piece of the action.

Not only are they ruthless, but they also have advanced technology that always gives them the edge, like laser weapons, retractable blades, and the ability to turn invisible. In the original film, the alien is a vicious monster that kills and collects skulls as trophies, but as the mythos progressed in subsequent films, the Predator became known as a warrior with a code of honor because they don’t simply kill everything that walks, but only hunts other combatants. Of course, a significant amount of their background comes from the Alien versus Predator comic books where they often fight next to respect humans against the sinister Alien from the films alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 starring Sigourney Weaver.

Although the Predator was an amazing movie monster, the films following the 1987 blockbuster hit, were nothing but absolute rubbish. Every director made the Predator a little cooler, new weapons and more characterizations, but never tried to make a good movie. It took twenty three years, but the 1987 film Predator, finally has its well deserved sequel in the Robert Rodriguez produced film Predators, which is directed by Nimród Antal. This film takes the action back into the jungle that the initial film found its success in, and just like the original, the protagonist find they are being ruthlessly hunted by a creature much faster, stronger, and faster than anything they have ever seen.

Although the story is pretty weak like every other Predator film ever made, the action and suspense of the film easily make up for it. The suspense begins the moment the film begins as Royce, played by Oscar winning actor Adrien Brody, awakes in freefall thousands of feet above the strange alien world with only seconds left to open his parachute before his falls to his death. From there, the protagonists are hunted using typical means, such as utilizing packs of dog like aliens to flush the humans into the open, booby traps hiding throughout the woods, and even using captured allies as bait to lure out the rest of the group. But when the action starts, there are no holds barred as the humans fight for their lives in some truly great action sequences.

Aside from the Predator and the fantastic action of the film, the acting throughout is actually pretty decent all around. At first glance, the casting is completely ridiculous, especially when you think of Adrien Brody as an action star spouting classic one-liners, but somehow, the film works great with the cast that it does have. Prior to seeing the film, I found the thought of Topher Grace mixed into the world of these other cut throat killers silly at best, but his performance in Predators is the best out of all the protagonists.

But the show stealer in Predators is Laurence Fishbourne, who has perhaps only twenty minutes of screen time. Laurence Fishbourne plays Noland, a fellow mercenary who has survived numerous “seasons” of the hunting game that the Predators participate in. Not only is his performance brilliant, as he plays a character driven mad from fear and isolation for an unknown time span, but he gives the audience a bit of insight into who the Predators are, and how they use the game to train to become better warriors.

Predators is the perfect film for those that love movie monsters, great action sequences, and a healthy dose of violence and gore. While some people who generally dislike this type of film will equally hate Predators, this is a perfect movie for those who are familiar with the franchise. AS I said earlier, this is a franchise that has suffered from poor sequels and awful Alien versus Predator films that do nothing other than exploit the violence and monster to generate a profit, but with Robert Rodriguez as a producer, this is one Predator film that stayed on par with the original film from twenty three years ago. This of course is accomplished with superb action, a fresh look at the Predator aliens and their apparent hierarchy, and fantastic acting from a very unusual cast. Sure it isn;t by any means a perfect movie, but it is worth two decades of waiting for.

Predators movie trailer

It’s quite rare that a movie like Splice comes along and goes pretty much unnoticed when it is in the movie theater. The reasons behind this is perhaps many, but I think the overall premise of the film really threw people off what it is actually about. I have to admit that when I first saw the previews for this film I immediately thought cute alien goes rogue and kills a bunch of people. The reason I thought this, and I’m going to assume a lot of other people would agree with me, is because Splice looked nearly identical to the 1995 film Species, which was nothing more than sexy female alien killing people. The strange thing about Splice is that the entire movie desperately fights to try not to be the movie you think it is going to be, but in the end, it is that exact movie you thought it was.

The thing that sets Splice apart from films like Species is that it is a very science driven film rather than an alien or made scientist film. The film grounds itself in reality by spending the first quarter of the film establishing the work of Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) who are famous Superstar genetic engineers that have made huge scientific leaps and bounds by spice different types of animal DNA together to create new life forms. When they come to the point where they have to decide to incorporate human DNA into the equation, the theme of morality is introduced and runs the full length of the film. By this of course I mean the decision to do something just because you can despite the risks that may be associated with the action. Like I already mentioned, this theme runs through the entire length of the film, it dictates how the characters act, and it drives the plot of the entire film. For this reason, Splice becomes a film much deeper than other “sexy-alien-kills-everyone” movies because it is actually about something more than just sex and violence.

Splice would be nothing without the acting talents of Adrien Brody, best known for his Oscar winning performance in the Pianist, and Sarah Polley, best known for The Sweet Hereafter. Not only are their characters brought to life before our eyes, but the characters are legitimately fascinating because they are incredibly flawed. Not only are they struggling with the morality of creating a new life form, but they are also struggling with each other because despite the fact that they live together, their work is constantly driving them apart because they are both so submersed into it. Even Polley’s childhood is woven into the plot, which creates an interesting background into her compulsion to create Dren.

Speaking of Dren, what would a scientific/horror film like Splice be without the creation; the monster; the Frankenstein? Thinking about comparing the adorable Dren to Frankenstein is quite astute because despite the fact that Dren is not made up of random body parts, she is made up with random parts of DNA. The character of Dren is played masterfully by Delphine Chanéac with her curious birdlike movements and childlike innocence, but as the film progresses, there is an underline complexity that is only briefly hinted at by Dren’s boredom in her learning abilities and hidden artwork. Splice’s scientific creation is definitely a memorable experience both in terms of Dren’s visually stunning appearance to the emotional power flows from the movie screen like the dance scene that Dren shares with Clive in the barn, which is perhaps the best scene of the entire movie.

Splice is a film that is impossible for me not to recommend. I find it completely absurd that it only made 17 million dollars in the box office, which is nearly nothing when one takes into account the a list actors involved with the film and the fantastic special effects used in the making of Splice. By no stretch of the imagination is this a film that is perfect, but the good aspects greatly outweigh the bad aspects of the film. For some reason, director Vincenzo Natali hasn’t had a very long or successful track record with movie success, but for some reason or another, this movie really clicks and works on all the levels he was working on. I simply can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this film, and the sooner you see it, the better.

Every time we see a war movie, we expect soldier bravery stories. At least that’s how we got used to. Our pianist is not brave. He does have moral values (refusing to work for the Jewish Police), but we’re not seeing him sacrifice as the father in “La Vita e Bella” for instance. He is not shooting anyone, he’s not winning battles for his “side”.

He is the NORMAL guy who has to survive. Who’s witnessing all the war horrors and has to find a way to just live another day. His struggle is touching us. We don’t deal with a hero, we don’t deal with a war person or a brave soldier, thirsty for some enemy blood. He is an artists, he is the pianist who gets in the middle of things and, as any normal person, could live well without all this turmoil.

Wars have innocent victims. People who are killed because of their color / religion / beliefs. Citizens who don’t kill anyone, who are taken from their homes and killed or have their families destroyed for some causes they kinda don’t care.

War connects people in this case too. People who are “by default” enemies. We saw this in The Empire of the Sun, we see this here too. In the other movie passion for airplanes befriended 2 kids, here music can make your worst enemy give you a chance.

If you are looking for long musical scenes, you are in for a disappointment. After seeing “The Piano”, I would expect to hear more music being played, since I absolutely love the piano. Still “The Pianist” doesn’t have too much playing (even if it’s of amazing quality). They “save” the scenes for the really important moments in the movie. The action is fast and the plot challenging. In my opinion Roman Polanski proved once again his amazing value.

This is not a movie you can enjoy, as you would a romantic comedy or a nice animation. This is a movie that will make you cry, it will make you ask yourself a lot of questions. It’s a painful movie and yet absolutely amazing.

Would I recommend it? Of course. Do try to get some time and watch it. Make sure you don’t have any distractions and watch it carefully. It’s a masterpiece and it would be a pity to miss it.