In 1985, when I was eight, my father took me to see my first action film. It was Commando, staring the biggest action hero of the eighties, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The last act of the film transformed me into an instant action movie fan, and my father would take me to the theater whenever a new action film came out. However, Arnold always remained my favorite action actor, and in 1987 I saw him again in what I think is one of his best roles, Dutch in Predator. Predator is one of my all-time favorite films from the eighties and played a big role in my childhood. My friends and I would watch it all the time. The second film was alright, but it didn’t have the greatness of the first film. When the Predator was pitted versus the Aliens in 2004, the magic still was not the same, and the sequel was even more of a disappointment in 2007. So! What does a studio do to revive the Predators back to the way they should be? They hire Robert Rodriguez to revive the franchise.
Predators starts off with the characters waking up in a free fall right before their parachutes open and they land in a dense jungle. After coming together and almost killing one another, they soon learn that as a group they all have a past in which they have done a lot of bad things in life. All of them are killers in a sense, but none of them realize what they are all doing together in the middle of nowhere. That is, until they come to a clearing and realize that they are not on Earth anymore. They soon learn that they are on planet that is a hunting preserve, and that they are the prey. However, the original predator race from the previous films is not the one they need to worry about. A new more advanced species of predator that is bigger and faster is hunting them, and the only way to stay alive is to learn the ways of the jungle or try to find a way off the planet.
The film has a basic action sci-fi plot, but it recycles the original Predator storyline from the first film. It just happens to take place on another earth-like planet. The film’s script is by no means perfect. The story is basic, but fun; the dialogue at times is a bit ridiculous and some of the characters seem to have been placed in the film just to die, although they are very well developed. It’s what you would expect another Predator film to be.
The film has a cast of familiar faces, Adrien Brody ,Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne and Danny Trejo headline the cast with the Jason from the remake of Friday the 13th, Derek Meara, playing the classic Predator. The acting is not half bad. There are some decent performances; nothing great, but each actor holds his own in his respective role. The rest of the film’s production values are top-notch, with some great visual and special make-up effects and plenty of blood-spilling gore to keep the horror fans happy.
The Blu-ray disc comes with a digital copy and has a few decent special features. There is a motion comic that is a prequel to the film and gives some of the back story of some of the characters in the film and what they were doing before they were abducted by the Predators. There is also a back story on the Predators and how they set up the game preserve. Also on the disc are extended and deleted scenes that, for the most part, develop the characters in the film more. There are two featurettes: Fox Movie Channel Presents Making a Scene and Evolution of a Species: Predator Reborn. There is also The Chosen featurette which gives a description of all of the film’s characters. The disc also has a few other features such as commentary with Producer Robert Rodriguez and Director Nimrod Antal as well as many online features through BD live.
Overall, Predators has a similar storyline to the original 1985 film but takes place on a different planet with a similar location. It is not by any means a great film, but it is a fun action sci-fi that is fun to watch. I’m sure fans of the previous Predators films will enjoy it for what it’s worth, a fun popcorn action flick.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
