REVIEW - Predators

I have to admit when news filtered through the interweb that 20th Century Fox were re-animating the much abused corpse of the Predator franchise it filled me with dread. Having not only suffered the indignity of a limp 1990 sequel starring Lispy McLisps-a-lot (aka Danny Glover), the character has been further brutalised by two AvP films which surgically removed everything even slightly memorable. But against all odds, Robert Rodriguez and director Nimród Antal have served up a sci-fi action dish in Predators which is almost the equal of the 1987 classic.

It starts badly, following a dumbfounded Adrien Brody as he freefalls towards an endless jungle. The effects are ropy and the opening character introductions a little too broad. But as more chutes plunge into the canopy and the eight strangers slowly band together there’s a sense of logic to the proceedings – of highly trained individuals pooling their resources to survive, or at least biding their time til they get the lay of the land. And as the minutes tick by in wafer thin, but adequate, character development, you suddenly realise that nothing supernatural has happened. Predators spends serious time in the jungle as a survival thriller before ever broaching the possibility of being trapped on an alien planet. The film feels no need for an upfront teaser to reassure the fans that they are seeing a Predator film – quietly confident that it works without the need for overpowering effects and gore.

And it does; eight characters means there’s always a new source of drama and the film avoids reeling out obvious gags to create a forced sense of camaraderie – these people aren’t friends, they are just trying to survive. This slower paced introduction doles out exposition in generous helpings, almost always from Brody, who appears to be the only one with any functioning senses – at one point Braga’s Isabelle points out that there is no magnetic north, while Brody calmly observes that the sun seems to be fixed in the sky. The spoonfed explanations get a little trying, but the dumber members of the group are clearly standing in for those equally sloth-minded audience members, an unfortunate must in blockbuster cinema.

Predators also knows exactly how to play to fans of the original – drawing expertly on our nostalgia in similar ways to Superman Returns. It’s most obvious in the music – Alan Silvestri’s awesome score is referenced subtly in the beat of eerie drums or a brief trill of the theme – but even the structure of the film is carefully planned, creating parallels in the placement of similar scenes, such as the discovery of a skinned carcass. Antal and Rodriguez have created a smarter film here than they will be given credit for.

When the pace picks up, the film is smart enough to reference the real hunting practises which made the original so memorable, introducing new creatures and inverting the formula just enough to remain fresh. In many ways, it’s a more ambitious story, told with a minimum of CG enhancements and some restrained but effective gore.

Naturally, it’s not perfect – Lawrence Fishburne’s character is a little problematic and the final act finds itself with too many bodies left to dispose of, killing off characters in quick succession before an ending that threatens to go off the rails. To the filmmakers credit, it doesn’t and there’s certainly material here for a spate of spin-offs and sequels. Against all odds, Brody is great in the central role of Royce – adding a guttural bark to his normal nasal tone and getting in tremendous shape. The cast in general is surprisingly solid, especially the ineffably cool Alice Braga and a memorable Walton Goggins, who earns most of the films laughs with some off-colour humour. Topher Grace and Fishburne are the weak links but neither is distracting enough to spoil the film.

Predators is easily the best movie in the series since the original. The action is strong, the characters are adequate and, above all else, it doesn’t defecate from orbit on our one of the best sci-fi actioners of the 80s. Watch it.