Predators (2010)

Neither a sequel, not real remake of the original Predator film, Predators stands as a new entry in the series, designed to return to the simple premise at the heart of that initial films success, pitting a team of marines in a hostile environment against the titular predators. On the whole this was the right approach for the series, whose only real action in the last decade or so has been in the increasingly disappointing Alien vs. Predator format, films that haven’t done either franchise many favours.

.

The film opens with Adrien Brody’s Royce waking up, mid parachute jump, heading for the ground with no recollection of how he got there. Upon landing he happens across a disparate group of people in the same situation, from all corners of the planet. As they group up and explore it becomes clear that they are not on Earth, and worse, they are being hunted. It’s a neat initial twist on the original premise, rather than having the Predator’s come to Earth, they bring the prey to them. One of the problems with the film though is that it is a bit slow to get started, especially as the audience has a big head start of the characters. They, naturally, are unaware of the Predator, its hunting techniques and capabilities, but at this stage of the franchise those who watch are already overly familiar with these tropes. As such the strung out introduction of the creatures, which takes a good chunk of the film, and re-use of the gimmicky ‘predator vision’ feels unnecessary and pointless, we already know ahead of time what awaits the characters on the surface and a smarter thing to do would have been to establish this right from the start rather than tease the reveal of the creature that everyone knows for a good 40 minutes or so.

.

As such we are lumbered with a fair amount of exposition and traipsing through unremarkable jungles early on (it may be by design, but there is very little ‘alien’ regarding the design of the locations and geography of the planet, which somewhat makes the decision to set the film there a bit moot). The cast is game enough, Brody is a highly unusual action star, he growls his lines and does an alright job of playing the mercenary but never quite convinces. The rest of the group, who we discover are all taken from the most dangerous and highly trained organisations in the world (Yakuza, Special Forces etc.) are generally fine but mostly forgettable. Topher Grace, as the odd one out (a doctor) provides some comic relief but the script doesn’t give many people a reason to stand out. But then again this is not the sort of film that requires that, the structure is very familiar, gradually the group are picked off as they try and find a way to escape. For this the film-makers do introduce some new creatures, some ferocious dog like beasts are a neat addition to the universe, but the storyline involving two differing species of Predator (who both looked virtually identical to my eyes) feels unnecessary and underdeveloped, existing only to fulfil a rather belaboured plot point towards the end of the film.

.

Setting the film away from Earth, and featuring characters with no prior knowledge of the Predators does lead to some narrative issues that are largely explained away by the inclusion of Lawrence Fishburne’s Noland, a previous captive who has holed himself up in an abandoned spacecraft. Fishburne gives a distinctly batty performance, possibly so as to distract from all the exposition he is lumbered with, but the whole sequence again feels like the solution to a narrative problem.

.

I am perhaps being critical of a film whose primary focus is to entertain, but then it often fails at this also. It is technically competent and does feature some engaging action sequences, but largely feels devoid of interesting and original ideas. Shoot outs in the jungle are so familiar at this stage that sometimes it mightn’t even be Predators they are facing. So devoid of ideas is the film that it even manages to take one of the best ones from the original (covering a character in mud to avoid detection) for its own. The film is by no means terrible, its ambitions to return to the originals pared back narrative are noble and the Predators remain an interesting and effective creature, it’s just a shame that the film feels like a wasted opportunity on the whole, bringing little new of value to the franchise and existing as largely forgettable spectacle. A few more over the top sequences, or ideas, might have elevated it but it largely just exists, not offending but not engaging either, which really is its biggest crime.