Return To The Jungle – Predators (2010) MOVIE REVIEW

We have reached Part V of my Road To Prey review series of the Predator franchise. Things start to look up for the series again with Predators!

I remember back in 2009 when loading a movie trailer on the internet took forever to do, but it was worth it to see that the Predator franchise was coming back. It was going to be about a bunch of people in the jungle being stalked by, not just one but multiple Yautja hunters? Hot dog! I’m in!

I saw Predators in theaters and it was easily the best sequel in the Predator franchise thus far. Now, where my views on other movies have changed over the years, Predators is one of the times where I continue to adore it after having seen it multiple times over the years. Even with this latest rewatch, I can say that I still love it.

Predator (1987) Review
Predator 2 (1990) Review
Alien Vs. Predator (2004) Review
Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) Review

FAMILIAR BUT FRESH

Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal clearly have a deep love and respect for the original Predator and that shines throughout. Predators brings the franchise back to its roots in the jungle with a group of deadly individuals trying to survive encounters with an alien hunter.

Now Predators could have easily just rehashed the original but instead, it’s more of a tribute to the first film that still brings in new ideas and concepts. For example, this film takes place on an alien planet known simply as the Game Preserve which makes the characters’ quest to escape much more daunting and challenging.

Also, in the original, the group of spec ops soldiers led by Arnold Schwarzenegger was all established as a team of friends who had been working together for years. The humans we follow in Predators are all strangers of vastly different backgrounds who have no choice but to band together to survive. As a result, the audience doesn’t really know who to trust which makes for a very different dynamic than before.

Predators still does lean in on nostalgia quite a bit by reusing Alan Silvestri’s score from the first film, a few throwback scenes, and even a few lines taken directly from the original. However, it’s usually met with some kind of twist or new concept that keeps the movie from becoming redundant.

THE MYSTERIOUS CHARACTERS

I really like how Predators handles its characters. Almost none of the characters are given any backstory and they only give hints about their past and professions. All that is established is that each of them is some of Earth’s deadliest soldiers and criminals which is why they were chosen to be hunted by the Yautja.

So, you end up having to get to know the characters as they trek through the jungles of the Game Preserve and, in my opinion, it really works because I think this cast plays perfectly off each other. There is animosity but when they need to work together, they prove to be an effective crew with each character standing out.

Adrien Brody plays Royce who is this cold black ops unit with a clearly checkered pass and I find him to be one of the best additions to this franchise. Now, I understand that some people find his gruff Batman-esque voice to be a little silly, but I think when it comes to his performance, he makes it seem believable that he’s this rugged soldier who can survive almost any mission.

Royce is also refreshing because he’s the polar opposite of protagonists such as Dutch or Mike from the first two Predator films. Those two characters were always good guys trying to fight for survival and protect their friends. Royce on the other hand is more of an anti-hero who seems to only care about his survival but his humanity comes through just enough to make him likable.

Royce is one of those mystery characters where you know so little about him but yet you can’t help but be fascinated by him. Especially when he’s dishing out some of the absolute best one-liners in this movie series, kicking ass, and proving why he was chosen for this hunt. This character left such an impact as the main “hero” that fans have actually petitioned for him to be added to Predator: Hunting Grounds as a playable character.

Isabelle is the co-star, played by Alice Braga (a very talented and underrated actress in my opinion), and she’s the other side of the coin to Royce. Where Royce is rather cold and heartless, Isabelle is the more human character with a lot of heart and is always willing to help others which leads to her and Royce being at odds with each other even though they still respect each other in their own ways.

It’s also with Isabelle that we actually learn about a backstory and it’s one of the best-acted scenes in the film. On top of that, she’s a total badass throughout the film who remains likable from beginning to end. Though Royce never returned, I was happy to see Alice Braga return as Isabelle in Predator: Hunting Grounds.

The rest of the cast is really good too. Walton Goggins basically plays every crazy character he’s ever played in the form of this serial killer convict and even though he’s this foul and murderous rapist, Walton Goggins makes everything he does fun to watch and he brings a welcome bit of dark humor to the film. It’s not too dissimilar to Gary Busey’s Peter Keyes from Predator 2 where it’s the actor’s natural style of acting that just enhances the scenes.

Topher Grace plays the doctor named Edwin and this character really showcases Topher’s acting chops. I won’t spoil anything but he has a few scenes where he shines and I think he doesn’t get enough credit for it. Edwin is such an interesting character that breaks the mold a bit for human characters in these movies.

Laurence Fishburne is in this movie for a small amount of time but he absolutely steals the show. This role comes even closer to Peter Keyes with Fishburne delivering a scene-chewing performance as Ronald Noland, this survivor of the Game Preserve who has been on the planet for ten years which has driven him just a bit insane. It’s very clear from the beginning that Fishburne is having fun with this performance and it’s hard to not enjoy it since it’s unclear if he’s trustworthy or not. Fishburne also gets to deliver a few memorable one-liners as well and I just wish he played a bigger part because I was loving every scene with him.

Mahershala Ali is in there in a role before he exploded to stardom in Hollywood, Danny Trejo is a delight as always, and I really liked Oleg Taktarov as the minigunner Nikolai. Even though there is little to learn about these characters, they give just enough that you want them to live or you cheer for them when they go out fighting one of the Predators.

Louis Ozawa Changchien as the Yakuza was another show-stealer for me, mostly because of his fight with the Falconer Predator. It’s like a better version of Billy’s sacrifice from the first film but this time we get to have a one-on-one fight between the two with Yakuza wielding an old Japanese blade for a fight to the death.

THE SUPER PREDATORS

“Anyway, there’s two different types of them out there. Hmm? Now, they’re similar, but they’re different. It’s kind of like the difference between dogs and wolves.”

Ronald Noland – Predators (2010)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love the expanded lore of the Predator universe and I am so happy that Predators continued to explore more. It introduces a new breed of Yautja known as the Super Predators and these creatures are not the honorable hunters that fans are used to.

They only care about accomplishing the hunt and they are willing to do anything to get that done. They have new weapons, more advanced heat-vision, and they have more abilities due to their classes. The Tracker Predator commands a pack of alien dog-like creatures, Falconer commands an aerial drone to detective his prey, and Berserker is the most ferocious of the three.

Even though the trailer straight-up lies about the movie by making it seem like the humans would be fighting an army of Yautja, I still really liked seeing the three Super Predators in action. Once again, it keeps things fresh while still honoring what made the original so great.

Speaking of the original, fans are given one of the classic Yautja in the form of the Crucified Predator. He is played by Derek Mears, who some might know as Swamp Thing or from various other monster roles but I will always remember him as the best version of Jason Voorhees in the Friday The 13th reboot. Though I love what Ian Whyte brought to the Predator in the two AVP movies, Derek Mears delivers on the classic Predator very well and does Kevin Peter Hall justice.

On top of all that, the Predators all deliver some perfectly gory kills with a good balance of practical and digital effects. It never feels like it’s going overboard like AVPR; it simply shows just how much more brutal these new Predators are and keeps within the vein of the first two films.

NOT TOO LITTLE, NOT TOO MUCH

The story is really bare in this one but much like the original, it’s simple and straight to the point. It doesn’t get too distracted with subplots and it sticks to being a tense action-horror thriller with the humans fighting the Predators.

The return to roots makes the action so much more intense and gritty. One of the biggest problems with the AVP movies and the next sequel (oh god, is that next?), they try to keep making the Predator action so much bigger and bombastic when Predators works best as a darker survival film.

The Super Predators are not these giant CGI monsters, they are essentially just more powerful Yautja than what we’ve seen prior. It’s just not taken to the extreme that it comes off as a Michael Bay version of the Predator movies while still updating things just enough to keep things interesting and dangerous for the human characters.

Predators even plays on the fact that it’s going back to the original quite a few times. It will make you think that Royce is going to do the mud trick from the first film but instead, he uses a wall of fire to disorient and confuse the Predator’s heat vision. The minigun makes the audience think that Nikolai is going to be Blaine for this movie but instead, the minigun is destroyed and Nikolai has to rely on other weapons.

ONLY A FEW NITPICKS

I really don’t have any big flaws with Predators but I do have a couple of small nitpicks that have come up over the years.

The first is a scene where they find a plant that causes paralysis with its poison. How exactly did this plant get here if this is an alien planet? It doesn’t really hurt the film but this one annoys me.

SPOILERS! Killing off the classic Predator after only a minute of a fight felt like a wasted opportunity. I always felt like the climax should have been two cloaked hunters fighting each other but I love the fight between the Super Predator and Royce so I get over it.

I love the idea of other alien monsters being put in the Game Preserve to throw off the humans but it’s only utilized for one scene so it comes off as a wasted concept. I also wish that the dogs played more of a role when Tracker attacks the humans because they are only in that one scene and never appear again even though it’s established that the Tracker is the one controlling them.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Predators is one of those unfortunate situations where I love a movie but almost nobody seems to even remember it. It made 127 million dollars at the box office on a 40 million dollar budget but after its time in theaters, I rarely see anybody talk about it. When I do, pretty much everyone has the same opinion: it’s a very underrated sequel.

It honors the original while still advancing the universe of the Predator for what could have been a great new series of movies. I love all of the characters, I think the action scenes are just as strong as the original, the Predators are all executed rather well, and it actually does some special effects better than all of the other Predator movies prior.

I highly recommend this one if you are looking for a movie that is more akin to the first film and you were not a fan of Predator 2 or the AVP films. I am going to give Predators a strong 10/10. I consider it to be on par with the original and is the strongest sequel thus far. It’s the one that should have been the start of a new run of Predator movies in this style but sadly, 20th Century Studios would go on to once again changes styles and direction for the next sequel that would come out in 2018.

Next time I review The Predator and…oh boy. I’ll just say this: if you thought I was harsh on AVPR, you’re in for a fun time with my next review.