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Laramie Movie Scope: Predators

A reimagining of an unlikely franchise

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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July 20, 2010 -- When “Predator” was released in 1987, it was a rather unremarkable science fiction action film, except for the fact that two actors in the film would later become state governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger (California) and Jesse Ventura (former pro wrestler, mayor and, to cap it off, governor of Minnesota, believe it or not). The movie defied its many critics and became a hit, spawning sequels, this one being the latest, the others were Predator 2 (1990) Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007). The Blu Ray release of the original film came out less than a month ago, with yet another DVD package coming out later. Most sequels are inferior to the original film, but “Predators” is an exception, a film that stands on its own and is the equal of the original film.

The movie starts out spectacularly with the main character, Royce, (played by Adrien Brody of “Cadillac Records”) awakening from unconsciousness to find himself falling thousands of feet above the ground. He is wearing some kind of parachute, but it has no rip chord. Needless to say, he survives the fall and finds several other people, all of whom are unaware of how they have arrived in this strange jungle on an alien world. They have arrived in a kind of game preserve set aside for hunters, and they are the prey. Aliens are hunting them. All of the hunted are mercenaries, complete with their weapons of choice, save one, Edwin (played by Topher Grace of “Spider-Man 3”). One by one, the aliens pick off their prey until only the toughest, smartest people are left.

Royce is a loner, but becomes the de facto leader of the group, being the toughest, smartest and most ruthless. Royce seems to be utterly amoral, at one point leading the others into an ambush so he can stand off at a distance and judge the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. Royce is a hero, but a very unlikely one. Another survivor is the lone woman of the group, Isabelle (Alice Braga of “I am Legend”) who is an expert sniper. Another survivor is Noland (Laurence Fishburne of “The Matrix” trilogy) a crazed man who has spent years in the game preserve hiding from the aliens. Royce is determined not to just survive like Noland has, but to escape this prison planet and get back to the earth. That means he will have to commander an alien spaceship, no mean feat because the spaceships, like the aliens themselves, are hidden by cloaking shields.

This film is a bit like some old World War II movies in that people from a cross section of society must learn to work together. Most minorities are represented in the group, including some from countries outside the U.S. The backgrounds of most of the people in the group are mysterious and first, some are revealed only at the end of the film, so we have to guess at what kind of people they are. Some of them cleverly hide their true nature and abilities for their own reasons. Some have backgrounds in organized crime. One, Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien) a member of the Yakuza (Japanese organized crime) uses this situation to reinvent himself as a modern day samurai warrior. These are not the kind of cardboard characters one expects to see in this kind of film.

This business of discovering the mystery of each character in the film kept up my interest from start to finish. In a sense, this is a character-driven action film. As such, it helps to have high-powered acting talent like Brody (who won the Academy Award for best actor for “The Pianist”), Grace and Fishburne (award-winning actors in their own right) to play these characters. It is unusual to have this much acting talent in a sci-fi horror film. Brody is not the first guy you think of when it comes to macho roles, but he really nails his performance as a tough-as-nails guy in this film. The screenplay, by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch, is very clever in the way it reveals these characters, layer by layer. The film is also well-paced and it delivers on its implied promise of action. The ending is interesting and leaves the door open for yet another sequel. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 2010 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)