Predators Blu-Ray Review

• 3rd Nov 2010

Many people know that this project was something Robert Rodriguez put time into back in the mid-90s but it hasn’t been a film he has been trying to get off the ground ever since. What is amazing is that when the studio suggested they were now ready to make a third film – the production was fast-tracked and within a year the film was complete. Now that is pretty impressive for a major Hollywood production. Then again Troublemaker studios seem to thrive on fast, cheap but effective film making.

Adrien Brody heads up the cast. This time a group of random killers from all over the world are dropped into a mysterious jungle and banded together. Here they discover that not only are they not in Kansas anymore, but that they are being hunted by an elite group of crab-faced Predators.

This film is more of a call-back to the original film. The pacing of the film is also very similar in that it builds slowly for a while before unleashing on us. There are some enjoyable characters in the film to keep us amused. Topher Grace probably has the hardest role as a disgraced physician. Brody’s hard merc is perhaps trying a little too hard to sound like Batman, but then you get some great levity from the likes of Walton Groggins’ criminal Stans (who is a complete scene stealer!). Laurence Fishburne gets to put in an extended cameo as well, as one of the more bat-shit crazy characters you are likely to have seen for a while.

The action is well handled and there are some nice moments that stand out well and even thought the film has a 15 rating, there is still enough carnage around for it never to seem tame. The new design of the Predators will depend on your taste in costume design.

There are perhaps a few too many beats that are taken from the first film. There are nods to some of the dialogue, but mainly there are far too many uses of the score from the first film that often seem a bit cheeky (especially since that composer isn’t even involved in this film). Still the familiar themes in the score are also as welcome as they are a worry as it is memorable. It just seems that throughout the film they overlapped with the original film a little too much.

Whether this is homage or not will be made clear when they do another film. If that film is also littered with these repeated moments, we will know that studios simply think that repeating the same old is what we want as opposed to them journeying the franchise somewhere new. That is what this franchise needs, to go boldly into new territory but for now… Predators is still a damn fine piece of entertainment.

In the extras there are a few small docs on the film-making that can pass the time. Surprisingly though, the deleted scenes are mostly worth watching and in some cases you wonder why they were removed as they add some very welcome character depth. There is also a commentary from Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal which sees them pretty much congratulating each other on a job well done, but it is good to hear Rodriguez talking about his involvement and viewpoint as a producer on the film.

Steven Hurst