It all began with Arnie in 1987, and now the Predator franchise is back for its third outing, produced and co-written by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City).
Adrien Brody is Royce, a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors brought together on an alien planet as prey. With the notable exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers - mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members - human "predators" that are now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien predators.
If the Alien vs. Predator films that have constituted the most recent installments of this famous franchise were a massive disappointment, this newest version will go some way to atoning for it. It’s not perfect by any means but features plenty of the qualities that made the original a cult favourite.
There’s no time wasted with excessive back-story or characterization – the film instead plunges straight into the heart of the action and stays there for the entirety of its running time. While this means that the plot isn’t as intricate or developed as it could be, it strings together human-against-monster scenes high on both violence and imagination. Hardcore fans of the earlier works will be glad to know that there are also a few nods to those films sprinkled in too.
Adrien Brody still seems a strange casting choice and his adopted speaking style, almost a rip off of Christian Bale’s growl as Batman, isn’t ever really convincing in portraying him as a tough guy. On the other hand, Topher Grace is perfect as the sissy comic relief with a secret and Laurence Fishburne’s unhinged cameo is his most memorable role since The Matrix.
For a movie with an all-action style, there’s a little more down time than you’d expect but both sci-fi and gore fans should easily get their fix.
By Andreas Heinemann, Flicks.co.nz
Suspenseful?yes...get your adrenalin going?yep...this was pretty good and you guessed it, give it a shot. Happy with this one indeed.
Was entertaining but could have been better
The original movie is my number 1 ranked movie of all time, so to see yet another unsatisfactory knock off was very disapointing! For some strange reason this movie really fails to deliver what could have been a real nail biter. It has a good story line, but the lack of connection to the characters and the brief fighting scenes really lets this movie down. It is better than the other Predator movies, bar AVP1, but it could have been done so much better to give the Predators justice.
Being a big fan of these rugged hunters, I have really enjoyed the predator movie franchise. And when I finally saw the new 'Predators' movie today I was impressed. The new line of predator have improved weapons and an attitude. It was great to see a feud between the new predators and the classic predator. The movie had a good story line and was very interesting. I will deffinitely see this movie again.
This film has plenty of action and is competently done. However Adrien Brody is no action hero, even if he has been working out for this movie. This movie is OK, but it doesn't deserve any better than OK. It's just a bit flat. It needed a few extra plot twists or character development to give it some zing.
The movie is mostly about our nasty heroes being attacked by terrifying antagonists in incomprehensible muddles of lightning-fast special effects. It lacks the quiet suspense of the first “Predator,” and please don't even mention the “Alien vs. Predator” pictures, which lacked the subtlety of “Mothra vs. Godzilla.”
A solidly okay Saturday night effort, but unambitious considering the talent involved. Maybe Rodriguez should direct Predator Resurrection, but get a science fiction writer to script it.
Personally I feel this film was a missed opportunity to reinvent the Predator
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 8th Jul 2010.
Release date: July 8th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
