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- Review count2
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- First reviewDecember 23, 2009
- Last reviewJuly 11, 2010
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.5
filmfuture's Reviews
Overall rating
4
/
5
Not a Bad Follow Up to the Original...
PostedJuly 11, 2010
filmfuture
from Playa Del Rey, CA
Lotsa action, great characters, and awesome Predator suits drive this 13-years late but worthy sequel above the rest.
"Predators" opens up going full throttle and thrusts you deep into the action right away. This is a very different movie tonally than the first film, as the characters are all unrelated, so the camaraderie that Dutch's mercs share in the first film is missing from the outset. However, the characters are interesting enough to invest in emotionally, and as the film progresses, a sort of obligatory kinship begins to emerge among them.
I know a lot of people were skeptical about Adrien Brody being able to carry a hard hitting action film like this one, but he did a solid job of creating an interesting lead character that holds his own against Arnie's Dutch, while also being different enough to where it doesn't feel like the filmmakers just ripped off the last movie 'cause they couldn't think of a way to top it. Alice Braga serves as the moral antithesis to Brody's character, and the two characters share some interesting ruminations on the value of survival at all costs vs. meeting one's fate with his/her humanity still intact.
Oleg Taktarov, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Walton Goggins, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, and Topher Grace round out the cast of mostly unknowns (or at least second tier celebs), and they all do a great job a differentiating their characters from one another. Louis Ozawa Changchien's "Hanzo" was especially cool, and the highly underrated Topher Grace did an excellent job with what he had to work with. *minor spoiler ahead* Also, the amazing Laurence Fishburne drops in briefly for a memorable, but ultimately far too brief scenery-chewing romp. *end spoiler*
This film definitely plays like an ensemble piece, just like its predecessor. It's also plainly obvious that the filmmakers are in love with both "Predator" and James Cameron's "Aliens," with maybe a few more sci-fi horror films borrowed from here and there as well. Some legit film reviewer somewhere said that "Predators" is like "the ultimate work of fanboy fiction," and I think that's the best way to sum this film up -- if you loved the first one, you probably love this one.
I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed "Predator 2," and to a lesser extent the terrible (but still fun) Aliens vs. Predator movies. Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal's "Predators" is hands down the next best thing to the 1987 original, and is worthwhile treat for anyone who loves the first film.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
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5
Just go see it.
PostedDecember 23, 2009
filmfuture
from Culver City, CA
No more needs to be said. This film is what 'going to the movies' was invented for.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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