Predators. Hollywood's latest attempt to cash in on the "watch self-proclaimed badasses get wiped off the face of the planet" genre. The Predator franchise started off so well back in 1987, and has, unfortunately, after two sequels (including this one) and two Alien tie-ins, never been able to revisit the initial quality or popularity of the first film. Pity though, because the Predators themselves are great movie monsters and badasses in their own right. This iteration of the series pits a group of humans against a trio of monsters, again, but this time the battle is on the Predators' turf. Apparently, they have their own game preserve planet, and like to cheat. So much for their early sense of combat honor. Like this movie, the band of "heroes" is a very bland group of cliche military and civilian toughs, with a couple minor surprises thrown in. An average action film, at best, there are no real "big-bada-boom" moments, and the action is fairly subdued. There is one small bright spot in the action where blades collide. That was pretty cool, but otherwise, this is a paint-by-numbers actioner.
A surprisingly talented cast does what they can with the script given, but even they cannot save this movie from itself. I really had a tough time wrapping my brain around Adrien Brody as the Arnold-esque hero, but he was actually OK. Appearances by Lawrence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, and Topher Grace (Foreman? Really?) don't add much to the story either, sorry guys.
Not surprisingly, this is a mediocre movie. If you are in the mood for a Predator movie, do yourself a favor and just watch the original. It was a much, much better movie. I was quite shocked to find out that this was a Robert Rodriguez produced affair, I expect much better from him. 6/10
Tomorrow's movie: One of my favorite comic book writers and artists takes a crack at directing one of his favorite comic books. Frank Miller directs The Spirit. See you then, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!
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