Predators

Some movie franchises crank out the sequels like nobodies business, like the Saw films. Some knock out a sequel and ruin the first film by producing something of stunning ineptitude like the Matrix films and some improve on the formula, like Alien. Yet others leave massive gaps in between the movies and Predators falls into that category.

There was a Predator 2, which was an alright film but lacked that certain something. That film was released way back in 1990, and a whole 20 years later there was a third in the series, a hat-trick. Thankfully, this movie ignores the second one which had a slightly silly premise of the Predator being in Los Angeles and instead goes back the setting and feel of the original by dropping, quite literally, a group of ne'er do wells in the jungle.

Instead of special forces soldiers lead by Arnie, this time round we have a group of mercenaries and rogues. In the third iteration they are not being hunted by a solitary Predator, instead they're being chased down by several of the alien hunters. We don't find that out for at least half an hour though and the opening thirty minutes are spent watching our hero's first of all wondering why they are where they are and then trying to figure exactly where that is. There is a good moment where the gang crest a hill and find out they are on an alien planet. I am also enamoured of the way most of the group are sufficiently different enough for each of them have a good personality, even if you can see the one evil one a mile off.

There are moments of pulse pumping action and some moments of levity. I found myself genuinely caring for the gang and I was genuinely sorry when my favorite, a Latino gang member played by Danny Trejo, was killed. The chap taking the the Arnie role here is Adrien Brody who does a very curious accent which is not quite American and not quite English. Laurence Fishburne does a turn as a crazed man who has been on the planet for 10 years and has gone cuckoo. The rest of the cast run the gamut from inscrutable Oriental type to mystical African warlord to monosyllabic Russian. There are nods to the original like the Russians Gatling gun and some previous victims being skinned alive.

The whole feel of this movie is much closer to the original and that's only a good thing. After all, why change a winning formula? I had gone to see this in the cinema had had my experience then ruined by some twats chatting away during the movie. However i had enjoyed it so much that when it was released on DVD I went out and bought it and I think that tells you all you need to know.