Movie is actually surprisingly awesome, says review

Jul 9, 2010 15:26 GMT  ·  By
Early reviews of “Predators” say the movie is cool, fun and more in tune with the 1987 original
   Early reviews of “Predators” say the movie is cool, fun and more in tune with the 1987 original

Quite some time ago, visionary director Robert Rodriguez decided he wanted to try and bring “Predator” to its former glory, with a reboot that would erase from fans’ memories all those pointless and lackluster sequels and spinoffs. With him as producer and Nimrod Antal as director, “Predators” came to be, a film that takes place on the Predators’ hunting planet and which, as surprising as it may sound, is actually as good as the original film with Arnold Schwarzenegger, IGN Movies says in a review.

When details on the reboot started to emerge or leak to the media, skepticism seemed to surround the project, as well as disbelief on behalf of the fans. Surely, a Predator film with Adrien Brody stood little chances of success, just as Rodriguez was perhaps not the most indicated person to tinker with the source material. In the end, it would seem that fans worried for nothing: the film, which opens today in the US and in theaters from many other territories as well, has surely been worth the wait.

“Predators is one of this summer’s most surprisingly fun movies. It’s a solid if somewhat unremarkable sequel, but one that’s nevertheless the closest in spirit and execution to the 1987 original. As the best Predator movie since the first film, Predators successfully erases the odious memory of Predator 2 and those silly AvP movies. It makes the eponymous alien cool and scary again, and restores the franchise to its gritty and gory roots. One of the best decisions made here was to set the story on the Predators’ hunting planet, even if it does look an awful lot like Hawaii or Honduras. That actually helps explain why the Predator chose Latin America for the first film – he was homesick!” IGN writes.

“Brody is fine as the anti-hero whose understanding of how to hunt and kill men makes him understand the Predators more than he’d care to admit. One drawback, though, is that Brody speaks in a raspy ‘tough guy movie voice’ throughout, which is a bit cliché seeing as how Christian Bale has now raised that (or lowered it, depending on who you ask) to an art form. […] While there weren’t as many inventive kills here as there could have been, director Nimrod Antal and writer-producer Robert Rodriguez have crafted a crowd-pleasing but familiar Predator movie that mirrors many of the beats of the original film even as it whets your appetite for more movies featuring everyone’s favorite intergalactic hunter,” the review further reads.

IGN rates “Predators” a 7 out of 10 (or 3.5 out of 5 stars), but fan reaction on dedicated forums is even stronger than this. Given the initial response to the announcement of the reboot and the fact that the movie is not even out yet, it’s safe to say that “Predators” is already doing great. Chances of it making a killing at the box office are also looking up, but do keep an eye on this space for more updates on this.

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