I had a chance to see Predators over the weekend, but I blew it.
As you guys may or may not recall, I’m pursuing my Master’s degree at the moment. The class I’m taking right now is this weird weekend thing that on an accelerated schedule. I go Friday’s from 5 to 10 and Saturday’s from 8 to 5 and after 3 weeks, I’m done!
Anyway, Friday was the first night of class and afterwords, I thought it might be fun to catch the late showing of Predators.
Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication and me forgetting to take my cell phone with me when I left the house that morning, I didn’t know if my in-laws (who were watching the kids) was having them spend the night at their house or if they were waiting at our house for me to come home and relieve them of duty.
It should be noted, Cami was not at home as she was attending an event that was on the calendar months in advance.
At any rate, I bypassed the theater and came home to discover… the kids were spending the night at my in-laws.
So, long story short, DON’T LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE AT HOME, PEOPLE!
There really wasn’t an opportunity for me to see Predators this weekend after that.
I’m bummed, too, because all of the feedback I’ve been reading from fans is that the movie does the franchise justice. Much better than the last two Alien Vs. Predator movies which are abysmal failures by nearly everyone’s measuring stick.
Critics are dumping on Predators, of course, claiming that it’s just another kill-o-thon where the only thing that will retain your interest is the order characters are killed in. But I don’t care because that’s not the reason I see a Predator movie anyway. I go because it’s a rare treat to see Stan Winston’s legacy living and breathing on screen again.
The character design for the Predator makes him (them?) one of the most indelible movie-monsters in history. It sounds superficial, but we root for the Predator because he’s so damn cool looking. And mysterious to boot!
I know people like to give Predator 2 static for being this awkward… thing of an action movie. But I LOVE that film for the small ways it pushed the backstory of the Predators forward.
Watching that movie, you know that the Predator wasn’t a weird one-off monster living in the Colombian jungle. He wasn’t an urban legend. He was a member of a species that hunt for sport. They have crazy Frisbees that will cut your head off and their elders will give you antique guns if you kill one of their own.
Dare I say I love that movie more than the original Predator? Well, maybe not. Predator 2 doesn’t have classic lines like “If it bleeds, we can kill it,” “Stick around,” “I ain’t got time to bleed” and “GET TO DA CHOPPA!”
Then again, “You can’t see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'” is pretty good, too.
Not really. But, hey, GARY BUSEY was in it!
Anyway, whether or not Preadtors builds on the legacy of the first two films, I don’t know – but I’m optimistic.
What I DO know is that I have to squeeze it in sometime before Inception comes out. Because THAT is something I simply cannot allow myself to miss.
Did you guys see Preadtors this weekend? If so, what did you think? Does it hold a candle to the first two films or does it make you want to detonate your forearm mounted nuclear device? Leave your comments below!
In the meantime, enjoy this video. It’s about the best day of Adrien Brody’s life. And since Adrien Brody is in Predators, I’m sure you can see the connection.
How can you SAY that when it stars amazing actors like...
Academy Award winner ADRIEN BRODY!
...and Academy Award nominee Larry Fishburne.
I also heard Meryl Streep plays one of the Predators.
I liked the movie. My friend didn’t. Topher Grace did take me out of it a lot though.
Man, Topher Grace can’t catch a break, can he?
I bet he’s got his fingers crossed for a cameo in Ocean’s 14.
Saw it, loved it. Even my wife liked it, which is saying a lot coming from possibly one of the pickiest people on earth. I think it was better than Predator 2, and possibly better than the AvP movies. It definitely paid some good homage to the first Pred movie, no campy “Get to the chopper!” lines like AvP2 which was definitely something. I loved the Yakuza guys part near the end.
Saw it. Strongly dislike it. Was very boring to look at. Nimrod is not a good director. 80% of it seemed to be references to the first 2 Predator movies. I’m ok with a wink and a nod to what came before, but this needs to be its own movie.
It did have some ‘cool’ moments to it though.
I disagree, it does not need to be “its own movie.” It is an installment in a franchise that has been going on since the 80’s. It is its own movie in a way that stays true to the movies that predate it.
There was good character originality, the monsters were unique and interesting, even the masks that the predators wore were cool. It was fitting to reference Pred1, as it effectively created the tie-in. All elements blended well, regardless of “boring to look at” or “bad director.”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone describe Nimrod as a bad director.
Have you seen Vacancy or Armored? Genre material, too be sure – but he comes up with some interesting shots and perspectives and both films.
Kontroll is worth watching if you want to see how Hollywood picked him up.
I saw Vacancy when it hit theaters and thought it was decent, would have been much better if the trailer hadn’t given away so much.
I rented ‘Armored’ because I wanted to see what this guy did in the way of action, and truth be told I had the same problem with it as I did with Predators. Armored seemed very paint by numbers, where I could see everything coming.
Interested in seeing Kontroll just to see where he came from.
I could be judging the movie to harshly, I just feel that after what happened to the Predator franchise, the fans deserve a better movie than what was given to us.
Go see it, I really hope you like it. It just wasn’t what I felt it needed to be.
I saw Predators at the midnight showing Thursday Night (technically Friday) and I had a great time. The audience filled out the theater and they had a great time. They were a very vocal bunch, with the yelled comments being as entertaining as the movie. I plan on having my next strip reflect this experience, including a couple of the best ‘comments’.
I have no personal connection with the Predator franchise, and my brother and I thought this movie was pretty awful. I think that part of my problem with it was the fact that I really did not care for a single character in the entire movie.
**Spoilers if you haven’t seen the previews** I realize that they are all supposed to be killers and vile people, but I didn’t care about any of them. I mean, a good script could have made me cared about these characters. It could have made me root for them when they fought the predators, but sadly, it didn’t. If there is anything that Hollywood has shown us, it is that we can root for a character, no matter how despicable they might be if we are given enough to work with.
I think another part of it might have been the fact that I have just gotten bored with mindless violence. Several of the fight scenes, I would just be bored throughout it. There has to be substance in the story for me to care about the action. It felt like the movie was just acting as a transition to the next big fight.
I terms of being asked to root for cold-blooded killers, I think you make a good point. But, by now, I think most people are rooting for the Predators anyway.
I enjoyed it a lot, but my father didn’t because of some of the weapons. He’s a huge firearm buff and when some specialist has a weapon they shouldn’t it takes it right out of the movie. Mindless fun for me though!
OK that video was awesome! It’s one big WTF? But it’s funny!
I don’t think you need to be steeped in the franchise to enjoy this, I have not seen a single Predator movie before this one and I loved it (I did read a plot summary of the first one though.) It’s the kind of movie where you have to check your brain at the door. And it has Danny Trejo and Laurence Fishburne, how could not like a movie with those two in it?
…”Predigree”?
I was so close to going with “Predigree,” but I didn’t want to have to explain it later.
I really enjoyed the movie, and I think it’s a good addition to the Alien/Predator universe. I think Lawrence Fishburne was worth the price of admission, and Topher Grace was a lot more tolerable than he was in Spiderman 3.
Liked it and thought some of the characters were likeable (the russian and the female sniper were obviously elite soldiers, used to fighting for their country). Did establish each as a seperate character and not just ‘guy with auto shotgun”, ” guy with chaingun” if only a bit.
Some good lines particularly from Walter Goggins ( who between this, The Shield and Justified seems to be type cast as psycho red-neck from now on)
A fun B-movie
And Predator 2 has great lines : ” You know what I believe. Shit ‘appens”
You mean now that the Predator franchise is out of the sweaty grip of Paul WS Anderson and has A-list actors (as opposed to B-list 24 and Rescue Me actors from TV) that the series actually got palatable again? If so then I may have to reconsider my thoughts and try renting it some day….
I don’t know how you guys felt but I don’t think that Antal’s style fits with Rodriguez’s editing. I really liked the slow reveal of the first half of the movie then it went to hell when the “action” started.
I hated how the critics/reviewers were playing up the “twist” of Topher Grace’s character’s origin because there were tons of other stupid tidbits and terrible dialog throughout the film.
What mostly let me down was the fact that they went for a restrained/methodical movie when the first two installments were known for some ambitious over-reaching for the special effects and the action sequences.
All that being said, I was excited to see the movie and I was entertained by it.
the problem is that the spectacle of the movie has grown so much that a movie method that used to be overreaching and overwhelming has become the new restraint.
that said, loved the movie. blew AVP and AVP:R out of the water.
I enjoyed Predators. Good mindless film. And that Adrien Brody “Brodyquest” thing you post made me laugh insanely.
BRODYQUEST IS AWESOME
Well… can’t wait till you see inception