‘Predators’ fun; script ‘horrific’ (3/5)

Predators

Starring: Adrian Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga
Directed by: Nimród Antal
Rating: R
Running time: 1 hour, 46 minutes.

When the director’s name is Nimród, maybe your expectations shouldn’t be too high.

Nimród Antal directs “Predators,” a sequel of sorts to the late ’80s, early ’90s franchise that kicked off with Arnold Schwarzenegger as his typical self being hunted by tall, ugly, dread-head aliens with superior weaponry and camouflage that would fluster a chameleon.

This time, instead of the Predators coming to Earth, a motley crew of battle-hardened soldiers, a death row inmate and a doctor are dropped onto an alien planet.

Handily, they’re all dropped with weapons intact.

The group glues itself to Royce (Adrien Brody), the tough ex-Black Op agent with the giant gun. Before long, Royce determines that the planet they’re on is a game preserve, and they’re the ones being hunted.

But it’s Isabelle (Alice Braga), the sole female representative, who realizes that they’ve been chosen because they are the “monsters” of Earth and are themselves predators, hunting other people and showing little humanity.

“Predators” is pretty solid entertainment, especially if you’re into action flicks. But if you’re looking for anything that even faintly resembles a decent attempt at characterization, this isn’t for you.

Predictably, the group is whittled down one by one. Also predictably, you don’t find yourself caring about the character’s deaths much, only waiting for the next one to occur.

The sense of isolation and despair the movie tries to get across is hampered by this lack of attachment to the characters. What personally kept me invested was the hope that every moment may be the last for the inmate Stans (Walton Goggins), who was probably thrown in for comedic effect but came across as simply shallow and obnoxious instead. And Hanzo, the Japanese Yakuza assassin, was overwhelmingly pointless save for a hokey sword duel.

Although I am an enormous Adrien Brody fan, I wish he’d stick with the more mental spectrum of films. The thought of Brody conjures up images of a thin, pale actor, not a muscular action man.
Though lately he’s been trying to change his image, as seen in his interest in playing the Joker in “The Dark Knight” and through his role in the science fiction “Splice.”
Anyway, back to “Predators,” the plotline itself is relatively interesting but the script is just horrific. As I mentioned earlier, “Predators” was made for entertainment, not to change anyone’s life.

Arguably the most engaging character is Noland, the certifiably crazy former U.S. Air Cavalry soldier, played by Laurence Fishburne. Schizophrenia and paranoia at their best.

Another notable performance is Topher Grace (Eric Forman of “That ’70s Show”) as the doc, Edwin. You’ll question this character’s reason for existence all the way to the end, and maybe even beyond it. Despite that, Edwin gives the comedic aspect somehow lacking in Stans’ role.

The Predators themselves are fun to watch and very reminiscent of the originals. There’s also a money shot of a Predator tearing out a man’s spine and skull (it’s rated R for a reason). They look cool and kick some serious butt. Not to mention their Grade A weaponry and camouflage.

Overall I’d say the Predators remain in contention for the top of seriously awesome movie monsters. Whether Hollywood can figure out how to surround these hunters with worthy prey is another matter.

• • •

Although “Inception” comes out tomorrow, it has already been getting some rave reviews. There’s a lot of hype surrounding this movie, and while I normally try to ignore that, the latest Christopher Nolan flick may actually live up to it. Are you going to see “Inception?” Send your thoughts on it to rcrofut@fltimes.com by next Tuesday and look for my review in next week’s JumpStart.

3 of 5 stars