'Predators' (2010): Preview

All sense of a respectable plot is lost when more is made of the creatures in these types of film than the actors that are supposed to be driving the plot forward. Outside Predator 1 + 2 there has been a distinct lack of talent in the acting department in the re-invented franchise.

Arnold Schwarzenegger played the charismatic 'Dutch' in the first movie, alongside the almost comedic presence that is the muscle bound Carl Weathers. In the second movie, action veteran Danny Glover plays hard man 'Lieutenant Mike Harrigan'. These types of character have a screen presence that can drive a film like Predator forward, this is one of the many things missing from the later Alien/Predator franchise.

'Predators' gives the die hard fans of the early Predator film some hope that a decent film can still be made. Firstly this movie has a respectable cast, Adrien Brody (The Pianist, King Kong) is the protagonist in the movie along with Laurence Fishbourne, who played Morpheus in the entertaining Matrix series just to name two. Secondly producing the film is Robert Rodriguez, a man that carries a big reputation for visual flair after directing Sin City and a whole host of other acclaimed movies. Rodriguez originally undertook a writing assignment for a sequel to the original film Predator 15 years ago. Taking inspiration from James Cameron who did the sequel to Alien entitled 'Aliens' Rodriguez was to call the film 'Predators'. Rodriguez said about the idea for a Predators sequel:

" What I'd like to do with it is expand on ideas I dreamt up back in the original treatment, that had really expanded on the universe both the Predators and other species live in. We'd create new otherworldly characters while not taking away from the draw our main Predator has. I think another reason I called it Predators was to mark it as a project that should be taken seriously by a filmmaker to make a worthy follow up to a classic, much in the way Cameron made Aliens a compelling work on its own, following Ridley Scott's Alien".

The idea penned by Rodriguez has been a big hit with Fox, who are desperate to see the Predator franchise return to its former glory.

Recruited as the director of Predators is Nimrod Antal, he is not a prolific director by any means but has directed some respectable films including the horror film Vacancy, (2007), and action film Armoured, (2009), which starred Matt Dillon and Lawrence Fishbourne. The trailer for Predators was released recently and looks to be a nice blend of action, sci-fi, and horror that you would expect from any Predator movie.

The plot focuses on a group of individuals selected by the Predators to hunt on an alien planet, the individuals including Fishbourne and Brody all possess deadly skills and must use them to survive as they are hunted one by one. Another interesting element of the trailer was the soundtrack, and setting. The characters once again find themselves being hunted in dense forestry much like the first Predator movie, and like the original Predators has a similar soundtrack with that unnerving tribal music playing prior to a brutal set piece.

'Predators' has got true original Predator fans believing that a decent follow up to the original can be made, and true fans would also like to see a gory film, not something given a 12 A rating. Recently fans of the Terminator franchise were disappointed when Terminator Salvation was classified as a 12 A, Predators, given the nature of the original by John McTiernan, must be a violent movie to put across the ruthless nature of both humans and Predators, just like the original did so well. Rodriguez said of the rating: "My original treatment was very 'R' rated".

Predator fans should be in for a treat then, an 'R' rated movie, with a decent cast, Robert Rodriguez producing it, surely not much can go wrong in this production then, ... can it?

Predators is released on the 22nd July this year.