"Predators" (2010)

• Director: Nimrod Antal
• Written by: Michael Finch & Alex Litvak
• Starring: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace

I have to admit, despite possessing a huge knowledge of horror film, I actually am not as well-versed in the medium as I'd like to be. I've only seen "Alien", none of the sequels. I've also never seen the first two "Predator" films and neither have I seen the two "Alien Versus Predator" films. I suppose they just never came my way, or I never bothered to really sit down and watch them. So it's possible, then, that this review is moot and doesn't really mean much, but I enjoyed "Predators", the semi-sequel/reboot to the Predator franchise. I was pleasantly surprised how good the film was. I went into it with almost zero interest in seeing it but came out very satisfied.
     The plot fires off right from the start as we see several humans wake up in a strange forest. None of them know each other, however they all come from military operations around the world. Royce (Adrien Brody), an American Black Ops agent, leads the group to the edge of the forest, where they realize they are on some sort of strange alien hunting reserve, with several monstrous alien predators stalking them. The group must figure out how to hide from (or kill) the aliens while simultaneously attempting to formulate a plan to escape the planet.
     I love stuff like this. Stories where a group of disparate characters are thrown into some sort of arena or competition and forced to fend for themselves really do it for me. "Battle Royale", "Death Race 2000", even gladiator films. I love 'em all, so seeing another film like this was a real treat for me.
     Beyond the basic plot/concept, the first thing that struck me about the film was it's style. It's very gritty, but unlike the recent "Clash of the Titans" remake, this gritty, dark tone fits with the story and the characters. There are lots of long, low-lit, slow-paced shots where we're simply meant to take in the vast landscape that the group are traversing. I was so happy that the filmmakers decided to take this very subtle, slow approach. We don't see an actual Predator until we're about 45 minutes in, and they don't figure out the whole situation until a little more than halfway through. I like that, because even though anyone going in knows the creatures that they're facing, this contemplative pace slowly builds the tension and the atmosphere, and it piques the viewer's interest, drawing them into the film.
     The film is also incredibly well-shot. As I said, there are lots of dark, far away shots, but there are also lots of shots where we get long looks at the jungle that the characters are wandering around in, which are vibrant and green, and seem to go on forever. Like in "Avatar", the jungles have a very similar look to the original "King Kong", where the jungles seem to go back into forever, getting lighter as they go. There are also lots of great shots where the trees cover up most of the sun, with small fractured rays of sunlight peeking through the leaves. The cinematography, coupled with the slow pace of the film, creates a killer atmosphere, and is pretty much the only thing that keeps the movie from falling apart (I'll get to that in a moment).
     One of the other things that made me happy (that a lot of people probably won't notice in the long run) is that the special effects in the film are almost all practical, with CGI only used for extreme motion shots, (some) creatures, spaceships, and backdrops. Almost all of the gore is practical, and there is a liberal use of physical props. The predators themselves are also costumed actors, which is great because it makes the interaction between the predators and the humans much more convincing, because the actors actually have something to react to. It's very rare these days that a film relies on practical effects, but I hope that this becomes a trend.
     The action scenes were also choreographed well, and were fairly creative. My favorite action scene was a sword-fight between a Japanese Yakuza and one of the Predators. Adrien Brody also has a big fight scene at the end, and he does surprisingly well as an action lead. He's very fit and has a nice gravelly action hero voice, which is not what I would expect of someone like him.
     But the best thing about the action is that it doesn't overtake the film. The action scenes are few and far between, and this is a good thing, because rather than spending the first half of the film building up all of this suspense and atmosphere and then careening the other direction into a full-on action film, it keeps it's explody boom boom scenes to a minimum, and it plays them very low-key. They're not full of explosions and epic music, they're very... well, tense, lonely, and confined, much like how the characters might actually fight on a planet full of aliens.
     Unfortunately, the script leaves something to be desired. The story isn't god-awful, I loved the concept and I liked that they didn't blow their load and give every little trite plot point away in a 30-minute explanation. The ending is also well-done and unexpected, and I also liked that they didn't force Adrien Brody and the French sniper woman (Alice Braga) into a relationship. No, the problem with the script is really in the characters themselves. They're complete one-note cardboard cutouts, character archetypes that get zero character development.
     Oh sure, they briefly mention some backstory, like how the Russian guy has children and that the Japanese Yakuza guy got his fingers cut off for "talking too much", but beyond that there's absolutely nothing on these people (the Japanese guy doesn't even speak for 98% of the film). I really can't blame the actors for being so stiff and wooden, they literally had absolutely nothing to work with.
     Now, I'm all for not overexplaining your characters and letting their backstory and personality come through the subtext of the story, but there's a difference between "subtle, meaningful character development" and "I just couldn't think of what to do with these people". We have absolutely no reason to care about anybody in this movie, because they literally do absolutely NOTHING, they give us NO reason at all to give two shits about whether they live or die, and this extreme underdevelopment nearly cripples the entire film. There's also a really weak twist that I saw coming within 15 minutes into the movie, but it doesn't affect the film that much so I can let it slide.
     Overall, while an extremely interesting concept, the plot and characters themselves are paper thin, and the only thing that saves the film is it's impeccable execution. Honestly, despite the severe story problems, I could go see the film again. It's tense, incredibly well-made and full of atmosphere, and in this summer slog of shitty blockbuster action films, that's a plus. While I'm not going to yell at you to go out and see it, it's certainly not a waste of an evening if you're in the mood for something like it.