[DKelly]

Well, this was released a while ago, but I thought I had put it up already for some reason.

So, without further ado, here's the first official trailer for Predators:

YouTube - Predators [Trailer 1] [HD] 2010

What do you guys think?

[Than]

I'm really excited to see this...I liked the trailer, too. I have high hopes for the movie.

[conceived in fire]

I hadn't checked Apple trailers for a while, and I found that trailer today.

Wow.
Although, I got the impression from some little article Grace would get to be the villain Spider-Man 3 didn't allow. He was barely in that.

[DKelly]

Originally Posted by conceived in fire

I hadn't checked Apple trailers for a while, and I found that trailer today.

Wow.
Although, I got the impression from some little article Grace would get to be the villain Spider-Man 3 didn't allow.

***SPOILERS***


Yes, actually. Grace is set to play the aforementioned serial killer/America's Most Wanted dude.

[DKelly]

Will probably post a larger review later after I get back from work, but this movie was awesome. Definitely on the same level of sci-fi action/horror as the original. Good story (there were a few similar plot points to the first film, but I felt this one stood well on it's own as a story), good acting (Brody was very good, but my favorites were from Walton Goggins and Laurence Fishburne), just a great Predator sequel.


***SPOILERS***


There was also a specific reference to Dutch from the first movie as well. Loved it. Oh, and no "You're one ugly..." this time around. I was a bit surprised.


***END SPOILERS***

And I just have to say this: Rodriguez and Antal definitely stepped away from portraying the Predators as honorable warriors. For the most part, they were vicious, merciless killers in the film.

[Stealth3si]

Wow. Thank you for the spoiler alert. I will wait for your review because I'm glad we didn't mess up royally on this particular "80s movie."

[Tim Possible]

Originally Posted by DKelly

And I just have to say this: Rodriguez and Antal definitely stepped away from portraying the Predators as honorable warriors. For the most part, they were vicious, merciless killers in the film.

Agreed, and that was my biggest(and pretty much only) beef with the movie. I enjoyed Predator 2, and AvP for that reason.

[DKelly]

One thing I really loved about the movie is the comparison the movie made between the Predators and the humans they captured. They went to great lengths to show that, in many ways, the two groups were not that different.

Gotta say again that I LOVED that they portrayed the Predators as more unlikeable than they have in the AVP movies and Predator 2. It made them more formidable foes because, yes, we know they have all these high tech weapons at their disposal, but they're also savage monsters that kill for the sport of it. I feel like that hasn't been illustrated as much in the last few movies as it was in this. And the Predators were much more intimidating this time around as well.

As far as the performances go, Adrien Brody made for a great leading man, probably my favorite since Arnold. Not only was he up to the challenge physically, but his character also used his intelligence and common sense to outsmart the Predators. Much more realistic than someone who goes to fight a Predator with his fists. Outside of him, the only characters that I felt got much in the way of backstory and development were Alice Braga's character, Topher Grace's character, Laurence Fishburne's character, and Walton Goggins' character. Wish there had been a bit more done in that department, but the lack of development for the other characters didn't take too much away from the films.

Enjoyed the additions to the Predator tribes as well. The Berzerker Predator was one vicious, particularly creepy beast, even for a Predator. The Pred-Hounds were cool too. I thought the CGI on them was actually not half-bad. They were some vicious beasties as well.

That's all I got at the moment. Basically, see it. It's excellent. Like I said before, I believe it to be the best film with Predators since Predator itself.

***SPOILERS***

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

I'd like to see several human traps fail measurably to trick the Predators. Set it up so we think a group of the humans are indeed going to kill a Predator. But he defuses the traps. Even plays possum at one point.

There is a scene that implies something like this.

[Jeffrey]

*spoilers*

I saw it. It was fun. People rag on A v P but Cameron ranked it as the third-best Alien film (and I agree). A v P had an imaginative story that was bogged down with underdeveloped characters and a few too many Hollywood flourishes. A v P: R lacked the imaginative story and so it fell flat.

I think A v P required (even if it had been done better) the Predators to be "good guys," because a Predator is more like a human than an Alien is. However, I was looking forward to a return to relentless, cruel Predators.

A v P was, as I said, a very cool idea (drawing from Lovecraft, the influential extraterrestrial tome Chariot of the Gods and non-Western architecture, blending it all with an interpretation of both Aliens and Predators in line with the past two decades of Dark Horse comics) that lacked in execution. Ps was a lackluster, predictable idea with a few flourishes that had a fantastic execution.

There were some very cool twists: the Fish being insane and trying to kill the other humans for sake of survival; Topher's serial killer character (I called it from the moment he said he was a doctor, but I was still pleased with the long-delayed execution and his brief monologue); the Death Row inmate managing to wound a Predator; the Yakuza guy slaying a Predator but still dying, to show how tough the Predators are.

I enjoyed how the film subverted some standard action film moments. Examples:

STANDARD: A group is walking in a shadowy place. One of the characters move against an empty backdrop; when they pass a certain spot, a secretive figure is there as if they just appeared.

PREDATORS: We see this at last from the angle of the secretive figure. The group moves past a point, and the Yakuza enforcer steps out quietly behind, watching them.

STANDARD: After a confrontation, a gung ho member hoots and hollers - and then gets taken out with one shot, the poetic justice for their hubris.

PREDATORS: After a confrontation, the inmate hooted and hollered - and was taken out with one shot. Then, he popped back in, madly shanking his foe.

STANDARD: Heartfelt moment in Act 2 reveals the Man with No Name's name.

PREDATORS: Heartfelt moment near the end of Act 3 reveals Royce's name.

I was very impressed by the film not aping Arnold's mud trick. They acknowledged it, but having Brody's character use fire to "overload" the heat sensor was brilliant and worked well. The fight between Predators was boring; the fight between the final Predator and Royce was very well done.

That said, there were some distracting jumps in logic. Most of the human targets made sense, except the Death Row inmate and the serial killer. A Death Row inmate has survival skills, but does not stack up as a target against a Predator like a Spetsnaz, Death Squad member, or Israeli commando. Nor does a serial killer, especially one who is a doctor -- so he likely worked in secret.

All it took was a couple lines of dialogue. For instance, I expected a character to say "They must have given us a doctor to even the playing field; how sporting." With all of the brilliant insight Royce had, it never occurred to him to ask why a doctor was included, even though he noted the doctor was out of place. Also, it would have been good for someone to say "Some of us are Big Game; some of us are Small Game. You don't go after a lion on your first hunt -- you hunt deer."

Big Game hunters on Earth go for lions, tigers, bears, boars -- major predators who are physically imposing. I can't recall any shrew, scorpion, army ant, or anaconda hunts. They're simply not much of a challenge, though these are terrible beasts.

"Long Tall Sally" didn't work in the credits. It was jarring, a silly tribute out of step with the tone without providing a sensible juxtaposition.

The Predators were not scary. We've seen it before. Nothing occurred in this film save the once-employed "dogs" that we haven't seen before. Suspense really works best in speculative genres when you don't know what it will occur at the big reveal. We knew exactly what would occur.

The actors did very well. There wasn't one performance that I felt was half-baked. The cinematography was nearly flawless. Every shot was beautiful; the CGI was generally unobtrusive. The film was great to look at; the characters were engaging. The plot and story logic, however, was a bit lackluster. We got from A to B without many shocking moments.

[Jeffrey]

*spoilers*

Originally Posted by DKelly

One thing I really loved about the movie is the comparison the movie made between the Predators and the humans they captured. They went to great lengths to show that, in many ways, the two groups were not that different.

Meh. I think this was underdeveloped. It would have been good to have one character, not long after their assumption that it was Hell or after the death of the Mexican gang member, to talk about their first kill that didn't give them pause. You know, the moment when they went from being shocked to being neutral to the act of taking a man's life. Over the course of Acts 1 and 2, we could've heard it in snippets. It would have been fun to have Topher's character describe his in a way that sounds like a doctor losing a patient -- then reveal in the pit with the Isabella that it was intentional. You know, retell the story slightly in a way that lacks remorse and adds glee.

I don't want a long, intellectualizing moment. In fact, I wish they had just left things with Royce's Hemingway quote. Every other "We've just like them" moment felt forced or too close to preachy.

There is a scene that implies something like this.

It was cool but a little odd. It couldn't have been a Predator that had gotten him, because they hadn't taken a trophy.

[Tim Possible]

*SPOILERS*

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

*spoilers*
It was cool but a little odd. It couldn't have been a Predator that had gotten him, because they hadn't taken a trophy.

I personally hoped it was reference to an Alien. Looked like a chestburster to me...maybe impregnated and then left alone until the real prey was born. I was hoping for at least an Alien head in the campsite or something. I thought that would have worked and been easy to do.

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by el cabong

*SPOILERS*

I personally hoped it was reference to an Alien. Looked like a chestburster to me...maybe impregnated and then left alone until the real prey was born. I was hoping for at least an Alien head in the campsite or something. I thought that would have worked and been easy to do.

That's a really cool idea, and could have set up a much more low key A v P. Imagine a film set around the time of the first Alien. A group of Marines takes up a challenge from the Predators, parachutes down to the planet, and soon both humans and Predators discover an Alien queen that's been there for decades.