Laugh all you want about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film career.
The former Mr. Olympia made his share of clunkers, but films like “Predator” showed he could pick the right project to match his singular acting chops.
Audiences will look back fondly at that 1987 film while watching “Predators,” a quasi-sequel to the Schwarzenegger original that delivers less chills while expending far more resources.
It’s still an occasionally fun ride with a commanding lead performance by Adrien Brody.
The Oscar winner is no Mr. Olympia, but he’s tough enough here to avoid getting sand kicked in his face.
Brody stars as a battle-tested warrior deposited on an alien planet along with a group of fellow gunslingers.
They literally drop from the sky one day, each unaware of what brought them to the planet.
They bicker amongst themselves until they realize they aren’t alone. They’ve been chosen as targets by a race of aliens eager to hone their slaughtering skills.
It’s a simple set-up, and for a while the unfolding mystery provides a sharp counter-balance to some agreeably orchestrated action.
But why introduce us to such a colorful cast, an ethnic stew featuring Alice Braga, Topher Grace and Danny Trejo, and not give them anything worthwhile to do or say?
The scripts somehow can’t improve on the caveman banter from the original, but Brody manages to make every terse line his own.
The Oscar winner, as buff as a Bowflex spokesman, barks his lines as if he were a commanding officer on D-Day. He’s fully in charge here, and his presence makes the absence of an ’80s style he-man forgivable.
Brody’s character is often too sharp for his own good, though.
The character acts as if he got the script handed to him before anyone else. He puts all the pieces together to the bigger story, never making an incorrect guess.
That story becomes too detailed for its own good. The original’s simplicity was endearing – and appropriately spare. Here, we’re given a character twist which makes no sense and a cameo by a veteran actor which slays the film’s momentum at a critical juncture.
The longer “Predators” marches on, the sillier the film becomes. Could a group of invisible warriors really have their hands full battling these ornery humans? And every time we see a Predator romping through the woods like a man in a rubber suit we’re reminded that the “Alien” creature is the better of the two movie monsters.
Still, “Predators’” final battle will leave audiences satiated, and Brody may emerge as the unlikeliest new action hero this side of Liam Neeson.
(Photo: Adrien Brody and Alice Braga take aim at an alien menace in “Predators.” Photo credit: Rico Torres)
Related posts:
- ‘Last Chance Harvey’ – Hoffman leads the way in rom-com gem
- ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ – Tween franchise still lacks bite
- ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’ – Let’s get this franchise started, already
- ‘The Collector’ – Sawed-off thriller no franchise starter
- ‘Death Race’ – B-movie gets ‘A’ for effort
on 
on 
