The Freak's Rating: D- : Whenever I head out to the theaters, I always like to get a critical consensus of the films I'm set to review prior to departure. I line up movies according to start/end times, then weigh that against the ratings they have received pre-release so that I'm likely to see the best that is out there. After using this procedure and determining that Predators was a solid pick for viewing, I may have to reconsider my methodology.
The line, "Robert Rodriguez presents" used to be synonymous with entertainment. The tagline appeared with El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn, etc... But then came family man Rodriguez and the line was attached to the Spy Kids trilogy and the Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Wait, then Rodriguez made a U turn and got back to his roots, adding it to Sin City and Grindhouse. Now I feel we're in "moneymaker" Rodriguez, where he'll attach it to anything if the money is right.
Adrien Brody continues his career free-fall, from Splice to this in just a couple weeks. I swear, that guy needs a new agent...and fast. There are no noticable highs from any of the actors in this one, but a few new lows. Topher Grace reinforces that he need not ever be in film again. Lawrence Fishburne takes a dive off the B-list into true C territory as well.
Writing is non-existent throughout the film, with as many plot twists as a Steven Segal feature from the 90s. This is a script I could have written in my sleep. The aliens are determined to kill all the humans. There are three of them. The humans are systematically eliminated one by one. Guess who is left at the end... Guess what happens... Ridiculous.
Predators is supposed to be the rebirth of the franchise Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous in the 80s. Humans placed in jungles where aliens are unlike any we've seen before and do one thing well...hunt us. The original Predator is a classic film, standing up even recently to my critique. The newest entry into the franchise is a complete waste of time. With the exception of a few interesting kills and some decent special effects, this is a complete bomb.
