Predators

In the summer of 1977 my father took me camping in the wilderness of Yosemite. After setting up camp, and not being able to have a fire, my dad introduced me to the wonders of the science fiction short story. He had a paperback book containing a collection of the best and we proceeded to read them by flashlight. After the trip my father loaned me volumes one through three and I became fascinated with the genre. Not only were these good stories, but they had deeper social meaning. They questioned the nature of man and delved into his psychology.

Predators, the recent addition to a long running franchise, could stand alone as an alien action film, but what I’ve always enjoyed about the series is what is underneath the surface. You have three trophy hunters, coming to our planet on a vacation, to hunt and kill for sport. These are warriors and they are looking for prey that will stimulate and improve their skills, much like a deer hunter may upgrade to big game. It’s all about the challenge.

In Predators the game has changed because the prey has been taken off of their home planet and have been deposited into unfamiliar surroundings. It is not the home planet of the hunters, either. Although they have been there before. This neutral planet is like a game preserve where the Predators come to exercise their skills. Whatever they need they bring with them. The prey only possess what they had on them when they were snatched.

Adrien Brody (Splice) is the first of the hunted that we are introduced to. He was flying a plane and the next thing he knew he was falling from the sky. After a hard landing and the shock of being kidnapped, Royce (Brody) discovers Danny Trejo (Machete) who is a drug cartel enforcer out of Mexico. Soon others are dropping out of the sky and we end up with a South American rebel, Alice Braga (Repo Men), an African butcher, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), a Russian mercenary, Oleg Taktarov (The Way), a Japanese gangster, Louis Ozawa Changchien (Gigantic), a death row psychopath, Walton Goggins (Damage), and Topher Grace (Spiderman 3) as a doctor. Each one was hand selected for what they could bring to the game.

Later in the film we meet Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), a survivor from a previous hunt. All these professional killers must band together in order to survive. Any anti-social behavior will separate them from the pack and lessen their chance of survival. On the surface you have the worst of human society, a depraved and immoral lot, and on the other hand you have three alien warriors whose ethics are undetermined. Is big game hunting a sin? Is it immoral? That is the social question underneath the action. On the Predator’s planet, man-kind may be viewed no differently than an intelligent tiger, a worthy adversary making for an exciting kill.

Directed by Nimrod Antal (Armored) Predators works on several levels. As a military type adventure it has action, booby traps, extreme fighting skills, and the conflict that comes with men fighting for control and leadership. As a science fiction movie our cool Predators are back with their alien culture and this time they brought dogs. But the part of the movie I liked the best was the intellectual component. I enjoyed asking myself questions as we went along. Why these men? Why add a woman to the mix? Where are they? Do they have a chance? Why did they send a doctor? What skills does he possess? Will these people be missed back home? How do the aliens abduct them? The movie is so full of questions that my mind was constantly active as the film went through its traditional action-movie paces. This added element makes the film very satisfying for me.

As an action-hero, Adrien Brody surprised me. With his usual gusto he attacked this character and gave it his all. Giving himself voice in his lower register, adopting a bad-ass swagger and toning his body into a lean muscular frame, I found him credible as a well trained soldier. I like that he has been making interesting choices and has been going against type. We already know that this Academy Award winning actor can act. I love that he feels free to explore and experiment in different genres. His performance in Splice was really interesting and he has even been lending his voice to animation.

Forty years ago I read a similar short story about a pilot who was in the middle of a nose-dive about to crash when he wakes up in a floating dome in the middle of space. All alone he attempts to discover where he is, why he is there and how he can get out. Soon he learns that he is not alone and that another shares his prison in a gladiator type of situation. This is what makes science fiction so cool. It reaches you on a very basic human level, but also exercises your intellect. Based on this criteria, Predators is a successful Sci-Fi film.

Rating: First Run A successful Sci-Fi film