A Rather Dreary Film: “Predators” (2010) Review
A rather dreary film that makes one yearn for the vibrant, clear, and colorful original.
A group of Earthlings are dropped onto a planet inhabited by the predators from John McTiernan’s 1987 action film. The monsters stage a kind of safari hunt with them. The only goal for these people who have fallen from the sky is to survive.
Robert Rodriguez had been toying with the idea of a “Predator” remake for about fifteen years: like all of us, he loves this film very much. Finally getting his hands on the coveted material, he limited himself to the role of producer, entrusting the direction to the promising Hungarian Nimród Antal. Unfortunately, Antal delivered Rodriguez a two-hour idiocy that is neither funny, nor scary, nor warm, nor cold. A motley group of unpleasant people, including a maniac-killer, an Israeli sniper, and a Russian militant named Nikolai – you name it, they’re there – fall onto a planet inhabited by predators. They fall from the sky, without explanation.
Antal enthusiastically constructs a homemade version of the “Lost” series, embodying some vague ideas of the screenwriters about purgatory (or hell – who can tell). At first, the characters simply wander among the alien flora, exchanging anxious remarks, then they begin to frantically fight off the approaching monsters and their dog-like creatures. Unlike the viewer, the characters somehow don’t realize that they are unlikely to return from this planet anyway. Unlike the viewer, they admire the alien sky, not noticing that it is crudely drawn on the computer, while the surrounding landscapes, on the contrary, are desperately earthly.
Adrien Brody: A Mismatch
Adrien Brody looks extremely ridiculous in the role of a muscular and angry action hero. How did they even think to invite him to the lead role in such a project? Was Dustin Hoffman busy? Perhaps the intelligent Brody was eager to explore unknown territory out of curiosity: he even specifically gained thirty pounds of muscle, but it did not change his nature. Someone has already coined the phrase “The Pianist vs. Predator,” and it, admittedly, exhaustively describes the situation in which poor Adrien has found himself.