MONDO COMMENTARY: Predator

Join Cory and special guest Jos, as they sit down for a chat about one of the best and most iconic '80s action flicks of all time, Predator! The film that taught us that "if it bleeds, we can kill it!". Cory and Jos express their appreciation for the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle that helped lead to his megs-success, while diving deep into the making of, including an invisible appearance by Jean-Claude Van Damme. So grab a seat and a beer and watch Predator!

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Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Genres

Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Directors

The Brothers Strause

Country

USA

Cast

Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Sam Trammell, Ariel Gade, Robert Joy, Kristen Hager, David Paetkau, Matt Ward, Michael Suchanek, David Hornsby, Gina Holden, Ian Whyte, Tom Woodruff Jr., Bobby Jones

Storyline

The dwellers of a rural Colorado town find themselves in the middle of a battle between two extraterrestrial races, Alien and Predator, and must team up for any chance of survival. 

Opinion

Wow, things dropped pretty fast. A week ago I was let's say praising Alien vs. Predator for being a fun crossover. Now I have to talk about how shitty Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is. It is just plain dumb, like its predecessor, but it's not fun. It's more like a torture, to be honest. 

The film is a mess right from the beginning. It is supposed to be a sequel but there isn't any kind of recall neither to the characters of the previous film nor to the events of the previous film. It doesn't even have a weak storyline because that would require one, and that's definitely something the film does not have. Plot holes, however, it's plenty of those. It is such a mess and so incoherent, it's impossible to even concentrate. It keeps shifting from one thing to another without focusing or giving importance to anything. It is utterly unengaging.

The characters are just as terrible. They have no depth or development whatsoever. They are so thin, the wind would blow them away. Like those sheets falling down and flying everywhere. The only difference is that you probably care about those sheets, but don't give a damn about these characters.

The script, however, wasn't Alien vs. Predator's strong suit either. The action pretty much saved the film. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen here. The action sequences are terribly choreographed, they are not exciting, and they pretty much consist of people shooting in the dark.

And let's not talk about the special effects and costumes. No, actually, let's talk about those. They are terrible. You look at those Aliens and Predators and all you can see are men wearing some terrible Halloween costumes. 

In a few words, this film is an offense both to the Alien and to the Predator franchise. 

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Genres

Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Director

Paul W.S. Anderson

Countries

USA, UK, Italy, Canada

Cast

Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul ova, Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon, Tommy Flanagan, Joseph Rye, Agathe de La Boulaye, Carsten Norgaard, Liz May Brice, Glenn Conroy, Karima Adebibe, Sam Troughton, Ian Whyte, Tom Woodruff Jr., Petr Jakl, Pavel Bezdek, Kieran Bew, Carsten Voigt, Jan Filipensky, Adrian Bouchet, Eoin McCarthy, Andy Lucas

Storyline

During an archaeological expedition on an island in the Antarctic Ocean, a team of archaeologists and scientists find themselves caught up in a battle between two alien races, aliens and predators. 

Opinion

It could have been worse. That's what I kept telling myself as the ending credits for Alien vs. Predator rolled out. Sure, it could have been better considering it's and Alien and Predator crossover, but despite all its flaws it still was fun to watch. 

And I'm really surprised because this film it's kind of a mess. The plot is uninspired and there are so many holes it's impossible to keep count. Wait, actually I'm not even sure this film has a plot. So no plot no holes I guess. Anyway, it's just terrible.

The characters aren't any better. They are paper-thin, uninteresting, stupid and they soon become boring as fuck. The character development is so little, they are dead and you barely know their names. I remember only two names, Lex  - because of Lex Luthor - and Sebastian - because I've never met or heard of any Italian named Sebastian. And the wooden acting surely doesn't help. 

However, he most surprising thing, script-wise, is the dialogue. The two franchises kind of have good dialogue; here it's just a mess. If feels like watching a parody of a sci-fi flick, that's how bad the dialogue is.

But it was fun. Well, at least the last part was. After a very long and tedious first part with the annoying humans, the aliens and predators show up, killing humans and each other, and the fun begins. The action sequences and special effects aren't anything special - they are average - but if compared with the rest of the film they really are great, and they make the watch more bearable. And although it's just your typical action flick action, it's fun. 

Predators (2010)

Genres

Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Director

Nimród Antal

Country

USA

Cast

Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershala Ali, Danny Trejo, Laurence Fishburne, Derek Mears, Carey Jones, Brian Steele

Storyline

A group of killers parachute into a jungle and they soon become the prey of some merciless aliens.

Opinion

I'm yet to see the crossovers, but I know who would win in an hypothetic Alien vs Predator match. Predator. And I'm not talking about the monster - that would require a lot of thinking. I'm talking about the franchise because Predators is a pretty good film which makes it three out of three.

Once again the story is kept pretty simple, it's a hunt or be hunted type of story, and it develops in a rather predictable way, mainly because basically every single plot point is the same of Predator and it feels more like watching a remake rather than a sequel. Actually, I'm still not sure if this is supposed to be a sequel or a remake. Despite this, the story still is interesting and engaging. Also, this time around there's a bit of backstory and development to the Predator universe. It's not much, but it's helpful to understand these aliens better.

Which brings me to me the characters. They are terrible. Paper thin, there's nothing resembling development, just like in the first film of the series, and yet they all have their own thing that makes them different from each other and eventually you care for them. Maybe not all of them, still, you get my point.

And sure, the dialogue is dumb and the monumental cast - I'm talking about Adrien Brody, Mahershala Ali and Laurence Fishburne - is completely wasted, but damn, the pacing is wonderful, there's some good tension, the action is exciting and the film is really fun to watch. And, to be honest, Adrien Brody kind of works as an action (anti)hero.

Predator 2 (1990)

Genres

Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Director

Stephen Hopkins

Country

USA

Cast

Danny Glover, Kevin Peter Hall, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, Maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Lilyan Chauvin, Robert David, Adam Baldwin, Kent McCord, Morton Downey Jr., Calvin Lockhart, Elpidia Carrillo

Storyline

Amidst a territorial gang-war in 1997, a sophisticated alien hunter (Kevin Peter Hall) stalks the citizens of Los Angeles and the only man between him and his prey is veteran L.A.P.D. officer, Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover).

Opinion

After watching and enjoying Predator, I thought that watching a sequel without Arnold Schwarzenegger in it would be a waste of time. That said, and despite the fact that I was expecting a bad sequel, I still watched Predator 2 because, let's be honest, I love when sequels suck so I can have fun saying shit about them. Well, Predator 2 didn't allow me to do that because it's actually a pretty good sequel. If not even better than the first instalment.

The plot is basically the same of the first film, still having an invisible predator attacking armed forces in the (urban) jungle, so there's no mystery, no guessing who or what is going around killing people, still it manages to be interesting and engaging.

As for the characters, this time around the writers went for a different path. The characters are decently developed and they are definitely more likeable - not all of them though - and you actually care for them. The major difference here is the Predator. The alien has more screen time and a bigger role in the story; also, we get to know these creatures, their weapons and their behaviours a little bit better. With the latter, however, I did have a problem. The whole spearing the policewoman's life because she is pregnant thing just didn't seem like something a Predator would do. Unless she was pregnant with the alien. Which did cross my mind to be honest.

And then there's the action. It isn't as exciting or thrilling as it was in Predator, but it isn't bad either. Actually some scenes are pretty awesome. And it still is the thing that keeps the film going and that entertains from start to finish.

Predator (1987)

Genres

Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Director

John McTiernan

Country

USA

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Richard Chaves, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Shane Black, R. G. Armstrong, Kevin Peter Hall, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Peter Cullen

Storyline

A team of commandos led by Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is hired by the CIA to rescue some missing airmen. But there's something strange going on in that jungle and they soon find themselves hunted by some unknown enemy.

Opinion

I'm not going to lie, I couldn't care less about Predator. I just watched it because I was curious to see the Alien vs Predator movies and I thought it'd be only fair to know the competitors first. I didn't even know there was Schwarzenegger in it. That being said, it turned out to be a pretty solid and tense action thriller and I actually enjoyed it.

Sure, it's far from being the perfect film. The story is pretty simple and straight forward and it's nothing more than a hunt or be hunted type of story. However, it benefits from a pointless subplot about missing airmen. It is discharged pretty soon but it has the purpose to place the commandos into the jungle in the first place. Also, the story is quite engaging.

The characters were the biggest surprise. They aren't complex, they have no backstories, they lack development, and yet they are great. First, all of that isn't really necessary in an action flick; second, the only thing the characters have in common is that they all (almost) are commandos. They are indeed very different from each other, especially the sensible leader - and it was so weird seeing Schwarzenegger in such a role.

But let's get to the really juicy stuff, the action. Just like everything else, this is also simple, it's just blood and bullets, but it's a hell of a fun. The action sequences are exciting, well-paced, they kind of feel realistic and, like I said, they are fun to watch. And the suspense and tension John McTiernan was able to build and deliver really help.