Whenever I want to see a gun cocking and a bar blasting, I may swim into landmark DVD section and come out with a film produced by ‘Troublemaker Studios’ which is co-owned by Robert Rodriguez, the creator of films ‘From Dusk till Dawn’, ‘Desperado’ and ‘El mariachi’.
I have this prejudice that Rodriguez directorial suggestion would be there in every movie produced by ‘Trouble Makers’ but their new film ‘Predators’ changed my belief. Even I being somebody who never cares for script but only making tend to think that scripts and lines matter. When Rodriguez directed some super slick action films like’ From Dusk Till Dawn’ and ‘Desperado’, I came to a conclusion that everything is fine with him , even when he doesn’t have a bound script. Well, it was a misconception.
‘Predators’ is a far a superior film when it gets compared to the ‘made exclusively for video game publicity’ films such as ‘Predator Vs Aliens’ and its sequel. The film follows the path which ‘Dutch’ [Arnold’s character in 87 Predator] had carved for them. When the first film happens in the jungle of Gautimala, Central America, the sequel ‘Predators’ happens in a forest in an alien planet which has great resemblance of the Guatemala Forests.
Film starts with unknown people with strange origins and contradictory political belief flying down in a parachute unconsciously. Only After half the way the air, they realize that they are in a parachute and they have to open it to save their lives. Royce is the first person whose gets to the forest first. Adrian Broody who featured in films like ‘Darjeling Ltd’ and ‘Thin red Line ‘ is Royce and his presence itself may make you think that it is a comedy. In fact, by seeing him in the posters, I thought this is just a parody of the 1987 film. I would say the biggest minus lies in the casting itself. The male and female lead kills all the seriousness of the movie with their overtly serious and pathetic performance. One has to believe that Royce is a kind of American Army man in Chaos and when he chews out all that macho dialogues, sorry, it makes the film looks more like a comedy. Brazilian Actress Alice Braga featured as the female and I suggest her to come to India and watch some films of our average actresses and learn something from them. All she knows to keep a dead panic face which resembles a person who couldn’t go to toilet in the morning. When all the other actors stay cool in the film, she turns her head like she is acting in a B-movie produced for local cable TV.
Soon other members comes to the planet in Parachute , which comprised of a Mexican Drug dealer, a most wanted criminal, a Russian defense officer, a psychopath, a prohibited united front official and a Yakuza enforcer. Soon they realize that they are caught in a game preserve planet for Predators and they see no escape from the planet. The war they fight with these running, spitting, mocking, flying predators is the movie. The full marks goes to special effects and the cinematography was excellent with the disturbing green ‘Amazon’ look of the Predator planet.
He excels in some scenes, especially in the one in whichthe yakuza enforcer kills the predator in a sword duel. A divine kind of soft light pours on the green grass ground and because there is no logic behind that, he wisely composed the frame that audience’s mind won’t think of the light source. [Except my kind of brilliant people’]. The film is full of gore and ultimate violence with blasting recording of Dolby Digital. I can tell you that the first half is an action treat but director fails to create an effect because of the weak script.
Warning: This film is not meant for children, pregnant women, and people with weak hearts. You should stay miles away from it, if you belong to any of these groups.
P.S: Next time, we expect a George Clooney or an Antonio Banderas when you back with Predator franchise, Mr Robert Rodriguez.