Synopsis: A group of elite warriors find themselves dropped in the middle of a jungle where they are hunted by members of a merciless alien race known as Predators.So in the first few minutes as they're all waking up and stumbling through the jungle, I thought here we go again. It's going to be just like the original Predator film but with different actors. But it doesn't take long to realize that it's not like that at all. They're on another planet being hunted by several Predators plus several other-worldly life forms as well. All this equals lots of kills, action and bloody fun.
I was worried when I heard they'd plugged Adrian Brody into the main character role, thinking from King Kong and other films that he might be a bit on the wimpy side, but his character is great and pretty much a bad ass. I also love Danny Trejo (Machete), but I thought his screen time here was way too brief. Topher Grace is adequate but a bit hard to buy in his character by the end for me. Brazilian Alice Braga was quite easy on my eyes and a good choice for the heroin. Walton Goggins (The Shield, Justified, House of 1000 Corpses) and Laurence Fishburne round out a surprisingly excellent cast for an action movie. All of these characters are quite important and not just potential victims as there's a whole other level of movie beyond the pursuit, and that's how the warriors play (or don't play) well together, making the name of the film sort of a double-entendre.
Something that was missing for me from the Alien vs Predator sequels was much of a connection to the original Predator film beyond the creature. This one has several connections and a lot of nods to the original so if you're a big fan of that one you'll probably catch them and smile. They even play Long Tall Sally during the credits.
The special effects are solid and all the action sequences are pretty intense and well-done. There's gore and violence of course, and you're put right in the middle of the mayhem.
I think this is a solid and worthy entry in this franchise and hope to see more. I'd put this just behind the original, but ahead of Predators 2 and both Alien vs Predator films.
7.5/10
