Spencer, Iowa · Monday, September 6, 2010
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Randy's Review:'Predators' returns to classic formula

Friday, July 23, 2010
We've seen them take out drug dealers and violent criminals in L.A. We've seen them kick butt on the Aliens from that other franchise. We even saw one beat the snot out of "Aahnold," Apollo Creed and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse The Body Ventura in the original film to get things started.

This time around, it's Adrien Brody playing Royce - a former special ops soldier turned merc, leading a group of rogue bad boys...and girl against a trio of Predators out on a casual hunting trip.

Only it's the Predators doing the hunting. Brody and his accomplices wake up falling from the sky. A parachute opens and they land in the middle of a jungle. Somehow they are abducted from all over the world, strangers dropped together in an unfamiliar land. Aside from Royce, there's Nicaraguan freedom fighter Isabelle (Alice Braga), a death row murderer Stans (Walton Goggins - who is awesome in this role as he is in everything he plays), drug cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Russian special ops soldier Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), a Yakuza mafia enforcer, an African death squad member, and...a doctor (Topher Grace).

They soon realize they aren't in Kansas anymore, the multiple moons and planets in the sky were a dead giveaway, and Royce, not knowing what they are up against figures out that he and his impromptu team are the prey and in a wildlife refuge.

Along the way, they run into Noland (Laurence Fishburne) who has survived several seasons by laying low and has even managed to kill some of the Predators while living in the preserve. Unfortunately, he is a bit crazy.

The action is almost as plentiful as the gory death. These things take trophies, mainly spines with skulls still attached. Slowly but surely they begin making their way through the team.

The battle is on. And so it continues for nearly two hours. If you liked the first Predator, you'll most likely enjoy this go round as it offers a lot of similarities - with the exception of it taking place on another planet.

Nice little twist at the end. And what the heck is the doctor here with all the hard core killers.

You gotta love any movie directed by a guy whose first name is Nimrod.

Sit back and enjoy. The hunt is on. Just don't eat the jerky.


Predators scored three popcorn boxes out of five. Just don't get so caught up in the action that you spill it. The film is rated R for extensive gore and language. Running time is 1 hour and 47 minutes.



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