Predators

[Kal]

This was fucking awesome.

It's a really good time. I love the way it opens. Just throws you right in.

Anyone else see this?

Yes. It's great. Nimrod is THE MAN.

[Myxo]

This was preeeeettty bad. Random thoughts, spoilers, etc..

At one point Brody is quoting Hemmingway. The whole build up to actual action with the predators took way too long. They tried to tackle this like the audience had never seen these strange aliens before. This version of the movie brings back that asian chick Arnold rescues in the jungle from #1. She warns all of them that the creatures can see in infrared. She even mentions they should cover their skin with mud to avoid being seen. Which of course nobody does until Brody's silly 1v1 at the end. Too many retarded sterotypes. Like the human "monster" team has a doctor. So obviously he has a scalpel on him. That would be the weapon which goes with his "profession". So what does the prison inmate have! You guessed it, a shank! Really really lame. The whole inter-species battle between the Predator 1 bad guys and the bigger, nastier Predator 2 bad guys makes no sense. It's just mentioned in passing and they move on. Fishburne must have been paid by the hour or something because he's on screen for like 20 minutes. Just enough to lend his face to the film. In those 20 minutes he channels his inner Tim Robbins from War of the Worlds. That's not a compliment. All of this and you really don't get to see much of the predators at all. Oh and Topher Grace STILL looks like I want to punch him in the face every time he talks.

That's my review.

[tpfkabi]

***spoilers***

i also loved the opening.......but that's about it.

i think the battle between the two species is what happens towards the end when the two predators face - notice how the 'classic' predator was tied up and then the other takes off it's mask and looks different - maybe they are hoping to go with this newer predator in sequels - the ending leads me to believe so.

the ending - it is a nice artsy way to end, though knowing the taste for sequels i think it was more done to leave that open, than to be bold with an ending.

in a way, i was sad brody's character lived - it would seem less cliche' for the woman to somehow come out on top, defeating topher in the pit and somehow defeating the predator.

maybe that's why the sequels can never work like the original - part of the original is the mystique of what the hell the predator actually is.

most reviews i read seem to say Predator 2 was an inferior sequel. honestly, i've only seen the first 2 on cable tv edited and never from beginning to end. i remember the apartment, meat house and final predator spaceship scenes all to be very memorable. maybe if i rewatched it now in sequence from beginning to end i would feel differently.

and for Fishburne to last that long - an incredible feat no doubt - and then just casually walk out in the open when he knows a predator will be there and just blow him up is ridiculous.

[polkablues]

i also loved the mise en scene opening

I think you mean "in media res".

[tpfkabi]

i also loved the mise en scene opening

I think you mean "in media res".

ok. guess i've had the wrong definition of that phrase all along.

i coulda swore that someone referred to the opening of Vertigo - in the middle of a chase on a rooftop as Mise en scene - so i think that's where i get it from.

oh well. at the end of the day, you know what i mean...or as Oasis say it, "d'ya know what i mean? yeah yeah."

[matt35mm]

I believe mise en scene just means "everything that makes up the scene," such that in every given moment, the set design, actor blocking, and shot choices combine together to create the mise en scene.  So somebody may have been discussing the mise en scene of the opening of Vertigo, analyzing the construction of the scene/set piece.

In media res means "in the middle of things," such as opening in the middle of a chase scene.

[diggler]

minor spoilers

just got around to seeing this. as others have said, the opening and closing of the film had a nice sense of campy immediacy that the rest of the film never lives up to. i don't understand what Lawrence Fishburne was doing in this movie, other than to have a cool introduction. his character twist was too similar to Topher Grace's, and it was just as implausibly spontaneous. the cast gelled nicely though, and i can buy Brody as an action star, even if his shirtless reveal made me giggle a little bit.

there's also holes in logic all over the place ("the sun hasn't moved since we got here, oh hey it's nighttime!) but even with all it's flaws it's still the second best Predator movie. Danny Trejo's postmortem "help me" was a memorably spooky moment, and the sword fight scene was really well shot (loved that bird's eye angle with the flowing high grass). there's nice little moments like this scattered throughout the film. it's worth seeing.