Predators (2010) Dir: Nimród Antal

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20 years after the release of the quite frankly terrible Predator 2, the franchise was renewed with this. The setup is simple and straight to the point, and I would count this as a strength.

In a lot of ways, it returns to the premise of the original, with a straightforward plot and an intense rural setting.

You could argue that he lack of any major character development is a problem, which it is, but ultimately this is more about the action than story. And whilst I think that is a shame to an extent, it didn't really detract from my enjoyment.

Adrien Brody stars, and while I wouldn't exactly call him an action star, he does pretty well here, although at times he definitely overacted and ended up coming across as almost a parody.

Alice Braga also has a substantial role, and I would say she's the most consistent of anyone here. That said, it's still not an amazing performance.

One of the main supporting roles is played by Topher Grace, who is perhaps most well known for his role as Eddie Brock in Spider-Man 3. I have never been particularly convinced by him as an actor and this film unfortunately fails to show me anything of substance.

Walton Goggins, who I immediately recognised from The Hateful Eight, provided an adequate performance, although I didn't see anywhere near the talent he portrayed in the aforementioned Tarantino film.

The film also features Mahershala Ali, who honestly deserved more screentime - his character had a lot more potential than he got to express.

I'll finish by mentioning some other actors who warranted a mention; the legendary Danny Trejo, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne of Matrix fame, Louis Ozawa Changchien and the man in the main predator costume; Derek Mears.

Overall, I think Nimród Antal may not have created a masterpiece, but he succeeded in producing a violent and thrilling sci-fi action spectacle that at least beat the dier 1990 sequel.