Predators (Red)

Ya it’s (Red) but who didn’t see that coming.

Also, (Red) means don’t watch it but if you do plan on watching it anyway I’m just going to say there are SPOILERS AHEAD!

One of the biggest problems with this movie is its level of antagonism peeks in the first act. There are a bunch of people dumped on a planet who are being hunted by aliens who can turn invisible, have heat vision, and laser guns and what not. At first they have no idea what’s even going on. Then they figure out they are being hunted and that no one ever survives. There is no way out of the situation. Bleak. Very high antagonism.

Then every twist in the movie gives them a little more hope. They find a survivor. Suddenly it’s possible to defeat the unbeatable aliens. Then they find out there is a ship. Now they have a way off the planet. Then they find out the aliens don’t get along. Now they have allies.

Ya, I know. Bad things do happen. This is a one-by-one the “good” guys get killed off but that doesn’t do anything for the story and doesn’t really change the level of antagonism either way because everyone knows who’s going to make it to the end.

In a good movie the level of antagonism is supposed to get bigger and bigger not smaller and smaller. Predators starts out with an impossible situation and then clumsily and illogically allows the protagonist to figure out a way to get out.

Kind of.

The worst part is that the movie doesn’t really end. They kill three or four predators (it's hard to keep track of after a while) and then the movie ends. The thing is there are more predators on the way. Early on in the movie the one guy who was able to outsmart the predators and who has been living in hiding for years tells them that when one of the predators dies they figure out how they were defeated and then come back even more powerful.

So I assume that’s what’s going to happen.

The story didn’t really reach a point where everything was solved. There was no absolute irreversible solution to their problem. It just ends. And we are left thinking, “Well wait a sec. They killed a couple Predators and it’s all over? Aren’t there going to be a bunch more coming right away? Why are the credits rolling? Nothing has happened. They are in the same situation they were in at the beginning of the story except they are now covered in sweat and mud.”

And this is a small thing but what the heck was with that song for the credits. I don’t know the name of it but it seems like they forgot they needed a song and just picked the first song that came up on their iTunes. I’m going to go against what Larry David has taught me and give them the benefit of the doubt and assume there is an inside story that I don’t know about.

I’ll be honest. The only reason I watched this movie was to see Topher Grace die a horrible death. By the time it actually happened I just wanted everyone to die. There was no logic to the characters. They just did things that were convenient for exposition.

Also, the predators can turn invisible. How is it possible that even the most BA human can defeat them? They can turn invisible and shoot you from far away. You can’t even hide from them cause they have heat vision. With all these advantages how is it possible that they can still get shanked by a death row inmate? That actually happened by the way.

There aren’t enough good things in this movie for me to recommend that you watch it or even rent it.