The Story:

A group of heavy hitters wake to find themselves free falling through the atmosphere into a jungle none seem to recognize. Soon they realize they’re not just treading unfamiliar soil, but an unknown planet entirely. If that wasn’t bad enough, there is something in the trees, and judging by the pile of ‘trophies’ they stumbled across, it hunts for sport.

The Characters:

This was definitely a character driven movie, most of the run time is filled with the characters trying to sort out why they woke falling from the sky. Confusion gets the better of them in the beginning causing mistrust through the group. Of course once they realize they are being hunted, the group becomes a closer knit unit. None of the main characters really stand out, just your basic soldiers, mercenaries, etc. Dark comedic relief saves the movie from being dull with more interesting side characters such as the death row inmate, or Yakuza Samurai to name a few. Also the Predators have more personality than ever before, with one in particular standing out as pure evil. I’ve always thought of Predators as just a race based around pride, and tradition. This one breaks that mold, the leader seems more sadistic than anything we’ve seen in the past.

Effects/Gore:

The creature effects in the movie were nothing short of fantastic. The new design really set each predator apart and played a huge role in giving each one a more distinct independent personality. The gore however was disappointing, almost everything was computer animated. Seeing the movie the second time I didn’t notice the lack of gore as much, but on first viewing it’s likely to disappoint anyone who is familiar with the hunt.

Lasting Appeal:

I will watch this movie again. My second experience with it was much better than the first. Once you get past the lack of gore, its easy to see that not only does it fit well as a third entry to the series, but it also makes Predator 3 for 3 for entertainment value.

Final Headcount:

As a sequel there is no way of giving a final score without a bit of comparison to what we have already seen. No it isn’t as good as Predator, or Predator 2, but will anything ever be again? Once you know what you’re walking into I think it’s safe to say Predators is the weakest entry of the trilogy.