Nimrod Antal thieves props. Early on during filming, the director shot a scene with two Predators going at it. Blades clashed and, as planned, one weapon lopped off the tip of the other. In between takes, Antal sneaked onto the battleground and pocketed the broken blade point. After the second take, he did the same. After all, this was real a Predator movie prop. It had dirt and grime and everything on it, a true certificate of authentication.
Antal is a Predator fanboy. He saw the original movie opening weekend. He owns the action figures. And by the end of filming, his home will probably contain a Smithsonian’s worth of Predators‘ props.
Yet, we’ve heard this story before when it comes to filmmakers given the keys to a franchise they adore. To appease vocal fans of popular franchises, studios and producers commonly hammer the “our director loves these movies” publicity line. It’s an empty statement that doesn’t mean anything… as we’ve seen. Paul W.S. Anderson reportedly knows every line of dialogue from all the Alien and Predator films. However, his Alien vs. Predator felt like a cheap crowbar bludgeoning to the skull of both franchises. Len Wiseman created a Die Hard fan film as a teenager. Yet, Live Free and Die Hard failed on almost every level but stupid.
No doubt the filmmakers love the franchises they attempted to revive. However, remakes, reboots and new sequels to long dormant franchises have spawned an uninspired brand of “Guitar Hero” filmmaking, in which filmmakers hit all the same beats as the earlier movies without creating any fresh, interesting notes. The end result is nothing more than a fan film with better than average production values.
It’s uncertain whether Predators will fall into this trap.
Several similarities between Predator and Predators exist. The jungle terrain provides a setting for both films (although Predators earns bonus points for moving it to an alien planet). The cast of Predator is limited to eight central human characters, all of which are soldiers of different ethnicity. Predators has a multi-ethnic cast of nine, several of which are soldiers (all nine are remorseless killers though).
According to Louis Ozawa Changchien, who plays Hanzo, “Every character has some thread to a character from the original.” He also confirmed his character, a quiet, samurai sword wielding yakuza enforcer, is akin to the original movie’s Billy, also a man of few words who held a bigass knife. Both characters rumble shirtless against a Predator in a blade-on-blade fight (although Predators will thankfully show the brawl, unlike Billy’s disappointing off-screen battle).
Antal doesn’t deny the tributes. “There are nods, either through dialogue or shots, but we made it a point to do it in a subtle enough fashion that new viewers to the series can appreciate it as a completely original thing. But the ones who do know the old school film will have a smile on their face. But at the same time I say we’ve only done nods. We haven’t tried to re-create or redo anything.”
When confronted with the question of whether Predators could feel too fan filmish, Producer Robert Rodriguez backs up Antal. “I was already hearing them overemphasize that there are a lot of throwbacks to the original movies. No, there’s not really at all because I don’t care for those kinda movies where it feels like — I don’t want to name any names — but you’re watching the movie and they get to the best line of the movie and it’s from the old movie. It’s like, ‘Is that all you got?’ So it’s definitely nothing like that.”
Quick, think of the most famous quote from Predator.
“I get the line, ‘What an ugly face you have — what an ugly motherfucker you are,” according to Oleg Taktarov, who plays a Russian special forces soldier lugging around a jumbo minigun similar to Jesse Ventura’s in Predator.
Some variation of “You’re one ugly motherfucker” has found its place in every movie featuring a Predator since Arnold Schwarzenegger dead-panned the line back in 1987. Yet, every utterance results in diminished returns. Antal and Rodriguez can go on about subtle nods as much as they want. But that quote isn’t a wink toward the original film. It’s a full-throttle leg humping.
The worry is that Antal and Rodriguez’s idea of a homage is too liberal, lacks honest reflection, and that too much effort has been spent venerating John McTiernan’s classic and not enough forging new territory.
Simply take that as one single concern with Predators. It’s really the only concern with Predators.
Otherwise, this movie radiates a cool vibe. It owns a cast of superb, gifted actors who can do a lot with a little and seem genuinely enthusiastic about the film. The sets, production art, and released footage look fantastic. If you’re going to bet on Predators, then the odds are good Antal will deliver. He’s a visually deft director whose films take time for characters, their relationships, and the story. He is utterly passionate about the project. Yet, he’s not alone. Almost everyone in the Predators‘ cast and crew loves the original movie. If Predators sucks, it won’t be from lack of caring or respect toward McTiernan’s film. And really, you can’t shit the franchise’s bed any worse than Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem.
Fox Studios and Troublemaker Studios graciously allowed RopeofSilicon to visit the set of Predators in Austin, Texas, last winter. This is the last installment of our 4-part series. Read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.
