"I can't go too much into the story right now, because we're still writing. But it still involves a very intense group of people stranded on a Predator planet discovering unspeakable horrors (that are not always from outside their group). So like the original movie, the title does have a double meaning. Aliens was a different take on the Alien idea, and an original movie in it's own right, and that's what we want to do with this. " -Robert Rodriguez
Ahhh. I just finished reading Rodriguez's 1993 PREDATORS script on this fine 4th of July and so far, the premise quoted above sounds very much like his original script. This very well could be a Predator planet without being THE main planet.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS (if the script remains close to this one... and it sounds like it could be)
Liked/Didn't like:
Liked: The first 3/4 of the script.
Disliked: There doesn't seem to be anyone you would really want to root for except for ol' Dutch.
Liked: The large cast of roughnecks.
Disliked: Most of their personalities... well, they didn't have any or they all blended into one another. The protein loving Cadillac who eats everything from cockroaches to BBQ'ing freshly killed Predators did stand out.
Liked: This did have an 'ALIENS' feel, these guys could have easily been USCMC.
Disliked: It was a situation of, "you don't see them screwing each other over for a contract". We are somehow worse than the bad guys. Also, how did we suddenly get planet traversing technology since Predator?!? Dutch is still alive and this happened? What is up with the pirate ship (not just a pirate vessel, but an actual sea-sailing wooden vessel) he's on in the beginning? It never goes into detail wtf that was about. I was expecting Wesley Crusher, Data and Worf to appear like this was some sort of halodeck mission!
Liked: The pit fighting with all the different species going at it, with bystanders biting the dust and the bloodthirsty predator crowd loving it. Didn't like: the story didn't 'go' many places. It seemed to stay around the general area of this arena. I feel a story should go more places/be broken up more for the progression.
Liked: That we saw older, more powerful and better sophisticated predators with higher technology (as if our previous viewings of Predators were of inexperienced cub scouts with the predator world's version of over the counter technology, and NOW we were seeing the real stuff)
Disliked: The "Rambo" ending where one human had a shoulder cannon on each shoulder. Whaaa?
and from here on out it's all the stuff I didn't like.............
The Human zombie workers w predator legs and insect arms. What...the... frak? So stupid. Why not just have a race of slaves (insects) working? Like some race the predator race originally enslaved is now mutually intertwined? That makes sense to me.
The Predator sleds. Yah, OK... so they have the rocketsleds/choppers. Right. Fine... they could be cool? However the "Return of the Jedi" race in the woods? Lame. Been there, done that... some parts were ripped directly from ROTJ. Ducking and having 2 run into each other? Jumping off and having the chaser smash into a tree? Horrible. Please come up w something original.
Dutch/lead. Well, he doesn't do much as he's a prisoner in most of it. At least make him free half way through like Riddick. Hey! Riddick? Now, that Arnie isn't involved, I could picture someone like the Riddick character in this. In fact, Dutch sounds just like him in the beginning... where he is quietly observing everything around him to make his attack. I wonder if David Twohy read this script before... Naaaahhhh!!!
:nerd
The ending. So the 'twist' with releasing the rouge predator to help the humans? Hmmm... I'm not so sure if Arnie's character should 'ride off into the sunset' with him. Sorry, but too corny for me. Maybe if this was PG-13, but thank go the amount of gore in this, well, yah. This ain't no PG-13. I did appreciate the gore level in this one. It did go over the top and might be a bit too saturated where at the end you are desensitized to it all. As Transformers 2 or Terminator Salvation demonstrates, if you don't care about a character = you don't emphasize when they get hurt or die. When the characters in Predator die, you are sad for their deaths... even tho they are gnarly, asshole mercenaries. I mean, I get a pang whenever seeing 'the body' Ventura get his guts blown out by an unseen enemy. You don't really have that here. Then again, maybe some great actors' portrayal could bring some to these guys?
There's a lot that can be brought here and worked on. On the bright side, even tho this script is not that great (it is just a 1st draft from the 90's anyway) it in its present form is still miles better than AVP or AVP2.
With Nimród Antal directing it? It might just have that interesting character development and dynamic action this type of script needs. Looks promising... hey, anyone who cast fooking Remo Williams, Morpheus, and Leon the Professional in a film can't be too bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEV7bTWpG8w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IdKpgwA2eo
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