Watching the 2018 version of "Predator" in the giant screen theater, the audio and video effects are obviously no longer the same as that of 1987 when the series was born. The first "Predator" directed by John McTiernan 30 years ago At the beginning, the predator, whose main characteristics are stealth, strong offensive power, and hunting habits, became a sci-fi type benchmark comparable to the space monsters developed in the "Alien" series. In the new version of "Predator", it contains the outstanding habits of the old version of the predator, and at the same time strengthens the reaction and mutual assistance of human beings when facing an almost invincible enemy. Compared with the predator series, the 2018 version of "predator" seems to be a step further from the orthodox genre film, but because of this, the strong contrast between the creator's huge ambition and the effect is particularly surprising.
In the first part of 1987, Schwarzenegger played the special force Dach and led his team to go into the jungles of South America to rescue the hostages. The first half is actually a relatively standard military action film, but the second half is slaughtered by predators. Qi used his own power to reorganize the original ecology to kill the alien visitors, and became a B-level comprehensive experience film with both cult temperament and soft science fiction. It can be said that from the beginning of "Predator", the basic positioning of this series was set between the mainstream production and the low cost of cult, and the epic pattern was embedded in the action scene construction in a relatively novel way, with the same effect. good.
On the other hand, the new version, the visual effects are very standard current mainstream Hollywood productions, the predator’s eyes are locked on the target screen, the battle scene and two different enemies (one of them is not even hostile to humans) battle scenes, it can be said to have reached A relatively high industrial standard, if it is placed in a movie of the same genre with other themes, can also be established more satisfactorily. However, the new version has two major omissions that are extremely difficult to bridge.
The first is that most of the action scenes in the film are night scenes. In the old work, the jungle itself constitutes a visual spectacle, and the daytime drama can make the extreme danger of the invisible predator fully displayed. The new version transplants some of the characteristics of the predator to humans, and also makes the predator itself appear to be able to kill each other. However, the pure black physical appearance of the species itself and the series of night scenes together constitute a visual barrier that is extremely easy to fatigue the audience. , Uncontrolled and repetitive battles are more burdensome for viewers. The 3D effect of the film (possibly special for China) is close to zero, and glasses become the third cumbersome.
On this basis, the boring death of the film at the screenwriter level has become the last straw that overwhelms the audience's mind and body. When the visual fatigue is particularly dissipated, the characters in the film still do not forget to lift each other when they are on the verge of life and death. The creator may have the intention to create a mystery complex that combines elements of the old genre with the characteristics of other works in film history. Obviously, such an attempt has basically failed. Even if it is unreasonable mutual ridicule, it is by no means an American talk show cleverly choreographed by jokes. On the contrary, the soldiers and female scientists fighting against the predators in the film fall into a kind of awkward circle. The jokes that come out of their mouths, Trying to achieve the effect of a sitcom, but in fact it is not funny at all, and even makes people instinctively suspicious of the characters' overall IQ. The performance or weakness or exaggeration adds to the burden of watching the movie's literary play (in fact, it may even be any non-fighting scenes that speak). The situation that one after another embarrassing joke is built on is often the life of the protagonist’s son. Every day or the predator is pressing harder and tighter. The human beings slaughtered in the film are as straightforward as the old ones. However, there is no way to arouse the audience's panic or sympathy. The fundamental reason may be that the drama has portrayed them into combat tools that do not possess basic normal human logic.
Thirty years later, "The Predator" was produced by Fox. In fact, it has another connection with the first part of the year. In the first part, a special soldier with glasses, Hawkins, died tragically by the predator shortly after his appearance. Hand, this special soldier is played by the new director Shane Black. As the director of Marvel's "Iron Man 3", Shane's performance in "Predator" can be described as unsatisfactory. Thirty years ago, the film not only caused the public to watch the trend of composite commercial genres such as science fiction thriller and war, but also the epitome of the expansion of American pop culture to the world. The American screen in the Reagan era consisted of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, The physical lone heroes composed of Bruce Willis are replaced by fantasy superheroes surrounded by CG special effects today. Therefore, the weak group image and the duplication of the heterogeneous self-fighting bridges presented in "Predator" are actually just individuals on the screen. The epitome of the era in which the strong explosive power of the physical body is gradually weakened. The director seems to attach great importance to the intertextual system of the film, but he has not been able to clearly clarify the level of sobriety that the creator should achieve when facing the development history of the genre itself. It is indifferent to the recipient. This is another aspect of lonely self-admiration, and it strips away the part under the mysterious coat, which is actually quite boring. For a mainstream commercial film, especially a work with a mission to continue the quality of a masterpiece, it can be called a disaster in any case.
View more about The Predator reviews
