Dad spends a night in the man cave: With a vengeance

It was a bonus night in the man cave for dad tonight.  Mom had to attend a birthday party for a child and dad got to put Toddler Mojo to bed.  In our eyes we drew the long straw because that meant that we could rent a man cave movie.

We had wanted to see Predators for a while; it’s a great character that was maligned through a series of alien mash ups and hammy acting by Danny Glover. The first Predator was great.  It’s a classic that is arguably Arnold’s best movie.  Considering that most of his movies stink up a sulfur plant that is saying something.

This installment of our favorite camouflaged alien has them hanging out on a planet where humans are dropped onto as ‘game’.  The predators watch and then hunt them one by one until one or two survive and a sequel is made two years later. If you didn’t know that’s how the Predators would end, then you haven’t watched enough movies in the man cave.

Predators starts out fast, with a series of soul less killers being parachuted onto a foreign planet.  These mercenaries, assassins and mobsters then try to figure out who is toughest, where they are and what they’re doing there.    Thankfully one of these mercenaries did some work with the CIA and knew about the encounter with the predator in the jungle in 1988.

For me the movie started to come off the rails at that point.  It was only a curve ball at first, but then Lawrence Fishburne entered the picture with (again) a hammy performance as a soldier who has lasted on the planet for 11 ‘seasons’.

The movie fully derailed and lost my interest when Topher Grace reveals that he’s a turn coat and tries to sabotage the group’s efforts to get off the planet. People kill a predator or two and then see more ‘game’ landing on the planet. Oh how I wanted to be entertained by Predators.  To be fair, the first half was really good, but the second half left me like I’d eaten Chinese food for dinner and it was three hours later.

The Verdict Skip Predators unless you’re a diehard fan of the original.  Dad, your solo nights at home are rare and this movie most likely won’t entertain you.    Go watch Firefly or see what’s on G4 instead.

Dad spends a night in the mancave is a series about what guys do when women aren’t around to judge them for what they watch on television.  It’s those really bad science fiction movies, questionable action films or something starring Bruce Campbell that really can be enjoyable through the lens of a guy.  We may reveal plot points to the movies that are discussed, so if you’re looking for ‘reviews’ then head on over to a site that will talk about Sense and Sensibility, cause it isn’t here.