I'll just go ahead and say it, it's been over twenty years since there has been a good "Predator" film ... and that was the original. But the wait is over thanks to visionary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal (the underrated "Armored") who have finally put a strong script, good plot, excellent characters and phenomenal actors above body counts and special effects. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of dead bodies and amazing special effects to go around in Predators but it's the film's other qualities that make this movie a breakthrough and a triumph for the franchise. Rodriguez and crew succeed with this picture where others like, Bryan Singer, failed with "Superman Returns." Much like J.J. Abrams did with "Star Trek," Rodriguez was able to create a completely new story, with strong new characters that lives and breathes on its own merits while organically connecting it to the original source material. Thus having something interesting and original for newcomers to the franchise as well as including everything that diehard fans expect from a film entitled, "Predators."

I'm aware that most fans will want to know as little as possible about the film before they see it so I will do my best to give as little away as possible about the film. That being said, you may want to skip the rest of this review, as I will be describing the plot in some very general terms. SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!!! The film begins by introducing us to Oscar winner Adrien Brody's character, Royce; an ex-solider turned mercenary who has unknowingly just been dropped from a plane into a jungle. Soon he meets other people like him, who have also been dropped into the jungle against their will. Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov "Righteous Kill") a Russian commando, Mombasa (Mahershalashbaz Ali) a death squad officer, Cuchillo (Danny Trejo "Con Air") a Mexican drug cartel enforcer, Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien) a Yakuza assassin, Stans (Walton Goggins "The Shield") a notorious death-row inmate, Isabelle (Alice Braga, "I Am Legend") a Brazilian black ops sniper and Edwin (Topher Grace "Spider-Man 3") an average physician who seemingly does not belong with these dangerous characters.

The group decides that there is safety in numbers as they soon realize that there is something hunting them. Confused by their whereabouts, Royce becomes the unwilling leader of the group and heads to high ground to get a better look at there surroundings when they are shocked to find that they are no longer on Earth. It's not too long before the group is face to face with their hunters and realizes that what they are up against is not human. But it's not until they meet Noland (the great Laurence Fishburne), who is the only human survivor on the planet that they find out exactly what is going on. Now the group will need to band together and work as a team if they have any hope for survival and getting back to their home planet. There is not too much more I can say about the plot with out giving away the good stuff but I'll just say that the Predators look awesome and you get to see plenty of them in action. There are also some new species of Predators that we have never seen before that are definitely a high point of the film. But if you are hoping to see the "classic" looking Predator from the original film ... you won't be disappointed.

What is great about this film is that it totally embraces the original while creating something completely new. The idea of creating a Predator hunting planet, where these creatures practice their skills is brilliant and now sheds new light on why that Predator was in the jungle in the first film. I also loved the connections to the original, setting the film in a jungle and focusing on a group of different characters fighting together to survive. In fact, as different as they are, you can see similarities between this group of characters and the group from the original movie. Maybe that's why both of these films work so well? We care about the human characters and want to see them survive. In the "Alien vs. Predator" films, the humans didn't matter and that might be why those movies were cheap entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed those movies but I don't need to see them again. I could watch "Predator" or Predators over and over again and it's because I care about the characters as much as I care about the creatures in the film. A lot of the credit for that goes to the filmmakers for crafting such good characters and casting great actors but of course, the actors deserve a lot of credit for pulling this off. They were all amazing and perfect in their roles. In fact, Brody shows a lot of potential as the heroic lead and could have a new career as an action star.

Director Nimrod Antal who first hit the scene in 2003 with his celebrated film "Kontroll" has made his best film yet and clearly has picked up a pointer or two from his mentor Rodriguez. Antal directs the film with a fast-paced intensity that has been missing from the previous chapters. Also lacking from some of the last few films is the mystery of who these creatures are, which was so relevant to the first film and that is back in spades. In fact, I don't think you even see a full shot of a Predator until at least the second if not the third reel of the film and that is a good thing ... trust me! Dan Zimmerman, who actually edited "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem," more than makes up for that film with his work on this movie, which was sharp, tight and smart all the way. John Debney's score is terrific and fits the film perfectly but don't worry, Alan Silvestri's theme from the original film is well used through the course of the film. Oh, and fans of the first film should be sure to pay close attention to the music during the closing credits.

But in the end, it was the vision of producer Robert Rodriguez that made this film possible at all. In 1994, after shooting his groundbreaking film, "El Mariachi," and while he was waiting to make "Desperado," Rodriguez was hired by 20th Century Fox to write a screenplay for a new film in the "Predator" franchise. The script he wrote was to act as a direct sequel to the first film, ignoring "Predator 2," and featuring the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch. While that film was never made it did act as the catalyst for this movie and the basis for which the Predators script was based on. Writers Michael Finch and Alex Litvak, who adapted Rodriguez's original screenplay, did a ridiculously good job of capturing all of the danger and excitement of his original treatment. But if it wasn't for Rodriguez's vision and passion for the project, this chapter of the franchise may have never been made and fans would have been robbed of one of the best films in the series and one of the best movies of this summer.