With menacing body armor, sharp teeth, shoulder cannons and dread locks down their backs, "Predators" are one of the most feared monsters in modern cinema. Much like the 1987 film of similar name the Robert Rodriguez produced and Nimord Antal directed film lived up to "Predator" standards even if the film didn't break the mold...

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Never ignoring the past the new "Predators' movie does a great job of paying homage to the original without making the same film. This felt like a "Predator" film should feel like and you could also tell the project was dripping with Robert Rodrguez's touch.

Credited only as producer and visual effects supervisor on this project, Rodriguez leaves Nimrod Antal to direct, presumably thinking that after a half-decent crack at horror via (Vacancy) and a partially successful action flick (Armored), he was ready to deliver the full action-horror bloodbath. It seemed to work for the most part.

The film hit the ground running as we follow the mercenary Adrien Brody (who did a great job in his role, as all the cast did) crashing into a strange jungle floor. His fate is shared by an assortment of multiracial tough guys including special forces representatives from Africa, Russia and Israel (sole female lead Alice Braga), a well suited Yakuza, a Death Row convict ("The Shield’s" Walton Goggins) and everyone's favorite Mexican badboy (Danny Trejo). They are all trained killers with the curious exception of the nerdy doctor, Topher Grace, who seems out of place the entire movie albeit it for a good reason.

None of them really understand what was going on or how they ended up in this foreign land and Rodriguez doesn't press the issue on us. We basically learn they are the best of the best survivors and were chosen by the Predators for a good old fashioned game hunt. What would you do if you ran out of deer on Earth? Fly to a planet, grab some, let them go and hunt them. Makes sense, right? Either way that's the plot and it holds up better than we thought it would.

Despite three variations on the classic "Predator" that the master Stan Winston originally created, we can't fully get behind the appearance of the "Predators" themselves. The look and actions of the aliens are still not what the original classic film and its 1990 sequel provided. These creatures seemed much more bulky and less agile (also weaker), a problem that plagued the Alien VS Predator series as well. Nonetheless it's something that is noticeable but doesn't take away from the classic experience.

From the signature "Predators" click-and-whump sound design and patches of Alan Silvestri’s 1987 musical score to the reworking of the original’s most spine-ripping moments (literally) and the jungle setting, everything is introduced to elicit memories of Schwarzenegger times (which is never a bad thing). The film didn't try to become something it wasn't. That we loved!

The sense of paying homage is reinforced by a rampaging pack of alien "dogs" that looked more like they belonged in James Cameron's "Avatar" and Laurence Fishburne playing the "I've seen it all and done it all, now I may be a little crazy" effect as the planet's only long-term human survivor.

Even with the setting feeling familiar throughout and the obvious lifts from the original film, Antal never lets up on the action except for a few small scenes that could have been trimmed. We can't state this enough, it felt like a "Predator" movie. That's what we wanted going in and what we were left with coming out. It's a great summer action-horror film that grizzled "Predator" fans will enjoy as will the noob that goes in blind having never witnessed a mutilated corpse hanging upside down from a tree.

HorrorBid gives "Predators" a solid 8 out of 10 stabs...