Dude, 'Predators' is up your gore alley

The pulp movie will always be with us, but this year there has been a resurgence. It began with "The Losers" and "The A-Team," and promises to continue in August with Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables" and in September with Robert Rodriguez's "Machete." Right now, there's "Predators," which aims to reignite a sci-fi franchise from the action-filled 1980s.

This is good news if you're a certain kind of moviegoer - probably a dude, probably between 18 and 34, who has been feeling underserved by a glut of family-friendly adventures ("The Last Airbender") and kissy-poo "Twilight" sequels. In your ideal world, Jacob and Edward wouldn't just bicker, they'd disembowel each other.

Dude, get thee to "Predators." It opens with a mercenary named Royce (Adrien Brody) falling through the clouds, unable to open his chute. After he lands in a misty jungle, others plop down nearby. They're the usual international toughs - Russian, Mexican, Japanese, African - except for the exotic beauty (Alice Braga) and the scrawny doctor (Topher Grace). After a few clues, Royce realizes what you already knew: Someone is hunting humans.

"Predators" is only nominally one of the many sequels to "Predator" (1987), the semiclassic sci-fi flick with Arnold Schwarzenegger. This movie spins its own story while simply borrowing the Predator creatures - aliens with heat-vision, lasers and superhuman strength. They're not updated but lovingly re-created, hokey costumes, Martian dreadlocks and all.

Director Nimrod Antal ("Armored") runs a tight ship and stays relentlessly on schedule. That means you'll never wait long for the next explosion or decapitation. Dude, what more do you want?