Predator: Dark Ages (2015)

So much average

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This swords and sci-fi short is very impressive for what it is - an independent, crowd funded flick set in Predieval (TM) period, done on a minimal budget in a short turnaround time. The biggest problem IS that it isn't long enough, but that is more down to the fact that it would have been able to flesh out the characters a bit more. It was never really going to happen in a sub 30 minute film, and an extra 20 minutes might have helped it, and potentially could be used as a decent pilot episode for a series,, were it not unofficial! Another problem with it was the script, or rather, the dialog. The the plot was not exactly original, and had a couple of rather hackneyed plot and characterisation devices, such as 'let's split up... ' , an almost inevitable 'christian vs muslim' thread and a little mod to equality that seemed a little forced, it was to the point. But to achieve this, the dialogue seemed a little forced, and as trying to prove it's medieval cred.A little ( or a lot!) more research into the period, and more fluid, dynamic dialogue would have raised my score an extra 1- 2 stars, since there was very little to fault in the sparse but effective, even nostalgic effects. Solidly done, as were the fight scenes. Well, scene. The director made good use of the limited budget on locations, being shot entirely in woods / the countryside save one scene shot in a pretty convincing but er... compact and bijou... encampment. Obviously such constraints need to be made, but good use of sweeping ariel shots give a sense of scale, and the locations and cinematography belie the fact that this was shot for the price of a Danny Glover lookalike for your childs party. Props and costumes were very good - minimal, as they would have been - but adequate. I haven't said much about the acting, and that's because it didn't strike me as much as the other things did. It is adequate. Good, even, given the dialogue they had to work with. With a better scriptwriter, and an extra 20 minutes, this could have been a very proficient pilot for a series. *For <$6000! They could film a whole series of this for the cost of even an average Netflix pilot! :) I enjoyed it. I was pretty much mistaken in my suspicion that a fan- flic was going to be low- budget- awful, and i feel that i can rate this short against major Hollywood releases , and still feel fair in giving it a solid 6. Imagine what they could do with a even a Netflix budget!

First off, this is a well put together fan movie. I'd say predator fans would be satisfied. It plays very safe; so it does rip off the previous movie's though. However, for a fan movie, this is incredibly well made. The acting is solid and the script is good. The action is well directed and the score and effects are in line. I actually want this to be made into a proper Hollywood movie!

This is the second short I see of predator and it's just gets better, well paced, well acted, I didn't mind the CGI cause I understand they are on a budget so things had its limits but besides that a great tale. It used its elements perfectly the director knows how a Predator movie works and what to do. This is a great example of a short movie well made and making it with such an iconic character as Predator it makes for a great premise, I hope they make others shorts with predators threw time, and the waited story about the gun in the second movie.Give it a watch it's worth the 27 minutes.

I happened to come across "Predator: Dark Ages" by sheer random luck and decided to give it a chance. And it blew me away. This short film is well worth a place in the official "Predator" franchise.Everything about it was up to par with a Hollywood production. The production and editing level was just fantastic and very professional. The actors did a really good job and the props and costumes were great. Well, aside from the Freya character, who was essentially just a female non-elven version of Legolas. I had never expected this kind of production value from a fan-made project. Even down to the music, everything was just spot on. Director James Bushe really captured the essence of the "Predator" universe.The acting in "Predator: Dark Ages" was up there on the same high level as the rest of the movie. And it was refreshing with a bunch of new faces. And I really applaud their work here.This unofficial "Predator" movie was an amazingly great surprise, and I can do nothing but recommend it to all who enjoy the official "Predator" movies in all their forms and variety."Predator: Dark Ages" lands a solid seven out of ten stars rating from me.