Code Red

There will probably be a lot of spotty nerds squealing that this is a cheap Predator rip-off. Believe me, it ain't.

Predator was about, well, an alien predator. So as not to spoil the plot, I'll just say, this ain't. It's got everything, including a bald general (they should have got the guy from Stargate), a likeable psycho commander, a female Lara Croft-lookalike commander complete with PhD and martial art skills, several amusing soldiers who drop faster than Captain Kirk's security officers on an away mission and, well, the aliens (yes, plural). It's sort of Predator, Jurassic Park, Top Gun and a few other genres rolled into one. But believe me, it's not mindless patriotic gun-ho violence.

A worthwhile video. And if you have your mates round, you can play "Guess who buys it next"!

Verdict: 7/10

It is NOT where they got the idea for Aliens vs Predator. Dark Horse Comics had the Aliens vs. Predator comics starting in 1989.

Decent movie but could have been better. Special effects are not half bad. The acting wasn't horrible and the creature is just a copy of the Predator (not exact but very similar) A good way to reach out to predator fans by imitating something they love. The added bug aliens are interesting. Even the alien ship looks fairly similar to some of the designs for Predator style ships.

I do wish people wouldn't come down so hard on a movie just because it borrows from other more popular movies. This movie does a good job of making the subjects its own without being too blatant.

¡°Code Red: Rubican¡± is about a soldier forced into exile due to ¡°psychological¡± disorders resulting from a failed mission in the past. When a commando mission in the jungle goes horribly wrong, he is called in to help lead the next team. When they enter the jungle and discover the mutilated bodies of the previous team, they quickly realize that there is more to this mission than they were told. While watching this movie I found it hard not to compare it with another very well known movie of a similar nature. (Predator)

Those who like movies where people wander through the jungle and are preyed upon by unknown forces, should enjoy this movie. I was not that thrilled. Late night television only.

Yes, this film is obviously influenced in great part by Predator and is in no way an equal to that classic. But you know what? It's not supposed to be! It's not a big budget Hollywood flick. It's a B-movie. A made-for-TV one at that. By that standard, Code Red is actually a bit above average. The acting is decent and the directing is competent. It's not ultra stylish, but the director knows where to put the camera and there is vigor in some of the action scenes. Most surprisingly, the weapons and costumes aren't laughably inaccurate like many B-movies. Which is not to say it's perfectly authentic (eg, they fly around in a civilian helicopter), but at least you don't have American soldiers carrying around low-end foreign weapons because that's all the production could find at that filming location.

Finally, the concept is fun and goes beyond simply being a Predator clone. With its secret government bases, alien conspiracies, and other pulpy sci-fi novel elements, the whole thing takes on a fun, "X-Files by way of action movie" feel. If you can accept that you won't be seeing Hollywood production values, then you may find Code Red to be an enjoyable little film.

Plenty of deep jungle scenery, tense army guys shouting at each other. Even the "shooting the bushes" scene is there, only without the minigun this time.

In fact, this is not a particularly bad film. The acting is a bit middle of the road, some of the characterisations are comically over the top, but if you're willing to let some of the bigger plot holes by, it's actually quite watchable. Just don't expect your intelligence to be stretched...