LoginThe 'Predator' film series is a mixed bag, with the best being the 1987 film (a great film on its own) and its follow-up, the only great ones from personal opinion. Was actually really intrigued into seeing 'The Predator', despite hearing numerous bad things about it, and saw it anyway with an open mind. Just to make that clear in answer to the condescending accusations made by those defending the film without taking into account that those who didn't did see the film and simply didn't like it legitimately.
Can totally see why many were disappointed and share a lot of the criticisms directed against it. Didn't think it was that bad and it had its moments and decent assets, a 1-star film 'The Predator' isn't. Although towards the weaker end ranking films from 2018 seen, it is not one of the worst, being better than 'The First Purge' and 'Slender Man'. It's not a good film, hugely disappointing in fact, and has a lot of issues. As a Predator film 'The Predator' is a disgrace, but as a standalone film judged on its own terms it also doesn't work.
Before getting on to the faults, 'The Predator' has good points. It looks good, very slick and atmospheric with some of the effects being great and imposing.
At times, the action is fun and edge of your seat, contributing to the occasional glimpses of tension and excitement lacking elsewhere, with cohesive choreography and spectacular stunts. The film also begins promisingly, zippy in pace and quite thrilling.
When it comes to the predator, it is scary and imposing enough, as are the other creatures and their methods, and the gore does disturb and doesn't feel too gratuitous.
However, Shane Black's direction is constantly wayward and fails to generate much momentum, personality or clarity of storytelling. The character chemistry is not very natural and excepting perhaps Jacob Tremblay the acting doesn't seem very engaged or at ease. The characters are sketchy in development, are very difficult to get behind and their credibility is zero. There is effort to develop them, but through very clumsily written, superficially soap-operatic and blatant exposition that doesn't always feel necessary, adding nothing to the story or characters and failing to intrigue.
On top of that, the story, as well as being slight and at times sluggish, is far too complicated and busy which makes some of the film very hard to follow and at worst incoherent. There is lots of chaos and noise on the surface but no brains or soul underneath, while there is very little tension, suspense or surprises, relying on the action to make the film watchable which it marginally does. The atmosphere generally is bland and doesn't evoke enough scares, not enough to bite the nails anyhow. Nothing memorable about the music and the basic concept doesn't feel that much evolved, having not enough freshness, and it is too forgetful of what made the franchise at its best so great and too cheesy and bland to be a tribute or throwback.
It is the script that comes off the worst and nearly single-handedly brings 'The Predator' down, bad enough to warrant its own paragraph. It is far too talky in the exposition, it rambles often pointlessly and sometimes with not much cohesion, plausibility is as non-existent as the credibility, there is excessive sentimentality in spots and muddled moments and worst of all the over-reliance of humour. Next to none of the humour works which is a massive problem, it is eye-rollingly cheesy and not placed or timed very well too often, also being repetitive and distastefully vulgar.
Overall, not awful but mediocre. 4/10 Bethany Cox
The Predator Reviews
The Predator review
Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 29 March 2022 04:11
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An average movie
Posted : 4 years, 10 months ago on 21 June 2019 08:43
Even if this movie was a big commercial and critical flop, I still wanted to check it out though. It’s a shame because a Predator flick written and directed by Shane Black sounded so cool at first. However, it was indeed pretty weak, in fact, it turned out to be only slightly better than the terrible ‘Alien vs Predator’ movies. I mean, there were a couple of decent ideas but there were a whole bunch of bad ones as well. For example, I really have a weak spot for Olivia Munn and she tried really hard but to have a scientist trying to fight off such a skilled killing machine was lame. I mean, at some point, you get to see her running around with some toy gun after the predator which was just rather pathetic. Even worse, they decided to add some kid to the mix which was rather misguided. Indeed, as a result, you get to see some violent R rated action scenes with a young boy in the middle of the action. To make things worse, the kid was some autistic genius which has become such a lame and lazy gimmick. Finally, I don’t understand why they keep trying to turn the Predator into a good guy. Indeed, it’s such a tedious approach and it doesn’t make the character more entertaining at all. In this case, there was also just way too much explanation about the motivations of the Predators when this character has always been more interesting when he remained mysterious. Eventually, the only original idea I did like was the fact that the team of soldiers facing the Predator was composed of mental patients but even this idea was poorly developed. Seriously, it was maybe fun for 5 minutes but it got old very fast. Indeed, it could have been really neat to see this team of crazy guys having no sense of what is going on, taking some incredible risks and actually succeeding but, instead, they turned out to be some cowards which was definitely not what this kind of movies needs. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse, the whole thing felt like another missed opportunity to finally do something interesting with this franchise and I don’t think it is really worth a look.
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An insult. An affront. A spit in the face.
Posted : 5 years, 3 months ago on 22 January 2019 06:04
The third sequel to 1987's Predator (not counting the indefensible Alien vs. Predator pictures), 2018's The Predator was a promising prospect in theory. After all, this is a big-budget, R-rated continuation of the franchise helmed by Shane Black (who actually starred in the original film), with a screenplay credited to Black and the underrated Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps). Despite Black's undeniable talents, The Predator is a complete dumpster fire; a messy, unfocused, obnoxious affront to a science fiction classic, devoid of the intrigue, tension, grit, exhilaration, and gripping action of the John McTiernan-directed masterpiece that spawned it. Suddenly, the two previous sequels - Predator 2 and the underrated Predators - seem much better and are easier to appreciate.
While engaged in a hostage retrieval mission in Mexico, skilled U.S. Army sniper Quinn (Boyd Holbrook) witnesses the crash landing of a Predator spacecraft, and diverts from his mission to investigate the wreckage. Before the government catches up with him, Quinn mails several alien artefacts to his Texas home, where they wind up in the possession of his autistic son Rory (Jacob Tremblay). After questioning, Quinn is placed on a secure bus with Group 2; a motley group of government captives consisting of Nebraska (Trevante Rhodes), Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key), Baxley (Thomas Jane), Nettles (Augusto Aguilera), and Lynch (Alfie Allen). Witnessing the Predator violently escaping from a government facility, Quinn and his newfound friends take it upon themselves to kill the alien, teaming up with evolutionary biologist Casey (Olivia Munn) as the Predator travels to the suburbs to retrieve his equipment from Rory. However, with a larger and more dangerous Predator arriving on Earth in pursuit of the Fugitive Predator, the situation goes from bad to worse.
It feels as if Black and Dekker developed several story ideas for The Predator, but resolved to jam them all into a single motion picture. Any of the narrative concepts - remaking the first film with a ragtag team of mentally ill veterans in a contemporary Earth environment, the Predators having different opinions about an Earthly invasion, further exploring the 'Super Predator' idea, a Predator in the suburbs, and basically Mercury Rising in a Predator setting - could sustain a feature of their own (not all of them necessarily good, mind you). The Predator should be focused on Group 2 battling Predators, which is easily the strongest idea here, but it's diluted with the family angle that serves no essential narrative purpose; it feels shoehorned in to appeal to a wider demographic. Furthermore, a subplot involving the government is equally boring, not to mention wrong-headed in its execution. This is to say nothing of other baffling inclusions, such as Casey managing to befriend a Predator dog, which occurs without logic or motivation. Additionally, the Fugitive Predator viciously kills everybody it comes into contact with and seems solely concerned with destruction, yet it is revealed that this is a traitor who is opposed to hunting humans and came to Earth to gift humankind with a weapon to defend themselves against Predators. This type of stuff demonstrates the movie's disjointed nature - The Predator exhibits the hallmarks of an ambitious reboot that was compromised by a nervous studio, leading to a bare bones final cut.
As demonstrated in 2013's Iron Man 3, Black's modus operandi with a pre-existing franchise is to deconstruct the property whilst creating a dialogue-based action-comedy. However, Black's treatment of The Predator is disastrous, ignoring tension and grit to create a cartoonish farce in which every character delivers quips and jokes, logic be damned. Even though the constituents of Group 2 grapple with real-world ills like PTSD and Tourette Syndrome, such conditions are merely used as punch-lines, making this feel closer to a parody than a legitimate franchise entry. Even more excruciating are the meta jokes, with groan-worthy call-backs to the original film's iconic dialogue which, again, makes this feel like Scary Movie. Hell, a Predator even uses a severed human hand to give a thumbs up. Even with the studio interference, The Predator is undeniably the silliest and most absurd Predator-related movie to date, and certain audiences might embrace the movie since it's so gleefully retarded and packed with "humour." However, if the comedic material is not to your liking, and the campiness does not appeal to you, The Predator is an insufferable endurance test, and fans of the original movie (this reviewer included) will find the finished product mortally offensive.
Almost inevitably, the actors severely lack the machismo of the original Predator cast, and are not even as memorable as the ensemble glimpsed in 2010's Predators. Even though Holbrook has made positive impressions in films like Logan or the TV show Narcos, he's easily the most forgettable lead in a Predator movie to date. Keegan-Michael Key (understandably) earns the lion's share of the laughs, though he eventually fades into the background, while this is one of Thomas Jane's most disappointing performances in an action movie to date. The Predator even recruits Jake Busey to play the son of Gary Busey's Predator 2 role, but the resultant dull cameo squanders a golden opportunity. Black's tone-deaf dialogue makes matters worse, with Quinn's wife (Yvonne Strahovski) even delivering an impassioned speech about her husband's military achievements and positive attributes.
Despite The Predator's countless glaring flaws, it manages to only just keep its head above water for the first hour, with occasionally amusing jokes and entertaining set-pieces, while the Predator carnage is satisfyingly violent. However, the third act - which was entirely reshot merely a few months before the movie's release - is a total mess: it's beset with terrible ideas, baffling character decisions, and some of the worst digital effects ever glimpsed in a motion picture (SyFy original flicks included). The phoney-looking mayhem, especially the finale aboard a spaceship, is studiously uninvolving, feeling rushed from every technical perspective, while reshoot seams are visible. Worse, there is a distinct lack of cohesion to the final cut as a consequence of the reshoots, with unresolved narrative strands and disappearing characters. Adding insult to injury, The Predator closes with a gratuitous sequel set-up which is not only wildly out of place, but is a further insult to the sci-fi classic which started it all. The sequel tease (which will never be followed through) verifies that Black and Fox were solely interested in an expanded universe, even though this intellectual property does not lend itself to such a franchise. This type of blatant Marvel-inspired excess and idiocy has no place in a Predator movie.
At the very least, Black stayed true to his promise to deliver an R-rated sequel (one can only imagine how much worse a PG-13 cut would have turned out), Henry Jackman's retro-flavoured score gives the material agreeable flavour, and The Predator even resurrects the same font for its opening and closing titles that was used in the 1987 original (a nice touch). Outside of the hastily-reshot third act, the movie is often visually pleasing, with slick cinematography by veteran Larry Fong (Kong: Skull Island), but it's still not enough to redeem this bottom-of-the-barrel piece of shit.
This is it for the Predator series; Black has ruined it once and for all.
This is it for the Predator series; Black has ruined it once and for all.
3.4/10
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The Predator review
Posted : 5 years, 4 months ago on 23 December 2018 02:16
The Predator film franchise has often been a divisive one. People ardently defend or dismiss sequels and spin-offs as if they were the worst or best thing to come across their radar. Unfortunately, all this discussion is basically because everyone since the first film has tried to recapture that magic and fallen short, despite some great moments here and there.
Full disclosure, I love the first Predator film. It is not only a classic of the sci-fi genre but also a minted gem of action cinema. It is uncontested by any of it's successors to date. I used to have a great affection for "Predator 2" but, admittedly, it has not aged well, suffers from some silly situations, poor pacing, and sub-par writing/acting. Nevertheless it has some very iconic moments. The third film ("Predators") was seen as the red-headed stepchild of the lot by many fans but, honestly, I found it to be not only entertaining (despite some derivative elements) but way better than it's predecessor. I am, i know in the minority when by saying this. And so, I will continue to be in the minority by saying that "The Predator" is not as bad as it's been made out to be.
Make no mistake it still suffers from some major problems but ultimately it is such a brisk and satisfyingly action-packed flick that it's easy to overlook some of them (though not all). Do I feel that the film will hold up as time passes? No, it will most likely age badly but upon first viewing it won't prove utterly offensive to those not expecting a masterpiece which, let's be honest, we should be used to since the first sequel.
Much ballyhoo was made of certain elements, most notably the predator dogs and the plot element involving an autistic child perceived by the hunter aliens as a step up in evolution but in service of the film the concepts, though contrived or silly, work much better than they should. Acceptance of these will either make or break the film for you. Another big factor that plays in the same fashion is the comedy, mostly kept to the group of military outcasts facing the titular monster. This will either chime with you or it won't. Personally, having read the script, i was just relieved that the majority of their original lines were done away with but, ultimately, ended up kind of liking the ragtag team.
There are particular elements which are inexcusable, however. Most notably is the woeful over-dependence on CGI instead of physical effects. This would not be such a low blow if the effects were at the very least convincingly good but they are very obviously poor effects if not utterly abysmal. The final scene in the movie really made me groan. For all the brainless and flawed fun it had provided up to that moment, the film just decides to really stick it to you with the stupidest "reveal" imaginable that is relayed in the least convincing form ever. I felt like I had just watched a Saturday morning "to be continued" moment.
Character work is paper thin and somewhat generic and this might affect how much you care about the characters dependent more on taste than on quality but, as aforementioned, the steady clip of the movie kind of makes this easy to overlook. In addition, even if you don't mind the humor some of it will make your eyes roll on occasion. They could have liberally cut some of the truly ridiculous moments in this to the benefit of the film.
In the end, "The Predator" is a single serving, popcorn flick. Good for one go and maybe not much after. It is not a bad film so much as it is a mediocre film that manages to be fun despite its flaws. Even then, some moments and creative choices will tarnish any shine it manages to muster up. 6/10
Full disclosure, I love the first Predator film. It is not only a classic of the sci-fi genre but also a minted gem of action cinema. It is uncontested by any of it's successors to date. I used to have a great affection for "Predator 2" but, admittedly, it has not aged well, suffers from some silly situations, poor pacing, and sub-par writing/acting. Nevertheless it has some very iconic moments. The third film ("Predators") was seen as the red-headed stepchild of the lot by many fans but, honestly, I found it to be not only entertaining (despite some derivative elements) but way better than it's predecessor. I am, i know in the minority when by saying this. And so, I will continue to be in the minority by saying that "The Predator" is not as bad as it's been made out to be.
Make no mistake it still suffers from some major problems but ultimately it is such a brisk and satisfyingly action-packed flick that it's easy to overlook some of them (though not all). Do I feel that the film will hold up as time passes? No, it will most likely age badly but upon first viewing it won't prove utterly offensive to those not expecting a masterpiece which, let's be honest, we should be used to since the first sequel.
Much ballyhoo was made of certain elements, most notably the predator dogs and the plot element involving an autistic child perceived by the hunter aliens as a step up in evolution but in service of the film the concepts, though contrived or silly, work much better than they should. Acceptance of these will either make or break the film for you. Another big factor that plays in the same fashion is the comedy, mostly kept to the group of military outcasts facing the titular monster. This will either chime with you or it won't. Personally, having read the script, i was just relieved that the majority of their original lines were done away with but, ultimately, ended up kind of liking the ragtag team.
There are particular elements which are inexcusable, however. Most notably is the woeful over-dependence on CGI instead of physical effects. This would not be such a low blow if the effects were at the very least convincingly good but they are very obviously poor effects if not utterly abysmal. The final scene in the movie really made me groan. For all the brainless and flawed fun it had provided up to that moment, the film just decides to really stick it to you with the stupidest "reveal" imaginable that is relayed in the least convincing form ever. I felt like I had just watched a Saturday morning "to be continued" moment.
Character work is paper thin and somewhat generic and this might affect how much you care about the characters dependent more on taste than on quality but, as aforementioned, the steady clip of the movie kind of makes this easy to overlook. In addition, even if you don't mind the humor some of it will make your eyes roll on occasion. They could have liberally cut some of the truly ridiculous moments in this to the benefit of the film.
In the end, "The Predator" is a single serving, popcorn flick. Good for one go and maybe not much after. It is not a bad film so much as it is a mediocre film that manages to be fun despite its flaws. Even then, some moments and creative choices will tarnish any shine it manages to muster up. 6/10
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