Summary
A young boy accidentally calls Predator to earth and soldiers have to fight off the alien.
My Thoughts:
Wow, this was disappointing.
I had moderate hopes for this film when I first heard about it; I generally like Shane Black (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, “The Nice Guys”), so I hoped that the director might be able to breathe new life into a series that had been somnambulant since the 80s. As the release date came nearer, and the reviews started to roll in, I knew I was probably in for a disappointment, but I was not expecting this film to be as awful as it was. I don’t expect this to be a long review, because the film gave me nothing at all to work with. This is easily the worst of the Predator series, and maybe even worse than the Alien Vs Predator movies. It’s an emotionless, flat ride through brainless violence that culminates in a yawn-inducing climax and gives you a twist that ruins the Predator species. Literally the minute the credits started to roll, I turned to my friends and said, “That sucked.” And they immediately agreed.
“I think we’re gonna die! Just pointing it out!”
The plot for this film is paper-thin. A boy (Jacob Tremblay, “Room”) opens a package sent to his soldier dad (Boyd Holbrook, “Logan”) and accidentally summons Predator to the suburbs. Dad and a team assemble together to fight predator; violence ensues. Among the more famous actors in this film are Olivia Munn (“Ocean’s Eight”), Thomas Jane (“The Punisher”), Trevante Rhodes (“Moonlight”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Keanu”), Sterling K. Brown (“Hotel Artemis”), Alfie Allen (“John Wick”), and Yvonne Strahovski (“Killer Elite”).
Um…
In this movie there are actors, and they stand in front of the camera and recite lines. Sometimes they act. Sometimes the dialogue is funny, but mostly it’s not.
In all seriousness, if I were to pick one good thing about this movie it would be when Shane Black seemed to care about the dialogue. There were some funny lines, but a lot of the writing was uneven; some of the writing was uncharacteristically lazy for Black. There is a decent amount of action, but a lot of it is poorly shot, and it’s hard to care about the characters because they are barely developed. A lot of the action is absolutely ridiculous too, and not in a ‘this is hilarious’ kind of way, but in a ‘this is stupid and I want it to end’ kind of way. The third act is absolutely horrendous. I read that after the test screenings, the climax was reshot due to poor reception, and it boggles my mind to think that this version was the ‘fixed’ cut of the film.
Perhaps this film’s biggest crime was that it did absolutely nothing for the Predator franchise. This film is a nothing movie- it’s not bad enough that people will watch it to laugh at it, and it’s not good enough that people will watch it unironically. At this point, I’m guessing this movie will fade from my memory before the week is out, and I’m all right with that. If you want a better “Predator” sequel rewatch “Predator 2” or even “Predators”. They’re not great, but they aren’t as awful as this.
Verdict:
Well, I figured this review would be short and it was. There is no point in lamenting over a franchise that’s fallen this low, just forget it and move on. Give it ten years (or less) and they’ll try again, just like they keep doing with the Alien franchise. Where’s the originality in Hollywood anymore? Are there only two killer alien species you can think of? Give me something to get excited about. Please. I want another good blockbuster.
Review Written By: