The Predator

Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Jake Busey, Yvonne Strahovski
Directed by: Shane Black
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Predators return to Earth to hunt humans and only a small band of people can stop them.

Review:

Tim: There was some genuine excitement about what director Shane Black could do with The Predator. This is a franchise that is still hunting for a return to the heights of the original. The first sequel couldn't do it, the two Alien team-ups failed to meet expectations. 2010's Predators got the closest- I enjoyed that movie and consider it the second-best in the franchise. This, the 6th film in the franchise had potential. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what happened, because this is clearly a step backwards. This is a decent movie, but never more than that. Shane Black made a bunch of odd choices that doomed this film. As a whole, it does some things well, but it's head-scratching why it didn't turn out better.

I believe the script here really didn't do the film any favors. Black co-wrote the script, so this failure really belongs with him. What's maddening is that there are some legitimately cool aspects of the film. The whole idea that there would be a rush on Predators hunting humans because they believe our planet was doomed was such a cool angle to the story. Supply potentially plummets, demand is going to go up. I enjoyed that aspect. I also thought the whole evolution of Predators was a cool idea. It felt underdeveloped and never leveraged to its full extent, but the inherent idea potentially could take the franchise in some cool, new directions. It felt like this film tried to evolve the franchise as a whole, which was a needed development. Unfortunately, the good ideas aren't fully realized and it all kind of fizzles out. The comedy really felt off. I think Black is a funny guy and he's proven that in previous films, but it never works here. The jokes are cringe-worthy and tone-deaf. They're sophomoric and unfunny. The "thumbs up" scene has to be one of the low points of this franchise. I was shocked how unfunny Black's film proved to be.

Outside of these cool aspects to the story, the rest of the movie is incredibly generic. We have a small group of humans who have to band together to fight the predators and survive. It all feels like it's been done before- both in this franchise and in others as well. I was quite frankly bored with this aspect of the film. It truly feels poorly thought out. We do get some character development, but not nearly enough to build a strong emotional connection to them. They felt like complete throwaway characters. Many of them would die, so why get invested? Even though we know some will live, we're not given a compelling enough reason to care about them.

I was a bit surprised that Boyd Holbrook was cast in the lead role. I suppose he does a mostly good job, but he just doesn't seem memorable enough. He might look the part, but I'd be shocked if Holbrook was ever a star. This franchise has had Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover, and Adrien Brody in lead roles. I'm sorry, but Boyd Holbrook is a major drop in quality. That hurts the film. I liked the casting of Trevante Rhodes- again, he wasn't the most memorable character, but he added to the film with his strong performance. Jacob Tremblay was good- he's really a talented young actor. However, Tremblay's whole plot felt wrong for this franchise. These movies are supposed to be testosterone-fueled and having the whole family angle didn't quite work. I appreciate the story trying something different, but I never believed this kid was a genius. It felt forced. Keegan-Michael Key added a good performance, but his character was too cartoonish. I was quite dismayed to see Thomas Jane used so poorly here. I really like Jane, but his Tourette's syndrome character never generated the laughs it was supposed to. His character felt like a complete miss and I lament Jane was wasted in this way. I never believed Olivia Munn was as intelligent as her character needed to be, but she surprised me because I didn't hate her performance. She was decent. Alfie Allen was fine, but I continually forgot he was in the film. Sterling K. Brown also felt underutilized in his role. Yvonne Strahovski was the same story- glad to see her, bummed she didn't have more to do. Really, Black doesn't effectively use his cast.

The story is a bit of a mess and we don't get any exceptional action scenes. There's enough movement that the film never fully loses our attention, but it all feels so generic and redundant. I went into this film hoping it was going to be a return to form and it felt like just "yet another" movie in the franchise. The Predator is a disappointment, there's no doubt about that. It's a decent film, so you can't be too outraged, but this franchise deserves better than this. Rather than moving the franchise forward and inspiring confidence in the future, it represents a step back. It hurts the overall franchise and it feels like we'l need another reboot at some point.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Predator, Predator 2, Alien v. Predator, Predators