the predator (2018) review
The Predator tests the validity of the common film industry saying that “no one sets out to make a bad movie.” The film is head-scratchingly awful and completely misguided in presentation and execution. It didn’t have to be. Director/co-writer Shane Black was a cast member of the original 1987 classic. He was literally there. He gave us hope that he might rescue the franchise from itself. Fans like myself came to the reasonable conclusion that his close connection and experience with the best iteration of the franchise meant we could expect The Predator to at minimum give us some recognizable elements. It wasn’t that we were expecting another Predator, it’s that we were imagining a Black-led sequel as something that would feel like it came from the same universe. We would come to find that this is a Predator film in name only. The tone, pace, and story combine to create a film that feels dreamt up by someone who’s never seen a Predator film and doesn’t have a clue as to why the franchise has endured for so long. Say what you want about Robert Rodriguez’s 2010 Predators film or even the nigh universally forgotten AVP films (I know that’s a reach, stay with me) but at least they attempted to maintain their focus and didn’t give us nonsensical broad comedy throughout their runtimes. Have you ever watched the deleted scenes/outtakes/gag reels from a serious film and thought to yourself “I completely understand why these takes were left on the cutting room floor”? The Predator uses those takes. Please Mr. Black, explain why you felt The Predator needed to be an extended Saturday Night Live sketch. The good? The visual effects are great and the classic predator looks more or less like the classic predator. The uber-predator looks like he was created in a computer because he was. We learn at the films conclusion that the MacGuffin is a technological device that transforms an ordinary human into a predator-hunter. This had the potential to be an interesting take and direction for the mythology. Perhaps we’ll find out in 2022 when they make Predator versus Batman.
The Predator gets a 2/10 for general audiences and a 3/10 for franchise die-hards. The score for the die-hards is largely irrelevant as we’ve all seen it by now.