Predator

Fans had high hopes for this one as a proper reboot to an already dwindling down franchise with the mediocre at best recent AVPs that were released. It was helmed by Shane Black who also wrote for Lethal Weapon 1987. Unfortunately the film didn’t deliver and was also mediocre at best. It did have gruesome killings, some fight scenes here and there, but it seemed like that was the only thing going for them.

The premise was a little annoying and probably set the film’s demise from the get-go. Late 80’s fans of the genre grew up watching these films with a testosterone-driven lead actor/actress, but with the recent rise of using child actors who seemed like they’re acting to get a participation certificate, this one wasn’t safe from it. It’s like they were paid to cast a child of someone important. They did try to fit it into the story with the boy being autistic and seeing the patterns/numbers on the device, but they could easily have done it without using a minor, might have made the film a bit more mature and not like a college thesis project.

Casting was a hot mess. The rag-tag gang was probably more enjoyable to watch if separate from the film. They did okay as a whole, Keegan-Michael Key and Alfie Allen stood out the most from the group, the rest wasn’t memorable, either lack of dialogue or lack of screentime, regardless, they were just there. Boyd Holbrook was there as the father of the child protagonist. Honestly, he was a very forgettable character, if it weren’t for him being given such a role, I never would’ve known who he was. Olivia Munn did a good performance, but her role, same thing with the child actor, felt forced.

Shane Black didn’t deliver as much as fans had hoped. He tried to incorporate action-comedy writing into a, what was supposed to be, an action packed battle for survival between Predators and humans. Most of the dialogue were unnecessary and forced humor were thrown out every now and then. It felt very out of place and cringe. The editing team also had their share of fun with this project. The ending felt rushed and didn’t feel like they were connecting with their audience.

What was expected to be a survival of the fittest battle, turned into having one of the Predators be an ally to humankind, he was supposed to kill everyone and cause mayhem, but the higher ups decided they’d make a hero out of it. They also added The Ultimate Predator, which I thought was a cool concept. It upgrades itself whenever it kills a warrior with significant skill.

The inclusion of a child with autism and a woman as their main protagonists worked for and against them. Though I would say that I thought that the idea of a person with autism is considered that of a higher being was cool. The often use of comedy dialogue ruined what the Predator genre was really about, instead it became a family-friendly PG-13 flick with some surprise gruesome kills, and I’d say it has to be viewed as separate from the usual Predator formula, or else you’d be very disappointed.