The Predator

The Predator is a disappointing film on several different levels (I came right out and said it, didn't I?). 

The first level of disappointment comes with this enemy, the Predator creature him(it?)self, that, despite all its awesome design gets kind of wasted and I'm not sure has ever lived up to his potential. 

The second comes from writer and director Shane Black -- usually someone you can count on in the directors chair -- who has a decently substantial tumble in quality from his recent endeavor, The Nice Guys which ended up making my Top 10 of 2016. I'd even argue it's a decline from Iron Man 3, but I know how resentful some people are about that film so I'll stay away from it.

The Predator starts off with a ship crashing to earth, carrying one of the baddies, who ends up interfering with a military operation. One of the soldiers takes some of the gear from the ship. Low and behold, that gear is "important" and thus the predator starts to track it. Along the way, a BIG Predator comes to hunt the smaller one and chaos ensues. 

To say that it's a disappointing story would be an understatement, but I couldn't tell you exactly what story I would make up if I were making a Predator film so it begs the question if this series has run its course. The stakes feel decidedly small here and it's confusing as our group moves from one location to the next just what exactly is going on and who's running from who. There are half-baked ideas at nearly every turn that don't quite go anywhere, whether that be a character "flaw" that's only once mentioned or showed, or a connection to climate change that is stated but then forgotten about. It's all a bit odd coming from someone like Black and the disorganization of the film (and inability to really track with it) is a negative side-effect that he brought with him from 80s action films. 

Cue "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban

Still listening to Josh Groban I see...

Circling back to layers of disappointment, The Predator also has a strong cast of which it only partially takes advantage of. Boyd Holbrook (baddie from Logan) is our main character and I don't think he was the right choice to center the film around. He does fine enough, but almost every other character is more interesting than him. Sterling K. Brown gets to have the most fun -- and coincidentally is the most fun to watch -- as a jerk military operator. He's a bit wasted and, with a little more focus, could have been a human villain equivalent to our Predator. Keegan-Michael Key and Olivia Munn are good enough and provide some comedic humor but Key feels oddly underused and Munn feels oddly overused. The film utterly wastes Yvonne Strahovski and kind of annoyed me with its kid presence, despite it being Jacob Tremblay, who's genuinely talented but feels very forced here.

The humor, something that you can usually count on Black for, is a mixed bag too. I definitely laughed at parts and there are several dialogue strings that are typical Shane Black quips, but there were also a LOT of jokes/one-liners/quips that fell completely flat in my nearly-full opening night audience. My hypothesis is that Black strove for the 80s feel of the original and in doing so, he kind of neutered himself and his own distinct brand of humor. Many of these particular "homages" to the 80s corn dialogue seem forced and don't come out well or lead to eye-rolling moments vs. lines that are "so bad they're good". 

So if our story is mediocre, our cast is mediocre (more so not taken full advantage of), and the writing is similarly mediocre -- what else is there? Ahhh yes. The gore and violence. Luckily this is where The Predator does get it [mostly] right and is the main reason I stayed somewhat entertained. The actual filming of the action is questionable, and gets worse as the film goes on, but basically any scene with a Predator has ample amounts of brutal deaths and gore. It's all CGI gore, but still pretty gnarly and for me it was the only aspect of the film that lived up to my [likely inaccurate] expectations. Sure there could have been some better editing and cinematography to go along with the action and violence, but it seems beggars can't be choosers.

Now listening to "I Threw it on the Ground" by Lonely Island

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting with The Predator, but perhaps my expectations were thrown off by Shane Black being at the helm of it all. Ultimately the film turns out just about the same as if any other filmmaker would have gotten a stab at the franchise (pun somewhat intended) and it results in a serviceable, but forgettable film in a series that, other than its character design and Arnold, also are starting to seem more and more forgettable.

CONS

• A small stakes, hard to follow story that seems to try and go a hundred different directions and ends up being just...there
• Some cast members get overused, some overused, but none are really put out as a highlight except maybe Sterling K. Brown
• Makes Jacob Tremblay seem like a bad actor (he's not)
• Pretty poor/average script
• Lots of jokes go without a laugh
• Serviceable but not great: editing, cinematography, original score

PROS

• When specific cast members do get to shine, they take full advantage
• The Predator is still a damn cool villain
• When Black gets back to his roots with dialogue, it can be a pretty funny film
• Decent/good CGI
• Features some good R-rated violence and some awesome gore and deaths -- which, let's face it -- is the main reason you're coming to see a Predator

Rath's Review Score | 6/10