Just look at this cast and tell me how it can be bad. Thomas Jane (The Punisher, Dreamcatcher, The Mist), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones), Trevante Rhodes (Bird Box), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Olivia Munn (X-Men Apocalypse), Jake Busey (Starship Troopers, Enemy of the State, Twister, Identity), & Sterling K. Brown (Black Panther, Hotel Artemis, American Crime Story). So who is the star of this? Boyd Holbrook!!!
Hold up. Who the fuck is Boyd Holbrook? Well, Boyd has been in a vast assortment of shows and may become very popular soon given that he is in The Cursed on HULU and The Sandman on NetFlix. He was Pierce in Logan, Steve Murphy in Narcos, and William ‘Cap’ Hatfield in Hatfields & McCoys. He’s not a nobody, but he’s also not a big name.
I’m legitimately halfway through this, and they tried something different. I like the crazy guys in the film. It’s a good bunch. I have no idea why Busey isn’t part of that group considering how good at the zany type of roles. Nope, he’s a scientist. Thomas Jane has Tourette’s syndrome and is very good, BUT I would have made him the lead. Boyd isn’t ruining the movie by any means, I think that the audience wants a lead that they are familiar with. Consider the previous Predator films and that is kinda the formula, for better or worse.
The Predator Hounds are interesting, I think I prefer them over the creatures in Predators. This Predator is way too human-like. I know that in the lab, this Predator had some human elements to it, so I guess they were trying to make some changes. Then we get a real-sized Predator, and he ain’t F’N around. He decimates the human DNA one.
Also, can someone explain to me why alien subtitles come up at times? Why do subtitles that we can’t read? Who thought that we needed that?
Anyway, the Predators are collecting trophies of the best that it hunts and is using this to evolve. That is actually smart. The government has a theory that due to global warming, the Predators are going to get the best specimens before we go extinct. Perhaps little Predator has something that the big one wants. Sterling K Brown is also really good in this.
Is the Predator Hound the most loveable character in this whole film? Coyle and Baxley are also solid. Actually, the kid playing as Rory, Jacob Tremblay, who also starred in good Boys, which was a very funny movie.
Okay, the scene with the Predator taking out all the government guys and then decapitating the guys in the vehicle, very solid. Hahaha, then they do the thing where they voice translate the Predator. That was beyond cheesy. The Predator wants to destroy the ship and then gives the group a 7 and a half minutes headstart.
When they really attack the Predator as a group, it reminds me of the assault on Jason in Jason Goes To Hell. Not the same, but it has that vibe to me. Traeger just killed himself. Baxley is screwed. Coyle is mortally wounded too. They shoot each other to put themselves out of the agony. That is 3 of my 4 favorite characters died in a minute. Not cool.
Toward the end now, Nettles is still alive, along with the McKenna family, Casey, Nebraska, the Predator, and the Hound. No, not Sandor Clegane. And Nettles is gone. Then Nebraska sacrifices himself. Randy Quaid would have approved. The action sequences are beyond absurd in this one. Yes, I am shutting my brain off, but McKenna is just doing some absurd things that are beyond impractical, even by action film standards. How come everyone can jump distances without hurting themselves in the slightest?
I liked the bandana scene to honor their crew. Oh yeah, the dog got got. They did a bad job of making that scene as impactful as it should have been.
The final scene could have been so much cooler than it was. What we learn is that a pod survived and it ends up being the way to defend against future Predators, and it was a Predator suit that a human could wear. How cool would it have been if that had been a Xenomorph? We have had the franchises come together before. Why not do it here? You do an Alien movie on Earth. In the end, you can tease the Predators coming to Earth on their ships. This would have served to give us one final Alien vs Predator film that could have been a cool trilogy. The Predator being the first, then The Xenomorph or whatever you want to call the second film, and then the final AVP. I would have been all in on that type of marketing and forward-thinking. You could have even brought back the McKenna family and Casey for the second of third films.
With that being said, this is a much more lighthearted take on a Predator movie. The storyline is actually silly, especially when compared to Predators, which had a great story. This film, on the other hand, truly developed the characters and gave us people that we could give a damn about. Think about the number of characters that you enjoyed in this film. I could easily say 8 plus the Hound and the Predator. While I was laughing and sometimes rolling my eyes, I was also enjoying the characters and dialogue.
I would watch this again in the background. It’s not great, but fun enough to have on the screen. I am sad that they didn’t carry on with this story, but they have now done Prey, and hopefully more like Prey. I can’t be upset. It is odd to me that Predators had Robert Rodriguez attached, so you have some expectations. Here, Shane Black is the writer and director, and he is known for Lethal Weapon, The Nice Guys, and directing Iron Man 3 which I feel was hit or miss for most people.
Final Rating: 5.3 – No, it’s not great, but it is very enjoyable. Too many quality characters to not have a good time with it.
All the pictures used in this blog are for review purposes. They are the property of:
- Twentieth Century Fox (presents) (as Twentieth Century Fox)
- Davis Entertainment (as Davis Entertainment Company)
- TSG Entertainment (made in association with)
- Canada Film Capital
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