‘The hunt has evolved 9.14’
The Predator is a 2018 American science-fiction action horror film directed by Shane Black (Iron Man 3) from a screenplay co-written with Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad; Night of the Creeps). Shane Black was an uncredited script doctor on the original 1987 Predator movie. Yvonne Strahovski, Olivia Munn and Jacob Tremblay star.
It is the fourth film in the Predator franchise, following Predator (1987), Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010).
Reviews [may contain spoilers]:
“The Predator will undoubtedly appeal to fans of the original films, as well as purveyors of Shane Black’s oeuvre. As for whether this new film has the capacity to re-launch the franchise (which the tacked on coda clearly aims to do)? Unclear. The troubled reports from set and inevitable “bad to meh” reviews certainly won’t help recruit new audiences.” Bloody Disgusting
“In defiance of its drawbacks, dominantly loaded onto clunky last act dips, “The Predator” works as well as it conceivably could considering how the conclusion had to be shredded to pieces and rebuilt. Some of the CGI gets shockingly sloppy for a big budget studio film. And only a lack of coverage can explain the editing room rush job that makes missing important moments like Traeger’s final fate a consequence of blinking.” Culture Crypt
“The Predator is a flawed actioner, but a strong cast and some Shane Black magic give it a sparkle that has been lacking from recent attempts to revive the killer aliens. It’s not Black at his best, but it’s a fun diversion as long as you don’t think about it too hard.” Hugh Armitage, Digital Spy
“There’s a delightful amount of gore, and the winks and nods to the original film are plentiful, if not a bit on-the-nose. Still, these aren’t enough for us to overlook just how jagged and abrupt the story moves from one segment to the next. The opening jumps awkwardly from one character’s introduction to another and the ending seems to want to do everything in its power to get things over and done with as quickly as possible.” Jonathan Barkan, Dread Central
“The adults engage in a ton of non-PC banter but the jokes are crass. As for the twist, concerning who’s top of the evolutionary chain, we see that coming a mile off. If Black was aiming for an X-Men-meets-Deadpool mash-up, though, he’s failed. Superhero movies (the Marvel universe ones, anyway) treat audiences with respect. Black, the genius behind Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, treats us like morons.” Charlotte O’Sullivan, Evening Standard (London)
“While Shane Black is clearly keen to recapture the mood of the original, and transplant it into a bigger and bolder story, everything feels off – as if it’s been put through the teleportation machine in The Fly and come out the other side amalgamated and mashed up. It’s essentially Brundlefly, if you will.” Kim Taylor-Foster, Fandom
” …Black keeps on upping the body count — there seem to be more decapitations in this movie than in the entire franchise combined — while dishing out one joke after another, the majority of of which stick their landing […] Black’s movie is so cleverly over-the-top that it’s easy and pleasurable enough to watch, though never exactly scary or suspenseful.” Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
“Most of the gore is in the back half of the movie, but when it shows up there are plenty of decapitations, disembowelings, dismemberments, and just general mayhem. Unfortunately, the climax of the movie gets really chaotic and it’s hard to tell what’s going on. The editing gets really choppy and the film gets absurdly dark…” Jason McDonald, Horror-Movies.ca
” …a throwback to what made the 1987 original so beloved: it includes many of the same elements, such as the rowdy camaraderie amongst absurdly macho protagonists, a debauched wit, and a primal battle between man and beast. It’s a shame when everything splinters apart in the haphazard and shoddy-looking last half-hour, largely derailing what began as a promising entry in the wildly inconsistent franchise.” Jim Vejvoda, IGN
“By the time The Predator gets to its climax, it has lost a little bit of steam. Some of the final scenes are a bit messy in terms of editing, especially when compared to what came before. I liked some of the earlier set pieces more, as we are getting to know the characters, especially the initial predator breakout and a great scene with…wait for it… predator dogs.” Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
” …is it any wonder that studio publicity, the film’s own cast, and the entertainment media itself are turning to other things to discuss in relation to this movie? It’s typically a good thing when we’re collectively thrust into talking about important and sensitive issues, although in this case, it’s in the service of a horsecrap movie.” Jim Tudor, Screen Anarchy
“The Predator gets off to a promising start, and there are a couple of memorable flashes Black’s verbal wit. Then the action kicks in and the film gets worse and worse. The very last scene, a bizarrely long epilogue set after the main conflict has been resolved, is atrocious, and it sets up a sequel absolutely no one will want.” ScreenCrush
“The plot doesn’t make sense. A lot of the jokes fall flat. There’s a pointless sequel set-up. But while you’re watching the movie, it’s hard not to get caught up in all the fun. Black and company are having a blast here, and it’s infectious.” Slash Film
“Alas, within the Black oeuvre, The Predator lands more between The Last Boy Scout and Iron Man 3, being a mixture of the flippant-knucklehead-machismo species with frantic comic-book action. Though there’s gore and creatures aplenty, say goodbye to any remaining horror element in this series.” Variety
“From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.” – Press release
20th Century Fox CEO Stacey Snider has commented:
“We’ve got a Predator film coming out that is unexpected and utterly fresh. I just imagined that it would take 500 hours to read the script — that it would be interior jungle, exterior more jungle and then fighting happens, but Emma [Watts] went out and recruited Shane Black. From the first page, it didn’t read like a Predator film. It’s set in suburbia. There’s a little boy and his dad at the center of the action.”
Principal filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on February 20, 2017 and wrapped on the 2nd of June. A number of well-publicised reshoots have taken place in 2018 as audiences were apparently unreceptive to the movie’s c movie’s climactic scenes.
Cast and characters:
- Yvonne Strahovski … Emily
- Olivia Munn … Casey Bracket
- Jacob Tremblay … Rory McKenna
- Lochlyn Munro … Lieutenant General Marks
- Sterling K. Brown … Government Agent
- Thomas Jane … Baxley
- Boyd Holbrook … Quinn McKenna
- Edward James Olmos … Military General
- Jake Busey …Peter Keyes’ Son
- Niall Matter … Sapir
- Keegan-Michael Key … Coyle
- Alfie Allen … Lynch
- Trevante Rhodes … Williams
- Patrick Sabongui … Merc
- Paul Lazenby … Biker
Running time:
105 minutes
Box office:
The Predator took $160,542,134 on a reported budget of $88 million.
Film Facts:
The film’s fake working title was Ollie.
MOVIES & MANIA rating:
