The Predator 2018 Review · 1:03pm May 21st, 2020
Ohhhh boy. This otta be interesting. Now let me get this out of the way, I've only seen the first movie, I haven't seen the other films, but I'm still gonna critique this movie, cause why the hell not. However, I am gonna say this. Spoilers are gonna be abound, so if you don't want spoilers, stop reading immediately. Although I wouldn't really suggest you see the movie, I really don't.
So lets not waste much time. This is The Predator.
The Predator, in the best way I can describe, follows a military man who unfortunately gets roped into a struggle between two Predators and a bunch of humans who also get involved within their conflict. That's the best I can give.
Now I didn't really have much desire to see it, I only watched it cause I had saw the first movie, so I thought maybe this could be a little fun. But when I heard about all the things that happened in this movie... oohhhh I was not looking forward. Though I had some hope cause the film was helmed by Shane Black, who played Hawkins in the original 1987 movie, so I thought there was some luck there. So I finally watched it, and what did I think? Well let's take a look.
Just like the other reviews, let me get all the good stuff out of the way.
One of the things I did appreciate about the movie is they did keep continuity. Not only do they have props from the original first two movies, but they do acknowledge that the previous movies have actually happened, just like in Predators from 2010. They do confirm that the Predators have come here in 1987 and in 1990, so if there’s any credit I can give this film, it’s understanding and keeping the continuity intact there. But more on that in a second.
While I can’t say I necessarily loved the team, I did enjoy them from time to time and occasionally had some funny moments here and there. Once in a while they had some funny moments. 
Though the one member from the team I enjoyed the most was Nebraska, played by Trevante Rhodes.
This guy was probably my favorite out of the bunch, the actor from Trevante was well done, he made the character the most likable for me, I would trust this guy for reals. I liked him very much.
And the last thing I will say, is there were a few comedy moments here and there, that I did actually find funny. Probably the best moment that got me to laugh my ass off was during a scene where the main character's kid goes trick or treating and has the Predator mask on his head for a costume, and then some jerk tosses a rock at him, tapping him on the helmet, and then seconds later, a weapon unloads from the damn mask and friggin' kills the guy and blows up his house 
Rule of Predator tech. Do not screw with it, that shit's lethal.
Ohhh boy. Sadly, I do not have a lot of good to talk about. I have a lot to unload on the story, so I'll save that for last. But let's begin. The biggest problems in the film is it's way too damn complex, the film is more of a comedy than an actual sci-fi horror film, and the movie follows a friggin' kid. But more on that later.
The special effects... aside from the practical effects, the CGI is just awful. Awful! For a movie with a big budget, they have reaaaaallly bad CGI. That blood is looking way too much like Kool-Aid. And the editing is so damn choppy, nothing flows from scene to scene nice and smooth. It feels rushed, and there are scenes they deleted that are just--why? Why did you delete some, they actually explained some stuff!
Most of the acting in this movie is either okay, or subpar. Nothing that big stands out, aside from Trevante.
And oh my god, this movie does not have any scary moments or anything worth fearing, it's just a comedy roadtrip! I don't mind comedy in a Predator film, but it cannot be 100%! Do not try to be Marvel, guys. And that goes for everyone, the main team that we follow don't have any fear or scared reactions when the Predators around, like almost all of the time, they're just cracking jokes almost every second. And they don't feel like a real team, they don't ever give you a sense of teamwork or that they were close.
You know why I loved the original team from 1987? 
It wasn't because these were some of the most manliest and macho men you could ever see. But these guys felt like a real team, like they worked together for a long time. When you see them talk together in the first scene together, they act like they've worked together for a long time, and it feels natural! Not only that, but when you see them at first, they do seem like a group full of jokers, they know this job is going to be easy, they've done it before, but then when the monster kicks in, you SEE the fear among them and their humor stops. You can see and feel the fear coming from the team as they're being hunted by a monster that outsmarts them at every opportunity, and their fear was real, natural, and justifiable. They felt like real people here, but this new team I'm sorry, this new team was just... no. No, I'm sorry.
And holy crap, the doctor character, Casey Bracket, hated her, I'm sorry, I just didn't like her. Olivia Munn, I'm sorry, I just didn't like ya. Her performance was honestly really weak. Now, I have nothing against her as a human being, but as acting goes? Sorry honey, you didn't measure up. The only time I felt like her acting was good was when she was backed up against a wall, and the Predator was turning around the corner, looking for anyone still alive, and she's just trying not to freak out, that was the only time I felt like she did her best acting.
And that's it. Because most of this character is just flashing her ego and ranting, will you shut the hell up? Maybe this is only me, but that's how she came across as to me. God, I liked Anna from the original Predator more than this lady! And Anna wasn't even a scientist or a soldier!
And the kid... oh my god, I did not like this kid at all. 
Now I have nothing against the actor playing this kid, the actor did a really good job with what he was given, I will give him credit for doing his best. The PROBLEM I have with this kid, is that he does not BELONG in a Predator movie--and holy crap I realize just how wrong that sounded 
You know what I mean. And most of the plot is surrounding this kid, it's the main vocal point. Why should I give a damn about him? I know he's mentally challenged, he is on the spectrum, I have no problem with that, the problem is it doesn't belong here and I don't care! Get him off the screen, I don't wanna watch this kid. If you wanna do a movie with a kid that's mentally challenged and can master alien technology, just make an original movie then! Don't force it into Predator! And yeah, you heard me right; apparently according to this movie, if you have autism, apparently this means you are so smart that you can master alien technology.
... Okay, I'm not trying to put down people who are on the spectrum, but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, and that's coming from someone who is on the spectrum, I am on the autism spectrum, and last time I checked, it does not automatically mean that it makes you so intelligent you can decipher alien tech. If I'm wrong on that, someone, correct me! I don't friggin' know! Hell, you know what else this movie does? We'll get to that very soon. He is the only reason that motivates the main character, seriously, he is literally the only reason. He doesn't even do much in the movie, aside from being the main motivating factor for the main character. If you're gonna have in a kid, at least make him or her fun! I didn't have fun with this kid, at all.
And the actual Predators, they really botched them up badly, and yeah there's more than one in the movie. But these guys, holy crap, they do things that the original Predators aren't supposed to do. They're supposed to smart, stealthy, incredibly intelligent, efficient at their game! There are so many scenes of these things just running out in the open, barely half the time do they ever use any cloaking devices, or play smart. Now at some point during the first half, I can understand one of them not being able to cloak if it doesn't have the tech with him, but when he does, why not freaking use it!?
The action in this film... honestly is not that exciting, it feels like action we've seen before, and it's not thrilling or exhilarating. Never in any of these action scenes did I feel like there were massive stakes, or that there was something seriously bad happening to our characters.
This is where I come to the final nail in the coffin. And this reaaally bites the movie in the ass. The story that we are given is overly and unnecessarily complex. Not only are there so many side-plots that are fighting for attention throughout the movie, most of them don't even pay off at the end. And there's a massive amount of exposition dumps as well, too many of them. They also retcon so much of the Predator lore that it's downright insulting. Again, you understand why so many people love the original Predator movie and consider it one of the best action films, period? It was because it was simple, and yet it was effective. It was straightforward, it was a simple film about a team of military soldiers who are sent on a single mission to rescue hostages, and then get roped into trouble and it becomes a mission to survive and escape before they get hunted one by one. And they didn't try to explain the Predator to the point where it's confusing, it was made clear what the Predator was and what it wanted.
And they try to explain more of the Predators lore and backstory, and it's not that necessary. This is one of the few cases where I have to say, we don't need that much explanation! And the reason that the Predators are coming to Earth? Get a load of this. The reason they keep coming is cause partially of climate change, so stupid, but because they do all the ripping skulls and spines out of humans bodies, it's cause they're trying to get their best DNA before humanity is killed off, cause apparently autism is the next stage in evolution.
. . .
Are you freaking serious right now? T-This is your reason? This, jus--WHAT!? Who came up with this? What was wrong with the original movie? Nothing! There was nothing wrong with that! What was wrong with having the Predators coming to just kill people for sport? Nothing! Nothing is wrong with that, it was basically the sci-fi version of Most Dangerous Game, and it worked perfectly! And you know something, Shane Black, throwing all of this into the movie only hurts the Predator lore.
And I can understand if they didn't want to constantly repeat themselves and switch things up now and then, and that's fine, but all of this shit does not work! If you wanna change things up a bit, fine, do that, but don't destroy what made the original Predator great! Or if you can't do that, here's a solid idea, maybe just don't make any more Predators film, just let the franchise die already!
Shane Black. I have so many questions. You... were freaking Hawkins. You helped make the original film. What drove you to completely toss so much of what made the original film? Like seriously, what happened? What went through your mind when you chose to do this? Whyyyyyy????
Sadly, that's all I can really say. I can't say anything else, cause frankly my friends, I don't give a damn. This movie just sucked. It feels like this movie was trying to be Marvel, when it shouldn't have been doing. Should have stuck to being a Predator film. And that twist at the end, ohhh god... that is some serious Iron Man rip-off stuff there. Honestly, this shouldn't have been put in oven, you should have started from scratch. You had some good things. But ya mucked up hard.
Honestly, let this series end. Unless your next Predator movie retcons this film entirely, and actually honors the original two films, then don't do it. I've read comments on friggin' YouTube who have way better plot ideas than this movie, and they're not that difficult to follow! Just... wow. Honestly, if you still wanna see it, fine, I can't stop you, but I really don't think it's worth your time. Now it's not to say that the film is not watchable, it's at the very least a watchable flick, but most of this falls apart reaaaally hard.
I give The Predator, a 4 out of 10.
That's all I gotta say, thanks for reading, and hope you all have a great day everyone.
Honestly, this is my second least favorite movie of 2018. I would give it a score of 2 out of 10.
There's a lot wrong with this movie, and one of the really disappointing things to me about it is just the director involved in it has done some really great movies elsewhere. He directed The Nice Guys, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, two neo-noir comedy/mysteries that I absolutely LOVE to pieces, and yet he chose to do... this?
I have no idea what he was thinking here. I've heard some people say that maybe this was him doing a send-up of action movie clichés or something in this, but I doubt that. I think he just took the job for the paycheck and had no real interest in doing anything more. Which is a shame, because there are ideas in this that could be great (veterans with PTSD banding together, the Predator in the suburban USA rather than a jungle - at Halloween? C'mon, imagine the Predator walking around on Halloween night and everyone thinks he's just a dude in costume!) but instead we just get... this.
Also, not helping matters is the fact that Shane Black apparently was going to give a bit part in this movie to a guy named Steve Wilder, who is/was a convicted sex offender. Olivia Munn, who herself has been the target of sexual harassment, reported this and the studio had Wilder removed from the film. Good for them I say, but still, what the hell, Shane? o_0