Follow Us
Join UsStar Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Olivia Munn, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K Brown, Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera, Alfie Allen
Director: Shane Black
What’s Good: Couple of genuinely funny scenes bringing in the comic relief to the unbearable chaos happening on screen
What’s Bad: Screenplay is scattered! There are a lot of things happening without affecting the story-line very much, stretching things like a chewing gum
Loo Break: That’s where the movie lacks, even in the limited duration of 107 minutes you’ll get an urge to take breaks in between
Watch or Not?: Been a fan of this series then you can give it a try just for the fact it’s a part of the franchise
User Rating:
The story starts with a poor man’s Star Wars’ inspired fight in the sky. It is a usual day in the life of an Army sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) and his team finding their target. In his scope, McKenna spots the Predator for the first time & runs for his life. He gets saved but his crew gets butchered by the weird looking alien. While running away from him, McKenna manages to steal some of his tech which includes a mask and a wrist gun. There’s a very not-so-government-looking organisation called as Project Stargazer which studies the arrivals of Predators on earth.
McKenna then goes to an estranged bar and shoes the gun to the owner asking him to deliver a package. He swallows a tiny orb stolen from the Predator & till the end we didn’t know why he did so? Following the poor editing we see McKenna, in a van, being sent to a ward where they put up all the miffed soldiers. He meets a mad group played by Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera and Trevante Rhodes. Rest of the story is about this group along with a hot scientist, Casey (Olivia Munn), investigating why the Predator is here.
The Predator Movie Review: Script Analysis
Fred Dekker along with the director Shane Black has penned this nuisance of a story. A confession, this is the first time I’m getting introduced to the world of Predator & to be honest if the past ones are also like this I’m glad I spent my time on good movies. Movies like these require to be messy but without substance? The Predator is just a series of chaotic scenes going on screen.
The story goes make sense towards the end but it’s the poor screenplay that spoils the fun. You know you’re in for something but ‘what’ that’s never clear. An autistic son who is a passage in between the Predators and the humans, Predators VS Predators, emotional tension in McKenna’s life – the writers just touch everything without taking anything to the finish line. Also there’s a scene where the Predator decides not to kill Casey Olivia Munn just because she was unarmed and naked – just a heads up.
The Predator Movie Review: Star Performance
Boyd Holbrook sleepwalks with his performance! After what we’ve seen him doing as Steve Murphy in Narcos, this is a very mediocre stuff from him. He tries hard to be cool but the lousy writing doesn’t allow him to be. Olivia Munn is confused throughout the film & even her looks can’t save the way she has acted.
Trevante Rhodes as Nebraska is the most recent of the lot. Out of couple of good lines he has got all of them. After Wonder, Jacob Tremblay yet again plays someone who’s gifted. Stop the kid from getting typecast. He’s good in his limited role. Sterling K Brown as Will Traeger is bad-ass & gets some scenes to prove so. They’re very few and hence we can’t see much of him.
The Predator Movie Review: Direction, Music
Shane Black weaves a story which is scattered & fails to create a good final product. He manages to bring in some thrills but that’s about it. Even 107 minutes seem long because of the stretched screenplay. We’ve reached a DMU (Diminishing Marginal Utility) point of genetically enhanced monsters and if you don’t have a strong plot to back them, they’ll end up being The Predators.
Henry Jackman, who has given us scores like X Men: First Class and Kingsman series, goes all-loud in this one. From the first scene, the sound fights the logic and no one wins. It does nothing but catapult the chaotic scenes making them even more noisy.
The Predator Movie Review: The Last Word
All said and done, skip this if you’re an alien to this series. If you’ve watched the previous ones and liked it, watch this and skip the next ones. On a serious note – Dear Hollywood: if you’re coming with monsters the next time, please don’t forget to bring in sense as well.
Two stars!
The Predator Trailer
The Predator releases on 13th September, 2018.
Share with us your experience of watching The Predator.
