Predator is a fantastic 80s action film and its two follow ups, while nothing spectacular, were solid and enjoyable for what they were.
2018’s The Predator, however, not so much.
The film stars Boyd Holbrook as Quinn McKenna, a soldier who encounters a Predator, which results in him and his family being targeted by both the Predators and shady government organization.
He then enlists a ragtag team of crazed soldiers to save his family and stop the Predators.
You would think since this film was directed by Shane Black, who played Hawkins in the first film and thus has knowledge of how a Predator movie should be, that The Predator would be in good hands.
Well, based on the first half hour of the film, it would seem so.
I was genuinely enjoying The Predator for what it is, a cheesy action flick, during this time.
However, when the huge Predator is introduced, the film quickly goes downhill and never recovers.
Everything from that point onwards was atrocious.
The only good thing about the movie were a few jokes that got a chuckle out of me and the audience but, otherwise, this movie was a mess.
The film goes at an incredibly fast pace giving you no time to care about the characters, and the CGI for the large Predator and its dogs were awful.
Worst of all is how undeniably bad the story gets.
It goes from the good kind of cheesy with the first half hour of the film, to facepalming levels of bad.
The portrayal of the Predator dogs were new levels of embarrassing.
Then there was the way the Predators themselves are treated, which is especially bad because it over complicates them.
The thing that made the Predators scary in the older movies was that they hunted humans for sport, which showed how little we were to them.
The Predator, however, changes their reasoning, demystifying them.
Characters motivations are vague at best, the action has no tension because we do not care about anyone, and the heights this movie goes to are borderline ridiculous.
This all culminates in an absolutely awful ending, reminiscent of Independence Day: Resurgence, an ending that should never be strived for.
If there were any good things about The Predator, it would once again be that first half hour.
It is nothing special, but is enjoyable and delivers some interesting action and a few laughs.
Everything after that fails on every level.
This is one reboot that should have been deactivated.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 