The Predator

The best film in the last thirty years with the Predator in the main or a supporting role. Which is weak praise and a truly dismal business card for the series' sequels and spin-offs, since there are inconsistencies in almost every scene. For every good line, there is at least one awkward one, and every great action scene is followed by a WTF moment (all thanks to Thomas Jane and the overly used dogs). While the casting of Boyd Holbrook and Sterling K. Brown is on point, Olivia Munn's unfortunate presence is a disappointment, as I cannot believe her as a doctor even for a moment. Similarly, Jacob Tremblay, who never fails, seems to have stepped out of a different movie. But beware, this is unstoppable and relentless entertainment, and after almost falling asleep eight years ago while watching Predators, this is a big step forward, though unfortunately with a sad lack of care. Shane Black must have known how many fans look up to him as the savior of the entire franchise, and his sometimes self-parodic approach must have surely shocked many of them. (2018-09-13)

I wish it was an homage to the classic, a witty, self-absorbed genre film, or at least a guilty pleasure for a Predator geek, but it’s none of that. A wannabe comedy, stupid action movie where one situation out of a hundred is funny, with a story written by someone who is either from high school and loves the Predator universe or a professional screenwriter who hates the universe and was under the influence of narcotics. Moreover, the solid bloodbath is ruined by unnecessary and not very accomplished CGI. Only put it on if the hunting toys, the killer instinct of the villain and the music from the original film were something memorable for you. (2018-12-19)

Holy shit, who would have guessed how totally fucked up this was going to be? Shane Black as director? That is an absolute win. So, what did go wrong? Maybe the fact that Shane made a bit of a joke out of the Predator. The Predator is rough. It is like if you put a group of the toughest soldiers into Vietnamese jungle and asked them to smash their way through the worst shit. They will go and do it, similarly like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was shooting the machine gun into the jungle not knowing what was happening around him. However, the fundamentals there were clear. Not to drive fear to the absurd but drive fear to the reality and add a bunch of tough lines that will be legendary even in a third generation. But here? The main theme of Predators is an autistic child and the whole thing revolves around a bunch of weirdos who do not take themselves seriously at all and turn this film into a complete farce. I get that it was meant that way, but I have to say it doesn’t fit Predator at all. Had I not known the original Predator, I would’ve been more or less satisfied. For example, Keegan Michael Key is a great comedian, but does a comedian belong into the Predator? I don’t fucking think so. Pardon my French, but this film does not deserve a more delicate review. (2019-05-07)

Just my type of movie. I pity the people who expected what had been written about it. A new Predator that refreshingly shatters people’s conventional expectations. Black serves up a wacky team movie in which the toughest badass grandmaster killer is a kid with Asperger’s. The great cast led by McQueen’s badass Holbrook has great dynamics. The best scenes are those without action, with dialog and tinfoil unicorns. The deaths are cool (Tomas Jane rules) and the only problem is that sometimes the creators overdo it and the story loses its logical progression and they make too much fun of the genre. The ending relies exclusively on strength. But full marks for entertainment value. If Forrest Gump looked at the back, he would know what he was about to eat. (2018-09-13)

A new comic-book toilet flush from Marvel, or maybe even worse, DC, who coincidentally feature the Predators. You piss me off, Hollywood. Why is it that there are almost no good adult films produced anymore? Why is it that when studios pour a lot money, what comes out is uniform, sterile infantility? There is plenty of blood and it does fuck things up all the way to 11, but it has the mental level of a six year-old kid. The characters must utter stupid one-liners and jump 10 metres up in the air, even is nothing is happening, and fearlessly balance on a moving bus and a flying spaceship (!!!). Plus a cute clever boy and a domesticated predator dog. Did we fucking need any of that, really? In a Predator film? In the first half, at least the humour works sometimes, but in the second half, absolutely nothing. It falls apart to such extent that you can even see massive editing mistakes, when there isn’t a fundamental continuity between two consecutive scenes. It is as if parts of it were missing (I got scared at the transition from the barn to the helicopter, I thought I had fallen asleep for a moment). Shane Black deserves nothing but hell from this. And maybe people will start retroactively appreciating Antal’s well executed Predators. (2018-09-13)