In a Nutshell

The Predator sees Shane Black use his trademark dark humour to re-awaken a sleeping monster.

[imdb]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266[/imdb]

Review

Prior to its release, The Predator was mired in problems. Shane Black hired a convicted sex-offender friend to play a character who catcalls Olivia Munn’s character (without informing Munn or anyone else in the cast).

The scene doesn’t end up in the final cut, thanks to Munn speaking out about the issue. There were rumours too that Arnold Schwarzenegger would return in a reprisal or cameo role – something that never materialised. Certainly, as a finished film, it’s not without problems, but it’s not without merit eihther.

The title ‘The Predator’ suggests an attempt to bring the franchise back to its roots and celebrate the iconic monster. And in many ways, it does. Asides from a few nods to identity politics, and some obligatory blockbuster-style CGI sequences, the film maintains the look and feel of the originals.

Back to Basics

The action is mostly at close-quarters, set against suburban backdrops, the score is traditional and warm (there are no pop-music tie-ins here) and we’re introduced to a familiar motley crew of characters.

Boyd Holbrook is Quinn McKenna, a sniper whose run-in with the Predator leads to the secret service railroading him onto a bus headed straight to military jail. He quickly teams up with a bunch of other misfits on the bus to hunt down the predator. Joining them is scientist Dr Casey Brackett (Olivia Munn) who conveniently hitches a lift with the ex-soldiers.

Like Casey, a lot of characters and decisions are made with a ‘no time to explain!’ lack of backstory, but when there’s so much fun to be had in Black’s dialogue and speedy action sequences, it feels like the right choice to keep the whole operation moving along at speed. The Predator itself is a great movie monster, and whenever it shows up the action sequences here are well-paced and executed.

Old-school performances

Sterling K. Brown is the human enemy of the piece. He plays agent Will Traeger – your typical narcissist secret-service-agent or mad scientist. The type who loves cloning dinosaurs, drilling for oil on sacred lands, or just keeping Predators in drastically under-secure science labs.

Most of the characters are in the same vein, with a one-liner personality trait. But the dialogue and interaction between the characters is fresh and entertaining.

Perhaps the stand-out performance of the film is from Jacob Tremblay, who first came to our screens with his incredible work in Room. Tremblay plays Quinn’s son Rory, who has come into contact with some of The Predator’s armour and is target number one for the monster.

A Halloween Setting

For once, Shane Black stays away from Christmas as a setting for the film, but couldn’t resist setting this monster movie at Halloween. It works well, particularly when we see Rory navigating the more frightening aspects of Halloween. Pumpkins on the lawn and some fall leaves add to the nostalgic warmth, without taking things to Stranger Things levels of retro-worship.

Like most reboots, The Predator has to tread a line between taking itself too seriously or else boring the audience with never-ending cameos and in-jokes. Thankfully, the film is light on the self-reference, with a few knowing winks and nods to the other films done and dusted early on in the story.

Instead, it follows the intimate setting and tone that made 1987’s original Predator so successful. There are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, and it’s a nice reminder of the space once-occupied by action-comedy, now mainly served by comic book franchise films.

A disappointing end

Black’s excellent dialogue and humour are here in spades, but the well-crafted plot twists and development of previous films are not: like The Predator itself, the narrative thrust of the film often disappears into thin air.

The paper-thin plot-twists (and a lot of unconvincing CGI) finally bring the film careering off the rails in the final act. However, for me, by that stage, I was having too much fun to care.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a well-crafted narrative, you won’t find one here. But if great gags and old-school action are your thing, The Predator certainly delivers.

Written by Colette Fahy @coletteness