{"id":1242,"date":"2024-07-23T15:04:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T15:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2024-10-14T01:00:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T05:00:58","slug":"the-predator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/07\/23\/the-predator\/","title":{"rendered":"The Predator"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Predator<\/strong>\u00a0 (2018)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20th<\/sup> Century Fox\/Sci-Fi-Action-Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 107 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong bloody violence, language throughout, crude sexual references)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Shane Black\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Fred Dekker and Shane Black\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Henry Jackman\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Cinematography: Larry Fong\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 14, 2018 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey, Yvonne Strahovski, Brian A. Prince.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0I have a guilty secret to confess. I\u2019ve been looking forward The Predator<\/strong> for a while. I\u2019m a big fan of the 1987 original in which Ah-nuld (as in Schwarzenegger), Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), The Body (wrestler Jesse Ventura), Billy Bear (Sonny Landham of 48 Hrs.) and a bunch of other macho types track a giant alien creature in the hot Central American jungle. The future-set Predator 2 came three years later only this time it was Danny Glover, Gary Busey (Lethal Weapon mini-reunion here!) and a team of cops hunting the titular otherworldly being around the greater Los Angeles area. Those, in my opinion, are the best Predator movies. I thought the first Alien vs. Predator movie was a letdown (PG-13? Really?). The second AvP is fun but hardly exceptional. 2010\u2019s Predators is a decent Saturday matinee flick, nothing more. Now we come to The Predator<\/strong> which picks up about twenty years after Predator 2. I\u2019m pleased to announce that it kicks ass in a serious way!<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Predator<\/strong>, both a throwback and homage to 80s action movies, is directed by Shane Black who played one of the soldiers in the first movie. He\u2019s an action vet. He wrote the screenplays for Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Dare I mention he also wrote Last Action Hero? Black shares writing credit on The Predator<\/strong> with Fred Dekker, the man behind gems like Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad and non-gem RoboCop 3 (PG-13? Really?). Although Henry Jackman does the score for this one, Black saw fit to include snatches of Alan Silvestri\u2019s score from the original. As you can see, The Predator<\/strong> has quite the pedigree. But does the storyline measure up? Let\u2019s see.<\/p>\n

\u00a0An abridged plot summary would go as follows: a ragtag team of unhinged soldiers (aka \u201cThe Loonies\u201d), a hot biologist and a kid with Asperger\u2019s take on not one but two Predators in a Georgia suburb. Yes, the Predator has landed in Spielberg territory. Although we\u2019d still like them to go home, there\u2019s nothing cute about these particular ETs.\u00a0 In fact, this time it\u2019s worse. One of them is a Super Predator, the next stage in evolution or some such nonsense. But I\u2019m getting ahead of myself here. No more beating around the bush, here\u2019s a fuller version of the plot summary.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It all starts in Mexico where military sniper Quinn McKenna (Holbrook, Logan) is almost hit by a unidentified flying object while on the job (something to do with a drug cartel). It\u2019s an escape pod that has crash-landed on Earth. From it emerges a Predator. McKenna grabs some of his alien gear and splits before government types led by Traeger (Brown, This Is Us) arrive on the scene. He manages to mail most of it to his home address (save for one thing that he swallows) before being captured, interrogated and thrown on a bus to a mental hospital for \u201cfurther evaluation\u201d. It\u2019s a thinly veiled attempt to discredit McKenna so nobody believes him about his close encounter. On this bus are the guys that will make up his team, the guys that jump into action when the alien you-know-what hits the fan. They are Nebraska (Rhodes, Moonlight), Coyle (Key of comedy team Key & Peele), Baxley (Jane, The Punisher), Nettles (Aguilera, Chasing Life) and Lynch (Allen, John Wick).<\/p>\n

\u00a0Meanwhile, the package ends up being received by McKenna\u2019s preteen son Rory (Tremblay, Wonder) at the home of his ex-wife Emily (Strahovski, The Handmaid\u2019s Tale). Rory is on the autism scale which makes him a target for bullying. He attends Lawrence A. Gordon Middle School, named for one of the producers of the first movie (just one of a few nods to the original). Due to his condition, he\u2019s able to decipher alien technology in no time. This is a big mistake as it alerts Super Predator, who followed the regular Predator to our planet to hunt him down, to Rory\u2019s location. Speaking of R.P. (Regular Predator), he\u2019s being held in a government facility where scientific types have him under sedation so they can examine him. They bring in science teacher\/biologist Casey (Munn, X-Men: Apocalypse) because of her expertise in such matters. Naturally, R.P. escapes and heads to Rory\u2019s location with McKenna, Casey and the guys in hot pursuit.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I can\u2019t say why the studio released The Predator<\/strong> at this time. Why not summer when the first one came out? Why not closer to Halloween when the new movie takes place? It\u2019s likely that they didn\u2019t want it get lost among the other big hot-weather releases or face competition from the new Michael Myers movie (opening October 19). September releases generally aren\u2019t that good. Audiences know this which explains the dip in attendance that occurs every year around this time. Thankfully, The Predator<\/strong> is an exception. I really enjoyed it! It\u2019s a deft mix of sci-fi, action and horror. It retains the same basic formula as Predator only this time with a bigger dose of estrogen to balance out the high level of testosterone. What I mean is that Munn is the total package; she\u2019s a bad ass and a babe. Does this make The Predator<\/strong> a date movie? I\u2019ll put it this way; it\u2019s not as much of a guy\u2019s movie as the original.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Here\u2019s the deal. With a title like The Predator<\/strong>, you know exactly what you\u2019re getting into when you buy (or pre-order) your ticket. The movie knows exactly what it wants to do and does it successfully. Some will say that the addition of an ASD kid sounds exploitative. Let me assure you it s not. There is a reason for his presence. Incidentally, Tremblay does a good job in the role. Although acting isn\u2019t even a factor in deciding to see The Predator<\/strong>, it\u2019s still worth mentioning the cast does a fine job in that they deliver the kinds of performances a movie of this sort calls for. Rhodes is a natural born action star; somebody give him his own vehicle, stat! Brown should continue playing movie villains; he has a real knack for it. Holbrook makes a decent leading man but he\u2019s still no substitute for Schwarzenegger. That line-up is classic. This one is good but hardly classic (at least not yet). What I like about it is that Black gives each member a distinct personality. It\u2019s not just a group of random men with big guns.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Oh yeah, I almost forgot; this one has predator dogs. Yes, you read that right, Predator dogs. This is where The Predator<\/strong> veers into silly territory. They\u2019re a bit too cute and playful for the movie\u2019s own good. They\u2019re this franchise\u2019s version of Ewoks. There\u2019s one other thing I\u2019m not crazy about. The climax features Holbrook and his remaining team members jumping around atop the Predator\u2019s spaceship while it\u2019s in the air. It got me to thinking how far removed this new movie is from the old one. You would never see Schwarzenegger and his men doing something like this. McTiernan kept the unbelievability well within the bounds of believable.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0The Predator<\/strong> has a lot of action and bloody violence. In fact, it\u2019s knee-deep in blood and organs. This is a good thing. It also answers the question of why the Predators rip out their victims\u2019 spines. It may not be an Oscar contender but who expects that from a movie called The Predator<\/strong>. It\u2019s a fun B-movie with decent CGI and scary-looking alien monsters. It\u2019s an ideal Saturday night action flick.<\/p>\n

TRIVIA TIDBIT: Although it\u2019s not explicitly mentioned, Jake Busey\u2019s character is the son of his father Gary Busey\u2019s character from Predator 2.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Predator\u00a0 (2018)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20th Century Fox\/Sci-Fi-Action-Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 107 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong bloody violence, language throughout, crude sexual references)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Shane Black\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Fred Dekker and Shane Black\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Henry Jackman\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Cinematography: Larry Fong\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 14, 2018 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-action-adventure","category-sci-fi-fantasy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/The-Predator-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1242"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1876,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions\/1876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}