The Hunt Has Evolved

The Predator is easily the dumbest thing to come out of the Predator franchise. Not even the full circle return of Shane Black as director is enough to keep it from being one bad decision after another. The Predator is also the only standalone Predator movie I saw in theaters. It takes its R rating to extremes by really going overboard with the gore. Even if some of it is fluorescent green. I really don’t get why these sequels think gratuitous blood shed is necessary.

The Predator ties every movie together (even the Alien vs. Predator movies). That includes references, previously seen weapons, and Gary Busey’s son playing his Predator 2 character’s son. The Predator ended up being a mess because it couldn’t focus on one thing. The crew/cast this time is a group of military outcasts. What really annoyed me was all the forced humor injected into the movie. Actors like Keegan-Michael Key make jokes that don’t seem to end. Then there’s a plot point about Olivia Munn’s scientist studying the predators.

There’s also an extremely out of place kid with autism played by Jacob Tremblay. Since they figured it worked for Aliens, but everything he does is unbearably cringy. Like using a predator helmet for trick-or-treating. There are two predators in this one. A classic predator kills one second and tries to save humanity the next. The other is a giant that’s supposed to be the next evolution. The predator dogs make a return as well. The giant predator’s reason for hunting is so stupid that it’s almost laughable. Forced comedy, forced exposition, and a forced message, The Predator fails because it represents the worst in some current franchise movies.

A classic Predator meets the next evolution

Preceded by: Predators