From the first man ever killed by a predator onscreen, comes the newest entry in this iconic action/horror franchise. Shane Black takes over the director's chair as well as some of the writing duties, but does he manage to capture the magic of the original? I guess kind of.
The film opens up on an assassin squad in the middle of a job that gets interrupted by a spaceship crashing in the jungle near them. That spaceship has a predator which tears some people up but is then beaten. The last survivor of that team, played by Boyd Holbrook, steals some of its gear and mails it to his home, where his son Rory, played by Jacob Tremblay, thinks it is some kind of video game. After this encounter Holbrook's character is sent with a few ex-military "loonies" as they like to call themselves, who end up facing off against the predator in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.
One of my favourite things about this film is easily the group of outcasts. Led by Boyd Holbrook the team also features Trevante Rhodes, Alfie Allen, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, and Augusto Aguilera. This group is fantastic and is really what makes this feel like a predator movie. Rhodes was the standout for me, bringing some hilarious moments but also managing to hit serious notes very well. Key and Jane's characters have a past friendship so the dynamic between the two is great. Key is absolutely hilarious, constantly cracking jokes with Jane usually on the receiving end. Allen and Aguilera also put in some solid work. I mentioned Holbrook and Tremblay already, but both did decent work. Holbrook was very much a cliche action hero but played the part well. Tremblay had an interesting performance that I can't really go into without giving spoilers, I'm just not sure if the direction taken with his character worked as well as it could have. Two other important characters are Olivia Munn and Sterling K Brown who both play scientists. Many have said Munn doesn't fit with the film at all, and I don't really agree with that. When shit hits the fan she certainly becomes a fish out of water but her situation makes sense narratively and she does manage to contribute here and there. As for Sterling K Brown, he just perfectly fits the persona of an 80s badass. I've been watching This is us, so this was a huge change for me and I loved it. While his performance may not be excellent, the essence of pure coolness he exudes from his actions to his dialogue is nothing short of awesome.
I'm a huge Shane Black fan, I love The Nice Guys, and I really like both Iron Man 3 and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. This is easily his worst movie, despite my enjoyment. From what I've seen, this franchise has a bad habit of under-explaining things, leaving plot points fairly confusing at times. This is an issue I've had at times with Shane Black's films as well. Put the two together and you have quite a mess. The overall story is easy enough to follow, but there are moments that just make no sense. There are times where the film flies by at a tremendous pace without giving the audience any time to catch up, so things just end up getting tangled and messy. There are also two instances where I either saw something wrong, or the continuity wasn't handled well, including one scene where I'm pretty damn sure the predator's gauntlet switched arms of a character. Even aside from the messy plotline, there are just some things that fundamentally don't make sense, although in order to stay spoiler-free I won't get into those. Aside from those issues I did like the film a lot. While from a story standpoint Black failed, his comedic work was brilliant. This is probably the hardest I've laughed in a movie this year, and that's thanks to Black's dialogue and how well the cast brought it to life. Black also handled the action really well. One thing I really can't deny my love for was the score by Henry Jackman. The music of this film really nailed the feel of an 80s sci-fi with some horror elements. It had a great balance of eeriness and wonder that I think worked great. The film looks quite good, I enjoyed the cinematography a fair bit and other than one scene the effects worked quite well.
Overall this is a mess of a film but one with countless moments to enjoy. While it isn't Shane Black's best work, I think that the positives are enough for me to say this is a decent movie. If you want something great steer clear but if you want a fun sci-fi action movie this one's for you.
Rating: 3/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
The film opens up on an assassin squad in the middle of a job that gets interrupted by a spaceship crashing in the jungle near them. That spaceship has a predator which tears some people up but is then beaten. The last survivor of that team, played by Boyd Holbrook, steals some of its gear and mails it to his home, where his son Rory, played by Jacob Tremblay, thinks it is some kind of video game. After this encounter Holbrook's character is sent with a few ex-military "loonies" as they like to call themselves, who end up facing off against the predator in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.
One of my favourite things about this film is easily the group of outcasts. Led by Boyd Holbrook the team also features Trevante Rhodes, Alfie Allen, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, and Augusto Aguilera. This group is fantastic and is really what makes this feel like a predator movie. Rhodes was the standout for me, bringing some hilarious moments but also managing to hit serious notes very well. Key and Jane's characters have a past friendship so the dynamic between the two is great. Key is absolutely hilarious, constantly cracking jokes with Jane usually on the receiving end. Allen and Aguilera also put in some solid work. I mentioned Holbrook and Tremblay already, but both did decent work. Holbrook was very much a cliche action hero but played the part well. Tremblay had an interesting performance that I can't really go into without giving spoilers, I'm just not sure if the direction taken with his character worked as well as it could have. Two other important characters are Olivia Munn and Sterling K Brown who both play scientists. Many have said Munn doesn't fit with the film at all, and I don't really agree with that. When shit hits the fan she certainly becomes a fish out of water but her situation makes sense narratively and she does manage to contribute here and there. As for Sterling K Brown, he just perfectly fits the persona of an 80s badass. I've been watching This is us, so this was a huge change for me and I loved it. While his performance may not be excellent, the essence of pure coolness he exudes from his actions to his dialogue is nothing short of awesome.
I'm a huge Shane Black fan, I love The Nice Guys, and I really like both Iron Man 3 and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. This is easily his worst movie, despite my enjoyment. From what I've seen, this franchise has a bad habit of under-explaining things, leaving plot points fairly confusing at times. This is an issue I've had at times with Shane Black's films as well. Put the two together and you have quite a mess. The overall story is easy enough to follow, but there are moments that just make no sense. There are times where the film flies by at a tremendous pace without giving the audience any time to catch up, so things just end up getting tangled and messy. There are also two instances where I either saw something wrong, or the continuity wasn't handled well, including one scene where I'm pretty damn sure the predator's gauntlet switched arms of a character. Even aside from the messy plotline, there are just some things that fundamentally don't make sense, although in order to stay spoiler-free I won't get into those. Aside from those issues I did like the film a lot. While from a story standpoint Black failed, his comedic work was brilliant. This is probably the hardest I've laughed in a movie this year, and that's thanks to Black's dialogue and how well the cast brought it to life. Black also handled the action really well. One thing I really can't deny my love for was the score by Henry Jackman. The music of this film really nailed the feel of an 80s sci-fi with some horror elements. It had a great balance of eeriness and wonder that I think worked great. The film looks quite good, I enjoyed the cinematography a fair bit and other than one scene the effects worked quite well.
Overall this is a mess of a film but one with countless moments to enjoy. While it isn't Shane Black's best work, I think that the positives are enough for me to say this is a decent movie. If you want something great steer clear but if you want a fun sci-fi action movie this one's for you.
Rating: 3/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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