The Predator is mindless fun, but nothing more
Hollywood doesn’t let franchises die. If something was popular once, chances are it can be popular again. This is the essential Hollywood axiom. It’s the reason we get prequels to Alien, sequels to The Terminator, and endless movies about a random beat cop named John McClane.
There’s a pattern here, of course. It’s part of the unending 80s nostalgia that is sweeping through American popular culture, led by filmmakers who believe their childhood was the best childhood.
There’s nothing new there—if you look back over the last few decades, you’ll find similar nostalgia haunting the films of every era. There’s no doubt that ‘80s era action movies had an impact on current filmmaking.
And given Hollywood’s love for revisiting past franchises, it should come as no surprise that the Predator franchise is due for a new film.
You can put this year’s film, The Predator, in the “why not” file of new Hollywood releases. Predator sequels have been relatively frequent anyway, ever since Predator 2 introduced the idea that the hunter species exists in the same universe as the “xenomorph” Alien franchise.
The Predator is marginal as far as most action films go, but still a significant improvement over most Predator sequels. It has good parts and bad, but is as watchable a film as the original.
It’s been 31 years since Dutch mixed it up in the jungles of South America with a mysterious space alien who hunts elite soldiers for sport. In general, the old rules still apply: they come when to places of extreme heat and violence, kill anyone that poses a threat, collect skulls and spines as trophies, before they eventually leave as quickly as they appear.
Now, however, it seems that their visits are occurring more frequently. The film starts much like the original, with a spacecraft landing on Earth. However, this time it’s damaged and crashing after being chased by members of its own kind. The Predator lands smack in the middle of a hostage exchange being watched by American special ops.
The big guy quickly dispatches an entire unit until being brought down by sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook). The filmmakers essentially retell the first film in a few minutes before moving forward with the story. Distrustful of the government for which he works, McKenna takes the Predator’s mask and gauntlet and mails them to his house back home, where it is intercepted by his autistic son Rory (Jacob Tremblay).
The young man manages to activate the tracking device in the helmet, effectively leading the Predators to his location.
As I mentioned, there are good things in the film. For one, The Predator uses the original score from the first film, as well as the terrible dirty jokes and overall macho tone. It feels like an action movie from the ‘80s, much to its credit.
Director Shane Black, who played one of the commandos in the original film and helped punch up the script, clearly understands the material well enough to make a competent sequel.
The bad, however, can’t be ignored. The first and most egregious is how the film seems to follow the current Hollywood interpretation of autism as a superpower. The film calls it “the next step in human evolution” but the truth about autism is that it is a difficult disorder that deserves to be treated as more than a plot device.
Second, the film is surprisingly tame in terms of violence and gore. While it has an R rating, this is more for language than anything else. The original films took far more risks with their movie violence, making The Predator feel weaker by comparison. Additionally, Black doesn’t take the film as seriously as he might (as ludicrous as the premise is), punctuating every scene with goofy humor and fan service call backs.
Overall, the film is very middling in its execution. Predator fans won’t be upset at watching the film, as it’s not embarrassing like the Alien vs. Predator movies, but likewise it’s not a replacement for the original film.
I don’t see this film as a worthy introduction to the series for newcomers—the original film is on HBO and still holds up well.
In other words, the film is unnecessary but fun, a good distraction for action movie fans. Expectations should be tempered, but it’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.