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Commentary
September 19, 2018
Predator prides itself on shock, awe and stupidity

The reboot of the 1987 thriller Predator shares its name and some of the action, but this new Predator reverts back to the basic tropes in most action thrillers -

Night at the Orpheum

 

The reboot of the 1987 thriller Predator shares its name and some of the action, but this new Predator reverts back to the basic tropes in most action thrillers - humor and fights. Shane Black returns to take on the Predator franchise with a new ragtag cast comprised of some big names such as Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Kay and Sterling K. Brown. Black brings back the same intensity seen in the first one but hides it behind goofy antics and gore, and, surprisingly, it works. Predator (2018) is an off-the-walls action movie that is able to successfully bring in the right type of humor, while also not sparing the audience with gruesome kills.

The alien species Predator returns to hunt human-kind, but this time they have found a way to evolve. Upgrading themselves by using DNA from other species, Predator sets his sights on a small suburban town after their technology lands in the hands of a young boy. The only thing that can save him and the human race is a motley crew of soldiers and an evolutionary biologist.

The threadbare plot is uplifted by an entertaining, myriad of characters. It’s the interactions between Quinn McKenna and the other veterans that are the true star of the film. Though their interactions are funny, there are moments where Black does cross the line from humor to outrageous, stereotypical jabs at mental illness. A surprising aspect of the film that almost dates it in a way, and is a little disappointing since most of the main characters exhibit some type of mental illness or PTSD.

Another point off for Black, is the fact that there are only two female characters in the whole movie. Olivia Munn and Yvonne Strahovski make up the only female representation in the whole film. With so many action movies showing how successful a female-led cast can be - Ocean’s 8 - it feels out of place in the modern film industry.

Other than the lack of a female cast and poking fun at mental illness, Predator is a truly gross film, exploiting the gore to its fullest in every type of action shot - gun fights and physical fights. Black and his team knew how to make Predator itself terrifying while also making the aliens one of the grossest parts of the film. Fight scenes are interspersed with flying green alien blood while Quinn and his unit fight for survival. Predator enterprises on the classic tropes of violence and gore to its fullest, while making it a parody at the same time. The characters’ dialogue and some scenes truly seem like caricatures of how an action film or thriller would play out.

Moving past these aspects, Predator is a half-way decent action film making it a fun, yet ridiculous continuation of the Predator franchise.

The main thing that I’m disappointed with is the fact that these reboots keep popping up. In the past few years, there have been numerous rehashes of films that made an impact on cinema or pop culture in some way. Just a few examples are Baywatch, Ghostbusters, Jumanji. All of these films are very similar to the recently released Predator film in that they take the plot from their predecessors and manipulate it, in a very poor way, to fit a modern audience. It begs the question of whether their are creatives in the film industry that can make their mark without ruining staples of the industry at the same time.

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