The Predator (2018)

'The Predator' is a bizarre mixture. It has many good elements, but overall it falls apart by the end of its two hour running time. This film is set on Earth again, this time with a rogue Predator attempting to bring an advanced weapon while avoiding a genetically enhanced member of his clan. It's more than a little disappointing to go into a movie called 'The Predator' and have them barely show up. They pop up here and there but like the rest of the film, it's choppy, uneven, and quick at best. I guess I should talk about the biggest negative first, and that's the film's uneven and extremely bad editing. The short version is 20th Century Fox decided that the film needed some last minute re-shoots, including the entire finale. For those not that knowledgeable about the film world, re-shooting usually translates to "something bad has occurred" and 'The Predator' is a perfect example. The re-shoots don't do the film any favors and ruins what could have truly been a great sequel rather than a mediocre one at best.

Characters will be introduced then vanish, as will plot lines or character development. The film's human antagonist is shown to be a gigantic asshole and you get this build up that he will get what he deserves in the end, only for him to yep you guessed it vanish during a fight scene and never shows up again. The end battle in general is completely rushed and we see characters just get offed one by one in less than ten minutes. It's lazy and destroys all that development with these characters, and it's a damn shame because this is one of the best casts of the 'Predator' series. They're likeable, funny, and each are fleshed out just enough to make us like them. They are truly a nice throwback to the 1980s and fit the film perfect. While the story and its structure are a complete mess, there are things to like about 'The Predator'. The characters like I said are well written and provide some funny dialogue throughout. I also enjoyed the score, which includes all of Alan Silvestri's themes from the first two films and also thought the film was well shot, except during the end when the film goes into 'AVP Requiem' territory and is pitch black for a lot of it.

Sometimes however, the throwbacks can be cringe worthy ("Get to those choppers!") and while it does have some impressive special effects and gore, there's far too much CGI blood and guts and it looks pretty bad. The Predator designs and puppetry are excellent though not that different from the other films and we do have some interesting ideas, such as Predator Dogs though they don't provide much substance to the film. 'The Predator' was one I really was looking forward to, but has ended up topping 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' in being the biggest disappointment for me this year. The studio interfered far too much and left this film to die a painful death. They didn't care if Shane Black's film made sense, but just that it makes money for two weeks then leaves. This could have been so much more and I really love Black's work, but this is such a step back from his earlier films. It's a watchable film, and I was enjoying it while I sat there but thinking about it on the way home I thought less and less of the film. What a sad year its been.

2/5