Review of The Predator (2018) by Aj_Dias_Za — 14 Sep 2018

Thoroughly disappointing if you are a Shane Black fan. EVEN MORE DISAPPOINTING if you are a Predator fan.

Having grown up a huge fan of the original, I was excited to hear that Shane Black, an original cast member had been brought onboard to breathe fresh life into a promising franchise that has been squandered by subpar sequels and horrendously awful crossovers. I didn't set my expectations very high and wasn't expecting this to eclipse the brilliance and effectiveness of the original film, but it is a crying shame that this film could not even claw its way over the low bar of expectations I had set for it.

The movie surprisingly started out interestingly enough and I found myself enjoying it throughout the first two acts - but it is when the "Upgrade Predator" arrives on scene where the movie quickly devolves into a sloppy and incoherent mess with gaping potholes larger than a crater left by a downed predator ship.

Overall I find this movie to be the unfortunate victim of too much test screening, too many changes and re-shoots, and an overabundance of bad creative decisions by the writers. The film relies on too many (inexplicably incompetent) nameless commandos as cannon-fodder to notch up a large body count, the CGI kills look cheap and shoddy,and the stakes feel way too low when the emotional weight during key scenes is sacrificed in favor of cheap laughs. If that wasn't bad enough, the ending will have you rolling your eyes and groaning in your seat as you realize you have been suckered into another money-grabbing Marvel movie masquerading beneath a predator mask.

Avoid this movie unless you are a true predator fan desperate for another fix of Yautja-related chaos - and even then prepare to be left unsatisfied.