Review of The Predator (2018) by Kai82 — 16 Aug 2022

I think it is watchable but also the weakest in the Predator franchise. It mostly lacks the feeling of fear and dread the other movies have and the story should be a bit more ironed out. I also dislike the stuff they add to the lore which weakens the franchise in my opinion.

The previous movie was actually pretty good so I was hoping this would be equally good too. The story starts with a squad of the US army on a mission in Mexico against a drug cartel when a strange flying object crashes nearby.

For the sniper Quinn it is the start of a strange adventure he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams or nightmares. I am vague to avoid spoilers. The first few minutes are excellent but it did get weaker fast.

It is never as intense as the previous movies. They lack the dread, fear and menace. To be fair it as its moments but the story in total is a missed opportunity. A lot is not used well and if it were on DVD I would fast forward a lot.

Also the additions to the lore weaken the franchise. A lot of the appeal was that the predators were mysterious. Here they answer some questions but the answers are disappointing. There / Those are also WTF moments like the instant understanding of technology, the upgrade stuff and the Predator using verbal exposition to name those I think are harmful.

I like the cast even if nothing cant top the first Predators cast. The lead role by Boyd Holbrook works but is also the weakest lead character in the franchise. His squad consisting of actors Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, Thomas Jane, Trevante Rhodes and Keagan Michael Keys.

They are fully to my liking and I enjoyed them a lot. Special praise to Jacob Tremblay as there are not many good child actors and I think Yvonne Strahovski and Olivia Munn are also good. We have a really good cast in my humble opinion.

The special effects were fine for me. Not the gold standard but convincing. Overall I repeat that this movie is not intense and scary enough by franchise standards. It is worthwhile but not amazing. Weakest movie in the franchise and some of the new lore I will ignore.

A 5/10 seems fair for me.