The Predator Review, Trailer, Plot Synopsis, Posters And More
From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist can prevent the end of the human race.
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THE PREDATOR Final Trailer (2018)
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The Predator | Official Trailer
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The Predator Posters And Photos
The Predator Review
There are very much shades of Black's previous work in The Predator, whether it's the main story about a ragtag group trying to save the earth (a la 1987's The Monster Squad, which Black also cowrote with Fred Dekker) or the subplot involving a larger government conspiracy to keep dangerous information hidden from the public (see Black's last movie, The Nice Guys). However, in addition to those narrative elements, The Predator attempts to cram in not only backstory details for its many human characters, but also a good deal of exposition concerning why these alien sport hunters keep returning to earth and what they are really trying to do. While there is some genuinely fascinating world-building here, the resulting film comes off feeling overstuffed and suffers from pacing issues. Moreover, The Predator feels like it was chopped down and condensed from a longer cut that flowed better, but was awkwardly compressed into a more streamlined (and shorter) blockbuster thrill ride bolstered by Black's trademark dark humor.
Story issues aside, though, The Predator certainly delivers the goods when it comes to bloody Predator-related mayhem. With the aid of sharp cinematography by Zack Snyder's frequent collaborator Larry Fong, Black serves up lots of R-rated violence, some inventive kills and otherwise unique set pieces and action sequences throughout the first two-thirds of the film. While the third act is rougher around the edges (no doubt because the movie's original third act was entirely reshot), The Predator still manages to deliver a climax that's noticeably different from any Predator installment before it and provides some important payoffs to character threads along the way. The film also offers its fair share of fan service and nods to Predator movies past - down to a rousing score by Henry Jackman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman) that successfully channels the spirit of Alan Silvestri's iconic Predator music - without (usually) being too ham-fisted about it. With all the world-building and spectacle going on, The Predator is unsurprisingly hit or miss when it comes to developing its human players. The standouts here includes Brown as the film's human antagonist (a role he appears to relish) and Tremblay as yet another charmingly precocious young boy after his turns in Roomand Wonder. Munn is similarly noteworthy here and further proves her action star bonafides as Dr. Bracket - a character who, frankly, could (should?) have served as the film's primary hero and main protagonist. Unfortunately, Bracket is often sidelined in order to make room for the more archetypical Predator movie (male) lead McKenna and a crew of stock sidekicks that includes Trevante Rhodes as "the unstable one", Keegan-Michael Key as "the funny one" and Thomas Jane as "the troubled one". While these characters benefit from being played by talented actors and do get simple-but-clean arcs, the other soldiers (as played by Alfie Allen and Augusto Aguilera) and Emily ultimately get the short end of the stick. All in all, The Predator is the "biggest" Predator movie yet, but falls well short of being the best installment in the series. Whether it's the result of reshoots or merely being too big for its britches, Black's "requel" is muddled in execution and provides loads of brainless thrills while struggling in the story and character departments. Still, the Predator franchise has always offered a pulpy blend of action, sci-fi, cheesy jokes and (alien) monster horror, and Black's film smartly doesn't try to change things in that regard.I give The Predator 5.9/10 |
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