Day 258 of the challenge! The Predator made me sad. Really sad. Easily one of the worst watches this year.
No amount of hacked off limbs, explosive gore ,and flashy “Predator-vision” can hide what a mess of a movie this is. I went in with absolutely zero expectations, and still ended up walking out terribly disappointed. Where the original was a lean and mean creature feature that really knew how to build up the tension, The Predator (Predator 4? 6 if you count the Alien vs Predator series , but you really shouldn’t) just throws everything at a wall, hoping something sticks. Nothing does. Hell, even the cold and grey Predator 2 has a better sense of style and tension than this. I’d even take the first Alien vs Predator (which I should admit is a guilty pleasure of mine).
What frustrates me the most about this new Predator though, has to be that it didn’t start off so bad. The first act of the film hinted at a different type of movie, one made by filmmakers that understand what makes the original work so well. Predator works best in more intimate, smaller scaled B-movies that revel in not only their action, but more importantly, their horror. By forcing these films into epic scaled blockbusters, the whole point is lost. The terrible characters and expositional dialogue also doesn’t help much. Anyway…
There’s some contradictory commentary about global warming (that goes nowhere), some weird and problematic depictions of autism and other mental disorders (that also goes nowhere), and a setup for a direct sequel that you just pray to the movie gods goes nowhere. Admittedly, there are a few funny moments (like 2) that are floating in a sea of other sinking jokes, so at least there’s that.
Maybe it’s time we admit that Predator just wasn’t meant to be a franchise? Possibly. Other 80s staples like The Thing and Robocop and their maligned sequels seem to support that train of thought. I mean, we’ll always have the original Predator in all its testosterone fueled glory, and it’s quite possible that the right filmmakers just haven’t been allowed to play in that sandbox yet. The hope for a good follow up to Predator is there, but I’m not holding my breath.