The Predator

Reshoots are commonplace in Hollywood. Sometimes the studio requests them after a bad testing screening, another time it'll be at the director's request to fill out the plot or fix a continuity error. They are the tool studios use when the footage they need isn't there. For the media, the baseline assumption is reshoots = trouble. And normally I try to ignore this. But, here's an example of how reshoots really were a warning sign that I should've heeded.

Taking place in the modern day, the movie opens with a rogue Predator ship crash landing on earth. After being discovered by Army Ranger Quinn McKenna, the Predator and his ship are snatched up by a shadowy organization obsessed with the beings and McKenna is set to be a scapegoat. To reveal the truth and possibly save the planet McKenna and a team of rogue military men will have to find a stop the Predator.

Before I review this movie I need to address a giant elephant in the room. Right before the film came out it was revealed than director Shane Black had hired a man who plead guilty to sexually assaulting a minor and was only removed from set once Olivia Munn figured it out and brought it to Black's attention. My short comments are Black screwed up big, Munn is a rock star, and a perfect example of why you shouldn't take an abuser at their word (especially if they're your friend). Black has no business being surprised if he didn't do the research. It's a big disappointment and I've lost a fair amount of respect for Black. Ok. Onto the review

I had high hopes for this movie. I love Shane Black as a writer/director and thought his upbeat action/comedy tone would be interesting in the Predator world. And I was wrong because this movie is a hot mess.

There's the bones of a plot I really like, aka an Amy badass going up against a suped-up Predator with a group of screw-ups who the Army tossed aside. There's some relevant political commentary there and allows Black to get into his buddy-comedy groove without feeling out of place. He loves guys that are kind of funny, but also a bit tragic.

Unfortunately this is one plot in a series of other plots thrown together.

There's a plot about McKenna's autistic (never said but heavily implied) son who somehow figures out Predator technology. There's another plot involving Olivia Munn's bad-ass scientist who's been recruited by a shadowy organization led by Sterling K Brown who really wants to learn about Predator tech for reasons? Then there's a large scale plot involving the Predator planet and oh my god how does any of this go together.

I give you some idea of how messy this is, I checked the time after what I believed the finale was, and I still had 30 minutes to go. It's like Shane Black took almost every element from his career threw it in a blender but never asked if it made for a coherent story.

Which is a shame because there's a lot of stuff I like. Sterling K Brown playing a sociopathic bad guy is amazing and delivers one liners like he's done it his whole life. Likewise Olivia Munn gets to be smart and capable without the camera leering at her body (minus a gratuitous shower scene that thankfully stays shoulders up). And I really like the motley crew of McKenna's teammates including the odd couple of Thomas Jane and Keegan Michael-Key and Trevante Rhodes' instant charisma.

Saddly all they get to work with is a series of captures, escapes, and Predator skirmishes that don't amount to much.

The action is pretty competent but I feel like it's better suited for a different movie monster. The whole point of the Predator is that he's a stealthy hunter or can disappear a moment's notice. Seeing it jump around military facilities in the open either in highly lit areas or daylight (a series no-no as far I'm concerned) doesn't really work. And the Predator's skill set seems to change drastically depending on who he's fighting. Giant group of thugs? Cannon fodder who get their limbs sliced off. One of our heroes? He's gonna take heavy damage, but keep trucking until the end.

There is interesting stuff about this new Predator like how it has armor or seems to rely on melee weapons vs laser blasters, but none of that is explored. It's usually a one-off weapon that kills one of Sterling K Brown's goons and then we're back to the woods.

And we haven't even gotten to the movie's tone problem. Black's movies worst best as dark comedies which are great for comparatively grounded buddy comedies, but in a Predator movie that persistent jokiness at the wrong time kills tension. There's also some cartoonish violence in spots that feels really sketchy (aka innocent bystanders killed in big ways for laughs). You can have jokes and action and horror, but you have to know when to land each one. This movie fires everything all the time.

Verdict: A Hot Mess

As much as I wanted this to be good, the jumbled plot and tone make this a missed opportunity. 4/10