The original Predator was one of the first R rated movies I have recollection of seeing end to end as a little girl, without sneaking it in after bedtime. I think A Nightmare on Elm Street was the first one I snuck in. This may explain many many things about me as an adult in retrospect. The 1987 Predator is a near perfect snapshot of the 80’s action film, right at the peak of all that was good in that time. It’s sequel in 1990 was solid and deeply added to the mythos of the Predators and added new weapons to their arsenal; and I still want a Combi Stick. I read most of the early novels which explored the Yautja (their species name) which introduced us to Aliens vs Predator back in 1994 and the awesome Machiko Noguchi. When in 2004 I heard we were getting an AvP movie I got excited. I watched it. I was less excited, but still enjoy it more than most. We don’t discuss Alien vs Predator Requiem (2007)

Actual Screen shot from Requiem.

Then in 2010 after the dismal performance of Requiem, we were given the gift of Predators. They brilliantly took the story away from Earth and gave us the first Predator movie since 1990 to really feel at its core like the first one.  It actually deserves its own review. That being said people couldn’t tell if it was a reboot, remake, or sequel and after being burned multiple times this century gave it a pass; it is a sequel by the way. Eight years later Shane Black and 20th Century Fox return to the franchise.

Should they have hunted other game?

So the most common piece of trivia around this movie is that Shane Black, the director, was in the original Predator as Hawkins. For those that don’t remember he’s the first one of Dutch’s unit to die while he is guarding Anna. More people know him from his other directorial work in Iron Man 3, or as the writer of Lethal Weapon, The Monster Squad, The Last Action here, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. The man has a weird obsession with movies set at Christmas. So as he is talented with the pen as well as the directors chair, he was one of the writers on this film, along with Fred Dekker who also wrote for Monster Squad. Dekker is additionally known for the cult classic Night of the Creeps and the cinematic garbage fire that is Robocop 3.

These two are a hot mess, as is the script and feel of the movie. Yes, you will spend quite a bit of time laughing at the jokes and gags that pepper this movie like buckshot. That isn’t Predator though. It’s not a buddy cop movie and shouldn’t be. As a Director and writer he absolutely can do with the material what he wishes, but you also have to expect the backlash from both critics and fans of the franchise when you go off the reservation this much. It is a continuation of the franchise acknowledging the events of Predator in 1987 and Predator 2 (which canonically occurred in 1997); and alluding to other “visits”; but it doesn’t feel like any of the other movies except sadly Requiem. It lacks the genie in the bottle aspect of the first movie, the pressure cooker feel and expansion of the lore that the second brought, the finesse and style of AVP, but has the same shooting feel as Requiem – but hey you can actually see everything this time. It doesn’t have a feel of it’s own beyond buddy cop style action movie, this time with Halloween as a backdrop. Character motivations are thin at best and the direction of two of them leaves me scratching my head more than a few times as they seem to shift in tone as much as the movie does.

That being said, the action is kinetic. A scene in a high school stadium has some great fluidity of motion and build up that you don’t really get to see these days. You can follow the combat pretty clearly even with one thing being invisible and it being night; with one clear exception in the film you know where everyone is at any given point in relation to the surroundings. That exception is both immediately noticeable then…not. The creature effects are…well when they are practical they look fantastic. Do not ask me how often they are practical, the answer will do nothing but disappoint.

What really saves the movie is the actors. Boyd Holbrook (Logan) is our main protagonist and he really has the charm to make it work. He exudes the charisma needed to let you believe he can take the group he is with and get them to follow. Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight,  12 Strong) doesn’t quite have the same caliber of personality but pairs well with Holbrook as his character Nebraska. He feels like a believable character in an unbelievable situation. Sterling K. Brown (Black Panther, Marshall) plays Traeger and the faults I have here are not Brown’s, he’s solid the character and direction are…a choice. The same can be said of Olivia Munn (X-Men Apocalypse, Attack of the Show!); and while I like her performance and the character she’s playing there are some inconsistencies I have some issues reconciling.

TL;DR?

First let me be clear, I had fun at the movie tonight. That doesn’t keep it from being a hot mess. It feels like every idea they had for the movie got filmed. Some were edited out to varying degrees of success while others should have been edited out entirely. Everything is just above serviceable, but none of it feels like an actual Predator movie. All the toys are there, and Henry Jackman sure as hell used the music from the original, but this doesn’t make it good. Nor does toying with some of the original lines in act one. Ha ha, we get it, its a reference to the original movie. You see  you see! *eye roll* There’s ways to do callbacks, but this was not it.

The movie is an old wooden roller coaster from your childhood that’s just a bit smaller than you remember and not quite as thrilling as you want it to be. It looks similar, has a few new coats of paint, but the feeling just ain’t there anymore. The magic is gone.

Should I see it?

At a theatre with beer and popcorn. If your still watch the NFL and your team is losing this would be a good substitute. It is less painful than that and overall still better than Requiem.

Would you see it again?

In theatres? Unlikely.

But, you’ll buy it?

Time will tell. My magic 8 ball says likely, but not 100% sure yet. I think there’s rewatch value for the fun, but I may be more inclined to put in the first two instead.

Ok, it has an R rating – hows the gore.

I can’t decide if this is a spoiler or not, but um…the R rating is for language.

So there’s some controversy on this film – do you want to address that?

Yes and no. Most people who read reviews just want the review not the drama behind the camera. So if that’s you stop now. Like, Comment, or Share please! I am almost to 200 subs on Facebook.

If you want to know more keep reading.

The situation: Shane Black brought a friend of his on set and cast him in a role in which he would be a stalkery jogger going after Munn’s character during her introduction. This friend is a registered sex offender for assaulting a minor female. Black did not tell his actress the literal predator was playing a little too on the nose during his scenes. When Munn found out about it, she went to Fox and asked them to cut the scene – and they did without hesitation; as in within 48 hours of it coming to light. This lead to stories of Munn being isolated at the Toronto premier, as the cast that was there gave standing ovation to Black. This feeling of isolation was corrected by the time of the later LA premier. The entire cast of major players all have been in support of her and their comments (available here on THR) make it clear they do support her and her decision to come forward and Fox’s to cut the scene. In an era of #MeToo and #TimesUp, which are both long over due Fox responded the only way they could. The cast are responding the only reasonable way they can to maintain continued employment in that environment and yet in many cases it does truly feel sincere; which doesn’t surprise me too much considering the nature of the actors involved.

The problem I feel that needs to be addressed is Shane Black himself. While he has come out and supports the Fox decision (of course he does), bowed out of interviews at the Toronto International Film festival as this would be the only real story he would be asked, and has since apologized publicly and stated he didn’t know the severity of the crime of his friend; he’s not off the hook. He and Munn are both seemingly committed to hashing this out privately and that needs to happen too, but there is a conversation to be had in what gave him the right?

What gave him the right to cast someone he knew was a sex offender in a role that that was literally an individual harassing a woman and NOT tell his actress? When Olivia Munn found out (I haven’t figured out the when/where) but when she found out – he should have acted immediately. It should not have been her to ask Fox – it should have been him. He should have had the first public statement out of the gate (crafted by Fox of course) addressing it and neutering the entire issue there.

Instead, yet again, a woman must be the one to raise her voice, put her career at risk, put the release of her movie at risk because he – and the rest who knew – were complicit in not doing anything. James Gunn was fired for comments from a decade ago, that he long since apologized for and taken action to be better about – yet here’s Shane Black and…nothing.

It was very difficult to watch the movie and not think of this and had the scene not been cut – I wouldn’t have watched it at all. Shane Black needs to do a lot more penance than making up and apologizing to Munn, I don’t know what it should be, but I truly don’t think he’s learned from this. I read his statement a few times, but it just rings hollow. He takes the responsibility for the poor decision, but in the same breath says ‘we cut the scene’. No – you were told to cut it. There is a difference Mr. Black.

The conversation has been started yet again on this and I am hoping other directors learn from it and that Shane Black truly truly comes to understand and addresses his failing here.