The Predator Review

The Predator is the latest entry in this long running series about hunting, the prey of course being humans. It's a direct sequel to previous entries that evolves the classic monster we know and should fear. It yet again aims to elevate things by having gene manipulation be a big deal as the Predator continues to get larger to almost comical lengths. This is an odd film as it switches between a serious dark tone and that of a full blown comedy. It's certainly weird and strangely I enjoyed it for the most part. It definitely had some weak segments, but it feels as though it captures that original style from the first film.

At least, the exciting gritty points mixed with a slightly campy time. This film starts off rather dark with gritty elements and then leans more towards the campy style mentioned prior. The general layout follows a group of strange military individuals that come together to do something good. They bring in a wide range of characters and this works well. You also get a minor sense of attachment to them prior to the full hunt starting.

The Predator was generally shot well, looking good and while it was dark most of the time you could still see well enough. They went from neat facilities with a sense of discovery to running around a town at night. The CGI was decent, with some really poor spots surrounding the Predators. It was weird to see this shift and it was weakest whenever one of them would get attacked.

The smaller of Predators looked the best whereas the taller one was certainly more fake in how it was displayed. I thought the acting was fine and they had a decent selection of individuals to get killed along the way. I found it really weird that the biologist became a killing machine so quickly, but when the situation calls for it I suppose. The tone just felt off in this as I found it rather funny and mostly a silly time.

The Conclusion

The Predator does emulate certain themes that made the original so interesting, but doesn't keep to a particular tone. It was way too funny which was entertaining, yet at the same time it felt misplaced. It had good segments of action and the characters were generally fine. They had a plot that made sense and motivations had a purpose to them.

The Predators seemed to be having a great time and this take on them seems to really remove the sense of care the previous ones had. It starts out feeling familiar and then they just become reckless killing machines. There's a decent mix here and honestly I'm not sure what to think of this one. I liked it, but it still felt weird.

The Predator Review at Theater with DBox Viewing

Rating Overall: 6.0