While not perfect, this belated sequel is probably the best Predator film since 1990’s Predator 2, with Shane Black’s trademarked snappy dialogue and character driven humour making up for what the film maybe lacks in standout action sequences.

Premise: After Special Forces sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) encounters a Predator while on a hostage rescue mission, he goes on the run knowing that the government will try to stop him from going public with what he saw. Meanwhile, government operative Will Traeger (Sterling K. Brown) recruits biologist Dr Bracket (Olivia Munn) to investigate this latest alien incursion.

Review:

It’s perhaps ironic that Shane Black’s belated sequel to 1990’s Predator 2 (and the 1987 original, in which he memorably appeared as Hawkins) is partly about hybridisation, as that’s exactly what this movie is. On the one hand, it’s undeniably a Predator movie, and dare I say it, the best one since Predator 2 (the Alien versus Predator films are pure B-movie guilty pleasures, and 2010’s Predators is just a rehash of, or homage to, the original film). But it’s also unquestionably a “Shane Black movie”, complete with black humour, buddy-movie banter, fast-paced dialogue and incredibly quotable one-liners.

Whether or not this works for you might depend on how you feel about the individual constituents of this cinematic cocktail. There are times when the “Shane Blackness” of the film begins to overshadow some of the tension, but for the most part, Shane Black does a good job of balancing the action set pieces with the more humorous elements.

“…brings some fresh ideas in terms of the plot…”

Because let’s face it – no movie is ever going to be able to recreate the tension and mystery of the first two Predator films. When the first one came out, the audience had no idea what Schwarzenegger and his team of commandoes were up against, and even in Predator 2, there was still plenty that was unknown about the otherworldly hunters. But following those first two films, the Predator species has passed into popular culture to such an extent that you could never have another Predator movie in which the characters simply spent half the film wondering what it was that was picking them off one-by-one.

So thankfully, Shane Black’s The Predator takes an entirely different approach. The main character, Boyd Holbrook’s Quinn McKenna, encounters a Predator in the opening sequence, so we don’t spend half the film waiting for the main character to figure out what’s going on. And whereas the first two films were simply about a Predator visiting Earth on a hunting trip, this film brings some fresh ideas in terms of the plot. Now if I’m being honest, maybe not all of those ideas work, and maybe there are some plot-holes left unanswered by the end, but when all’s said and done, I’m glad the film tried something more imaginative than simply having the Predator go on another hunting spree.

“…one of the film’s strengths is its group of main characters…”

The film also does a good job of expanding the mythos from the first two films, but without losing all sense of mystery about the Predators (which arguably the Alien versus Predator and Predators films did). Sterling K. Brown makes an impression as Will Traeger, the head of the secret government agency monitoring Predator activity on Earth, and presumably the successor of Peter Keyes’ (Gary Busey) Predator taskforce from Predator 2. By seeing events through Traeger’s eyes, this time the audience is “behind the curtain”, rather than playing catch-up alongside the main protagonist. Traeger also recruits evolutionary biologist Dr Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn) into his unit, although unfortunately Olivia Munn doesn’t get a great deal to do other than be a surrogate for the uninitiated viewers, and deliver a lot of scientific exposition to the rest of the cast.

Speaking of which, one of The Predator’s strengths is the group of main characters it forms around Quinn McKenna. Just as Schwarzenegger’s Dutch was joined by a great supporting cast in Predator, and Danny Glover’s Harrigan had a tight-knit police unit around him in Predator 2 (including a near show-stealing supporting role from the late, great Bill Paxton), McKenna finds himself with an unlikely group of allies, memorably brought to life in Shane Black’s script. The group is led by Nebraska Williams (played with presence and charisma by Trevante Rhodes, following up on his breakthrough role in Moonlight), a former marine who shot his former commanding officer, while the rest of the group is made up of Baxley (Thomas Jane), Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key), Nettles (Augusto Aguilera) and Lynch (Alfie Allen), who in their own ways each make as much of an impression as Dutch’s and Harrigan’s earlier squads.

“…feels like the best iteration of the franchise in almost thirty years…”

Rounding out the cast are Jacob Tremblay and Yvonne Strahovski as McKenna’s son and ex-wife. Strahovski could definitely have done with more screen time, but does have some great moments in what little time she has, but Tremblay sadly feels more like he’s playing a cliché (the super-gifted autistic child™) than a real character.

Ultimately, this film is a lot of fun, and as a lifelong Predator fan, it certainly feels like the best iteration of the franchise in almost thirty years. That said, it’s not perfect – some of the action scenes feel a little muddled, and as I mentioned there do seem to be a number of plot-holes left unresolved by the end (which may be a result of reportedly extensive reshoots to the final act, which may have left certain plot threads on the cutting room floor). But the cast is a lot of fun, Shane Black’s trademarked dark humour suits the material, and I’d rather have a film like this that tries something new, rather than a film like Predators which just felt like a rip-off of the original.