THE PREDATOR (2018) ***

In 1987, Predator came to Earth and went toe-to-toe with Arnold Schwarzenegger and became one of the most popular movie monsters in film history.  Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black was with the franchise from day one, playing the smallish role of Hawkins, a member of Schwarzenegger’s squad.  In the ensuing years, Black, one of the most sought-after screenwriters in Hollywood, became a talented director in his own right, directing such instant classics as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, and The Nice Guys.  So what better guy to have at the helm of the Predator’s latest adventure?  I can’t say The Predator is disappointing per se, because there’s a lot to enjoy here.  However, it’s easily Black’s weakest film to date.  

The good news is, The Predator works better as a Shane Black movie than as a logical extension of the Predator franchise.  Some of the additions to the mythology is, at best, a little on the lazy side.  I mean the only new wrinkle here is a Predator who is… bigger than the other ones.  Other than that, it hits all the notes you’d want to see in a Predator flick.  It hunts, it skins, it turns invisible.  It’s a solid Predator sequel, all in all, but some will be left wanting more.

The best part of the film are Black’s quirky characters who are constantly bouncing hilarious one-liners and dirty jokes off each other.  A Predator movie lives and dies by its characters, and this one gives us a fun variation on what we’ve previously seen in the series.  This time out, the guys are soldiers with a slew of mental disorders, a touch of PTSD, and various personality ticks.  Despite their disabilities, the characters are able to overcome their handicaps and work together as a team to combat the killer extraterrestrial.  

At the center of the film is Boyd (Logan) Holbrook as the ringleader of the group.  He has a likeable, commanding screen presence and is a good foil for the other, more colorful characters in his unit.  The most colorful being the team of Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Jane.  This bickering duo practically steal the movie and need their own prequel spin-off like yesterday.  It’s nice knowing that someone knows how to properly use Jane.  His character, a down-on-his-luck soldier with Tourette’s represents some of the best work he’s ever done.  If Key and Peele is officially cancelled, I’d gladly watch the Key and Jane show any day.

We also have Jacob Trembly as Holbrook’s son, a prodigy who has Asperger’s.  One of the joys of the flick is seeing how Holbrook tries to protect him, but the kid winds up using his own gifts to help the team.  In fact, there are some places where The Predator plays like a plea for tolerance and inclusion, without being at the expense of the sci-fi action fun.

The action sequences honor what have come before.  Black (who co-wrote the film with his Monster Squad partner, Fred Dekker) knows his way around the series and delivers on what you’d come to expect from the franchise.  However, the new twists are uninspired to say the least.  The “Upgrade” Predator seems more like a video game boss than a worthy addition to the established mythology.  That said, the end scene that sets up another sequel is certainly promising.  I’d love to see Holbrook get another crack at the series.  He certainly proves he’s leading man material.

There’s a part of me that almost wishes the Predator wasn’t even in the film.  I’d pay good money to see these characters (who refer to themselves as “The Loonies”) again in a movie that didn’t revolve around a space alien.  (Although if I really had my druthers I would want to see The Nice Guys Meet the Predator, but oh well.)