Predator (film series)

THE PREDATOR (15)

D: Shane Black

20th Century Fox (John Davis)

US 2018

107 mins

Action/Science Fiction

W: Shane Black & Fred Dekker [based on characters created by Jim Thomas & John Thomas]

DP: Larry Fong

Ed: Harry B. Miller III & Billy Weber

Mus: Henry Jackman

Boyd Holbrook (Quinn McKenna), Trevante Rhodes (Nebraska Williams), Jacob Tremblay (Rory McKenna), Olivia Munn (Dr. Casey Bracket), Sterling K. Brown (Will Traeger)

Shane Black, who was one of the cast members of the original 1987 movie, takes the directorial reins and shares a writing credit for this 2018 sequel/reboot, but if you're expecting this to tie in more with the testosterone filled Arnold Schwarzenegger film, prepare to be disappointed.

The original Predator isn't exactly blessed with a great screenplay or Oscar worthy acting, but the simple plot- pitting a small platoon of soldiers against an alien who kills for sport, it more than hits the spot for action, thrills and tension, it hits the spot. 

A 1990 sequel wasn't quite as good, but kept a similar premise as it switched from the South American jungle to the urban jungle of Los Angeles' gang wars.

The franchise went tits up from there, tying into Fox's Alien movies for two films before Predators attempted to return to the roots of the original film.

This 2018 reboot sees the alien hunters come to Earth to steal a child's autism.  Yes, you read that right.

It's never a good thing when a release date is postponed for hefty reshoots, but even the bare bones of the plot here are laughably bad. When this is paired with terrible dialogue, choppy editing, shoddy CGI and performances out of the Josh Duhamel school of acting, this was bound to be a terrible experience to witness at the cinema.

One to avoid for sure. It's one ugly motherf**ker.

1/10

PREY (15)

D: Dan Trachtenberg

20th Century Studios / Davis Entertainment / Lawrence Gordon Productions (John Davis, Jhane Myers & Marty P. Ewing)

US 🇺🇸 2022

99 mins

Action/Adventure/Science Fiction

W: Patrick Aison & Dan Trachtenberg [based on characters created by Jim Thomas & John Thomas]

DP: Jeff Cutter

Ed: Angela M. Catanzero & Claudia Castello

Mus: Sarah Schachner

Amber Midthunder (Naru), Dakota Beevers (Taabe), Dane DiLiegro (The Feral Predator), Michelle Thrush (Aruka)

The Predator series is one which really didn’t need to exist outside of the original film, as all sequels thus far have been well below the standard of the original film, however, this prequel/reboot is easily the best effort since the 1987 action-adventure.

Amber Midthunder makes for an excellent lead as a young Comanche woman who aspires to be a hunter, subject to much trial and error as she hones her skills until it’s discovered that she and her tribe have become the hunted, prey for an alien warrior that hunts for sport and keeps trophies of those that it kills.

The film was probably given an injustice being released direct to streaming services rather than given a cinema release, though as enjoyable as this was, I still hope that there are no further films, even if this was refreshingly enjoyable following the awfulness of Shane Black’s 2018 entry “The Predator”, though I hope to see Amber Midthunder in more, following an impressive breakthrough role.

6/10

PREDATOR: BADLANDS (12)

D: Dan Trachtenberg 

20th Century Studios (John Davis, Brent O’Connor, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg & Ben Rosenblatt)

US 🇺🇸 2025

107 mins

Science Fiction/Action/Adventure

W: Patrick Alson & Dan Trachtenberg [based on characters created by Jim Thomas & John Thomas]

DP: Jeff Cutter

Ed: Stefan Grupe & David Trachtenberg 

Mus: Sarah Schachner & Benjamin Wallfisch 

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (Dek), Elle Fanning (Thia / Tessa), Reuben de Jong (Njohrr), Mike Homik (Kwei), Alison Wright (MU/TH/UR)

The Disneyfication of the Predator series continues with ‘Badlands’, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who previously helmed 2022’s “Prey”, which was a surprisingly decent entry into the Predator universe, although it only released direct to streaming service Disney+, without a cinema release that it probably deserved.

This entry attempts to reframe the Predator less of a ruthless, bloodthirsty hunter and more a victim of toxic patriarchy. 

Dek, the runt of his tribe and deemed a disappointment to the family by his brutal father, journeys to a hostile planet to kill its most dangerous creature to prove his father wrong and become a credible member of the clan.  Upon crash landing on the planet, the surrounding environment immediately makes a seemingly impossible mission even more difficult until he happens upon a partly-destroyed cyborg named Thia, who assists with some exposition and non-stop dialogue that attempts to be quirky, but becomes bothersome long before its welcome, though Thia has an ulterior motive for joining forces with the alien.

As a stand-alone science fiction action movie, it probably serves its purpose and is reasonably entertaining for the duration, despite its annoyances, but it’s so far removed from the source of the 1987 movie that it barely qualifies as a Predator movie for me and is more of a neutered, toothless attempt at a reboot.

Personally, I think this would be more suited to the Star Wars universe, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the script was repurposed from something in development for it.

Overall, it’s not a wholly bad film, but it is a pretty bad Predator film.

5/10