The Predator

It is not fun being a contrarian. It's not something I enjoy, and people might be shocked to learn I don't enjoy disagreeing with other people or feed on negative attention. There are two kinds of major disagreements for me. The first is me hating a project that everyone else loves. I'm not going to say I enjoy shitting on something other people dig, but I am always comfortable writing those reviews because my dislikes come from a passionate and honest place. And I like to think that people who read my reviews know that by now.

The other kind of contrary review is rarer, but unlike me taking shots at a sacred cow, I feel discomfort every time I have to write that type of review. I'm talking about whenever I like a movie everyone else hated. It truthfully doesn't happen very often, which is good because I dislike writing these reviews, and I always worry they make my readers think less of me.

I LOVED Wonder Woman 1984. And that movie got NOTHING but shit. Everyone but me hated it. Me giving it an unironic five stars upon first seeing it really made me feel kind of stupid upon all of the other negative reviews coming in. And I think the difference for me and the people who hated that movie, is they were hardcore comic book fans that movie failed, and I'm the guy who doesn't like superhero comics very much, and I responded to the tone being outside of that entirely.

I don't know exactly WHY so many Predator fans hate the fourth movie. You guys may know something about it I don't. But I really liked it. Can I justify that for a movie that is reviled? I'll try. We'll see how I do.

If I had to guess why the movie is hated, it's because it's jokey and tries to be funny. The other Predators weren't just action movies, they were horror films too. The tone here with the Loonies feels very Buddy / Cop and outside of everything else.

I won't go so far as to say the lightened tone is an improvement. I think the first film is better. What I will say is that as a viewer of random franchises that I not a hardcore fan of (which definitely describes my relationship to Predator) I enjoy different films branching out in different tones and concepts. Aliens is my favorite Alien film because it's the one most unlike the others (Prometheus is my second favorite for the same reason). You do the exact same premise over and over again, you are repeating yourself with diminishing returns. For people who take this franchise seriously, and really are not happy any with ANY sort of variation, I see you and hear you. But that doesn't describe me. To be 100% truthful, almost every franchise I am an actual fan of always varies in tone and premises from episode to episode. I am not a big horror fan because I always feel like if you've seen one film in a franchise, you've seen them all. And again, I appreciate Predator fans fed up to here with Shane Black's fuckery. But Shane Black's fuckery is only an actual problem if that's the franchise from now on, and things devolve into a punchline in all future movies.

That apparently didn't happen. Prey (which I will be reviewing soon) was considered a return to form for the franchise in both quality and tone. So the jokey nature The Predator is an outlier, rather than the start of a disturbing trend. While that is so, it doesn't bother me. It makes it unlike the other movies, which is good. That was the reason I liked the third film, Predators, too. The franchise is known as shaky, and no lie Predator 2 was far worse than I could have imagined. But I think the rest of the movies are all right. Including this one.

I do want to point one thing out that will probably make Shane Black sad. Although I enjoyed the buddy cop tone, truthfully I don't believe I laughed at any of the jokes. Was that the dealbreaker for people who hated it? Because if it was, I can see their point. But for me, I don't demand to laugh at every movie. I don't even demand to laugh at every comedy. But maybe the fact that jokes weren't exactly gutbusting which might be the reason that people objected to the humorous tone. I don't know.

I like that when Olivia Munn is naked and weaponless, the Predator moves on. I like the Predator more than the Xenomorph because it follows rules and etiquette which automatically makes it more interesting.

I like that they domesticated a Predator dog too.

The climate change allegories and discussions of Predator evolution to replace us on this planet is both interesting and chilling.

I like the gag where they point out calling it a Predator is a misnomer. It's a trophy hunter. Different deal. I like when franchises pick holes at themselves like that.

Notice that Rory has accidentally killed the bully at the house who was chucking eggs at him. That moment did NOT pull its punches and I'm glad. Gonna be hard for the government to cover THAT up though. Dead white suburban kids don't tend to simply be ignored. Fusses are usually made.

I liked that, and I feel vulnerable admitting I liked that. Don't hate me. 4 stars.

Deleted Scenes

Most deleted scenes from films deserve to be cut. I liked all four scenes cut out of this one. Overall: 4 stars.

Traeger Meets McKenna

I didn't like the first part of the scene, but I liked the second. I know Traeger is a bastard, but showing him firing a gun around a bunch of kids is too far, whether he pays the kid for the ball he ruined or not. The second part of Traeger casually telling McKenna he's going to prison and McKenna playing along is kind of fun though. Again, I didn't laugh at the joke. But the light tone is different. 4 stars.

Lynch Goes Shopping

If they had left this scene in the movie, I might have liked Lynch more. 4 stars.

Surveying The House

I like the scene a lot, and the back and forth between the Loonies is amusing. But it's the awkwardness of Traeger subtly worming his way into Mrs. McKenna's house which is both wonderfully realistic and off-putting. I will say this. The things the mom chooses to paint are not exactly appropriate for a house with a little kid in it. You'd figure the movie would know that, but they wanted them some crass Keegan-Michael Keyes jokes, and so she's a worse mother than anyone else would be in her position in real-life. 3 1/2 stars.

Nettles' Outtakes

It's interesting that it appears most of the scene where Nettles hits on Olivia Munn's character was improvised. Again, it wasn't precisely funny. But it felt kind of real and amusing for that reason. 4 1/2 stars.

Theatrical Trailers

Cool trailer. The first two hint the movie will be more traditional than it is. Overall: 3 1/2 stars.

Teaser Trailer

The kid playing with the Predator helmet and gauntlet is properly alarming. 4 stars.

Official Trailer

The tone of the trailer is dark. It that perhaps one of the reasons people were disappointed? Interestingly enough, this contains some footage cut from the movie but not found in the Deleted Scenes either. 3 1/2 stars.

Final Trailer

This really highlights the comedic tone. I'm betting this made fans nervous. 3 stars.

The Predator Holiday Special

I'm questioning why this is funny and Robot Chicken is not.

Comedy is not actually hard. Seth Green just makes it LOOK like it's hard. 5 stars.