We're back to the franchise about an alien who hunts for sport, only this time it focuses less on thrills and more on...laughs? Because right after watching, I honestly didn't know how much I'd describe for this one, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained for some scenes.
The Predator starts with one of its species once again crash-landing on earth and where a soldier grabs a hold of some of its gear, but as he gets captured and sent to a group of mercenaries with psychological issues, chaos ensues where as a predator is experimented on and escapes.
From here, it's meant to be a continuation of the series with some nods to the original, taken into an offbeat direction by Shane Black. As fans would know, Black had a minor role in first film and it seems ideal he would take over, but what started as an action-thriller suddenly gets turned into an action-comedy. But if you look at Black's past work like Iron Man 3 or The Nice Guys, the action comedy genre is already in his alley, and that's where the film gets a bit messy.
There's actors like Boyd Holbrook and Olivia Munn taking charge, then there's comic reliefs like Keegan-Michael Key, yet the humor doesn't really match the film's level of violence, and characters get killed off in some pretty disgusting ways in this one. And talented kid actor Jacob Tremblay has a key role I didn't expect to see but but is, in a way, interesting how the film represents it. Whether or not this will please us, it ended up as a fun yet clunky ride. C+
(Originally meant to be posted by time of film's release)