The Predator

The Predator has come a long way since he fought Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987. Shane Black, who played The Predator's first victim in that first film, occupies the director's chair in The Predator. He and co-writer Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad) create a fun action film that has no time to bleed. Even when it does.

Army Sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) has a problem. A Predator attacked him and his men one night. Quinn stole some of the Predator's gear and mailed it to his estranged family. But stuffy Agent Traeger (Sterling K. Brown) put him in an insane asylum to keep him quiet. He meets a bunch of "Loonies" who become his new pals. Meanwhile, the Predator is kept under surveillance in a lab.

Quinn's son Rory (Jacob Tremblay) finds the Predator's gear. He tinkers with it and accidentally alerts a second, much-larger Predator to his location. The "Ultimate Predator" wants the gear bad. Quinn and The Loonies drive by the lab just as the first Predator breaks free. Naturally, the first Predator wants his gear back bad. Quinn and The Loonies team up to save Rory before one or both Predators make a trophy of him.

The film runs by nicely, but not smoothly, at 107 minutes. A few action scenes, including the first Predator's escape from the lab, are strong set pieces. But the film jumps from scene to scene abruptly a few times. Traeger's first scene just ends a few minutes after he shows up. The first Predator's ship plummets at day then crashes at night. And a major plot point should've been done a lot sooner than the last scene. At least the story and its ideas are comprehensible.

The cast is good. Quinn is a fine action hero, but Rory is even better as a lead. Casey Brackett (Olivia Munn), a teacher who gets caught up in the mess, is a capable action heroine. The Loonies have un-PC banter but they're a likable and sympathetic bunch of rogues. Nebraska (Trevante Rhodes) and Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key) & Baxley (Thomas Jane) are the best of the wild bunch. Traeger is capable as a stubborn agent, but his demise was too sudden. Keyes (Jake Busey) was a great minor character who should've had more screentime. And the titular Predators were formidable presences here.

There's quite a bit to admire on the technical side. The scene jumping not withstanding, the editing was good. The creature effects were great. The first Predator's practical effects are as strong as they were in '87. You can hardly tell the Ultimate Predator is a CGI creature. The Ultimate Predator's Predator Dogs are more obvious, but they're still cool. Their technology was impressive. Henry Jackman's score is memorable and Alan Silvestri's themes from the first film are welcome. The sound design was perfect.

Much of The Predator's problems were due to studio interference. But they're easy to overlook thanks to its strong first half and fun cast. That escape scene left an impression as strong as a Predator's laser blast. I'm now interested in seeing an unedited version on home video.