SPOILERS

The Predator is fun, more fun than I expected. It is not scary. It is not intense. It is not that great. As the movie goes along, it starts to slip off the beam, and the more one thinks about it, the more the movie starts to unravel.

For example, the organization studying the Predator seems to be well-funded, professional and in possession of all of the right facilities and equipment. Yet, when it comes to one of the most important aspects of their purpose, they have to pick a woman up off the street to help them out. Why couldn’t Olivia Munn just work for them already? That would make more sense and streamline the movie a bit. Maybe she was supposed to be the audience-member character, who would ask the appropriate questions for us so we could learn with her. That makes sense, but it is still a huh? item.

But I don’t want to go all negative. How about for every con, I list a pro?

Pro: I liked the misfit characters.

Con: They were underused. Game of Thrones guy didn’t have much of anything to do but a card trick and fly a helicopter.

Pro: Humor seemed to stick with the audience

Con: A few contrivances, particularly with crashing spaceships. A Predator just happens to crash in the middle of a special forces mission. Another spaceship just happens to crash where Olivia Munn is there to save the day.

Pro: Practical Predator

Con: CGI Predator

Pro: I liked the “good” Predator. He had a couple of nice character moments that worked. He used a severed arm to give a thumbs up. He got people to lower weapons by taking a hostage. He utilized human weapons and had a solid escape scene.

Con: I didn’t particularly care for the Super Predator. I can’t put my finger on why. Maybe it was because he had everything “built-in” and was less of a Predator and more of a symptom of the going-bigger disease that plagues sequels, as in, bigger is better; let’s make everything bigger!

Pro: Predator subtitles.

Con: No additional Predators, which were filmed but apparently cut after test screenings, along with more hybrids. It seemed the final act was a bit discombobulated due to said reshoots.

Pro: Sterling Brown stole the show.

Con: Sterling Brown apparently died at the end. I couldn’t really tell. How do you make a character like that go out in the background?

Pro: A hide-and-seek countdown.

Con: I really disliked the dog. It did not work.

Pro: The spaceship shield thing was kind of neat.

Con: Spaceship surfing is not that neat.

Pro: The movie looks pretty nice.

Con: The movie had a kid as a main character.

Pro: Hardly any political preaching.

Con: Some political preaching.

Pro: The movie was relatively short, none of that two-and-a-half-hour stuff.

Con: They seem to be turning Predator into an Iron Man franchise at the end.

All in all, the movie is a bit of a mess. It’s not as focused as the first one. I think Arnold was in every scene in the first Predator, except the cutaways to the Predator’s camp. The Predator suffers from bouncing all over the place. Whose story is it? Sniper guy? Olivia Munn? Sterling Brown? Super Predator? There’s nothing wrong with multiple point of views, but the movie seems to drop a few balls that is trying to juggle.

I fully expected Arnold to turn up in the pod at the end as a cameo. Alas, it was not meant to be; rather, the pod contained the Guyver.

So, final word time, thumbs up or thumbs down, recommendation or no recommendation? I’m thinking…

I’m still thinking…

While I’m still thinking, I will revisit my post on a possible Predator movie plot…