You know what, not every movie has to be of such fine quality that critics will rave about it. Sometimes cheesy blockbuster movies that are borderline B-movie can be good. In fact, we, movie bloggers tend to loosen up at times and fall in love with a movie that is self-aware of its quirks! The Predator is a perfect example of it and boy, was this movie fun?!
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Prove Me Wrong
Okay, let’s get this out of the way: this is my first Predator movie. Ever! The franchise has been around since the 1980s but I just never had the chance to watch them. To be honest, I always saw the franchise as the weaker cousin of the Alien franchise. Yes, I am aware of the two crossover movies and they did not help in raising my interest to get into the Predator universe.
With that said, I attended 20th Century Fox’s advanced screening of The Predator in Glorietta with a clean slate. I barely had no interest in the movie that I checked my phone whenever its trailer played. I dismissed it as some all-noise-no-substance action flick that exudes an overwhelming amount of masculinity. My enthusiasm that night was barely there and so the movie began. Wow, was I proven wrong?
In All Its 80’s Glory
Shane Black painted the film with a brand of action and humor that blended really well. Boyd Holbrook plays the hesitant leader of an accidentally formed group of veterans who later referred to themselves as The Loonies. Each of them had defining traits that are stereotypical but are weirdly charming with Keegan-Michael Key as the one who stood out the most.
The film is peppered with crude humor that will undoubtedly offend others. But as for me, I met most of them with great laughters. The tone of The Predator is reminiscent of the action movies of the 80’s- dark, bloody, and goofy. But hey, it worked greatly on screen! Not to mention that admittedly bad movies are some of my guilty pleasures! One of the many remarkable things about the film is Olivia Munn. She is no heroine yet she is no damsel in distress. She took and threw punches with the expectedly male-dominated movie.
The Predator is nowhere near perfect but boy, it was one hella crazy movie! It is bloody, gory, and goofy! To be quite fair, the action sequences at some point got intense yet remained nicely executed. Perhaps that’s what made the movie exciting to watch. You just know that it will be entertaining all throughout! If the film succeeds, and I hope it will, seeds for an expansion of the franchise were planted in the movie!
Director: Shane Black
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn
Binge-level: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
