Random Movie Series Review - Predator

 

I feel kind of bad that after previously reviewing both the Alien and Alien VS Predator films (and some video games), I haven't really talked much about the Predator films until now. I guess part of that is trying to figure out how to go about it. Because while it's certainly gained its place in pop culture, most of the films have not been completely brilliant. This is in comparison to Alien, where the reception has been mixed to positive. Whereas with this franchise, it's never mixed with the films being either very positive or very negative. Then there is the crossover series Alien VS Predator where both films are terrible, but one is much more terrible than the other. Yet across the whole thing, the video games have done well overall. So let's bring this sci-fi monster thing with 20th Century Studios to a close as we click away and look at the Predator films:

Predator

An alien spaceship, deploys a shuttle to Earth. Vietnam War veteran Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his team, are sent out to save hostages in a guerrilla-held territory in a Central American forest. As they set about doing their mission, they get stalked by a cloaked creature who just so happens to be there for hunting and killing. Forcing the team to continue on with their mission despite changes to it, traitors being revealed and the usual sort of things you would expect from a military unit and all that. This film certain set the stage for the franchise to be an action sci-fi gig and although not one of Arnold's most well known films that stars him, it's a good start to the franchise with surprises and twists around every corner and just another chance for us to see the action star in another sci-fi franchise. But sadly not one that he is returning to any time soon. 9/10

2

Ten years following the Central American rainforest incident, a Predator (reprised by Kevin Peter Hall) is in Los Angeles in the wake of both a heatwave and a turf war between drug cartels. As the police arrive, the Predator enters the battle and slaughters one side of the war. This prompts disgruntled police officer Mike Harrigan (played by Danny Glover) to investigate, find and kill the Predator before more people get killed by the camouflaged creature despite the heatwave and all that. While far from being a step up from the first film, this second film puts the titular creature in a much busier setting, which can lead to some interesting things going on when compared to the rainforest. Personally, I felt the casting was good in this film, but as a sequel, it's just OK. Not brilliant or anything, just OK for me. 6/10

Predators

So this third film was released long after the first Alien VS Predator film, and the whole premise just sounds very similar to that film. So a group of humans from all walks of life, find themselves in an unfamiliar jungle. Led by former US Special Operations Forces veteran Royce (played by Adrien Brody), they find strange things in this jungle and soon enough, they come to realize that they are not on Earth any more. Nope, this is a game reserve for the Predators who arrive to hunt and kill the humans, so they must survive or be the bait of the creatures. The first time I saw this, I just felt it took the franchise nowhere. But having seen it a few times more, I've come to realize that unlike the first two films, this one is not set on Earth for a change. Plus, despite the similarities to Alien VS Predator, it's actually not too bad of a sequel. An improvement over the first sequel, but still far from being the best. 8/10

The

When a Predator ship crash lands on Earth, the Predator within (all portrayed by Brian A. Prince and Kyle Strauts) attacks an Army Ranger squad led by Captain Quinn McKenna (played by Boyd Holbrook) who are on a hostage retrieval mission. Quinn is able to take down the Predator and has its parts sent by mail to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life. The box with the pieces in winds up at the house of his estranged wife Emily (played by Yvonne Strahovski) and autistic son Rory (played by Jacob Tremblay), the latter of which is often bullied at school and takes an interest in the armour for a possible Halloween costume. Meanwhile, Quinn is captured and held for examination just as Government agent Will Traeger (played by Sterling K. Brown) takes the body of the Predator to a lab for experimentation and observation. He recruits biologist Casey Bracket (played by Olivia Munn) to study it. Before long, the Predator awakes, attacks various personnel and begins hunting another Predator, while Quinn teams up with a group of PTSD men who have also been captured to find out just what the heck is going on. While I wouldn't say it's the worst of the franchise, this sequel continues to prove that this is just a franchise that is cursed with disappointment with each film. Visuals are good though and has some entertaining parts. But on the whole autism front as a fellow autistic person, is it really going to evolve a race and is having it really going to make people bully you? OK, maybe that last part is debatable, but it's a firm no for the first part. Predators look great as always, but many unlikeable and unrealistic characters when compared to the previous films. Yeah, avoid this one if you can. 4/10

Prey

Now we have the very first prequel, with this being set before the first film. We are in the year 1719 and in the Great Plains where a young Comanche woman called Naru (played by Amber Midthunder) is being trained to become a healer much despite dreaming of one day becoming a hunter like her brother Taabe (played by Dakota Beavers whose character has a connection to one of the characters in the first film). During a time where she is tracking deer with her dog Sarii, Naru witnesses the lights of an alien Predator ship which she interprets as a Thunderbird (the mythological thing, not a big vehicle with a number on it) and assumes its a sign for her to prove herself. As the Predator makes itself known, Naru is soon tasked with protecting her people not just from the Predator, but from the French too, who start an invasion of sorts themselves. After so long, we finally have a Predator film that is a step up from the first film that is done right. Despite how very distant it is from the other films, it has connections to the first two films and gives us a Predator in a more primitive state over the technologically advanced ones we have come to know and love (though this one still has technology). Character development is done right, and I feel by the end of the film, Naru is what she sets out to be. A great film to a franchise that was once believed to be full of disappointments. 9/10

Well it took a long time, but in the end we finally got a good Predator film after the first one. Anyway, overall, its a good series with a lot of lows. But highs always being how the Predators look and feel, with every film depicting them as being much more deadly than before. Kinda want to see them take on Batman, but that will probably never happen (not officially anyway). 8/10