The Predator (2018) review

When it comes to classic 80’s action films, one of the most widely praised of that era is Predator. While initially receiving a mixed reaction upon its release, director John McTiernan’s sci-fi action flick, which follows a bunch of commandos who find themselves hunted by a mysterious alien creature who hunts for sport, has gone on to become one of the definitive films of both the action and sci-fi genres. And after undergoing a pivotal change in design halfway through shooting, the Predator now stands as one of the most iconic alien creatures of all-time up there with the Xenomorphs from Alien. However, unlike the Alien films, the Predator series hasn’t seen as many appearances on the big screen. It got a sequel, Predator 2, in 1990, but outside of the poorly-received crossovers that it did with the Alien franchise in the early 2000’s, it didn’t see an official sequel until 2010’s Predators. And even then, neither film was as well-regarded as the original. But now the Predator series is back with the fourth installment of the main series, simply titled The Predator. The film serves as the latest directorial outing for Shane Black, whose career in the film industry needs no introduction having penned classics like Lethal Weapon and directing critically-acclaimed films such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys along with the criminally underrated Iron Man 3. And in the case of The Predator, Black’s had quite a history with this franchise as he had played the character of Hawkins in the original film. This new film also sees a reunion between Black and co-writer Fred Dekker, who had previously worked together on the 1987 cult classic The Monster Squad. But as for their newest collaboration, they deliver an entertaining sci-fi action flick that isn’t quite as good as the original film but is still easily the best follow-up that the franchise has gotten up to this point.

When a mysterious ship crash-lands in the middle of a Mexican jungle, a team of Army Rangers led by Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) investigates the crash site and come across one of the terrifying creatures known as ‘Predators’. Quinn ends up being the only survivor of the group but manages to find some of the creature’s technology, which he sends back home to his ex-wife Emily (Yvonne Strahovski) and their autistic son Rory (Jacob Tremblay) in Georgia to keep it hidden from the government. However, Quinn soon ends up getting apprehended by the government and deemed ‘crazy’ due to most people not believing his story of his run-in with the Predator. Meanwhile, Rory ends up opening his father’s package when it arrives and starts to fiddle with its contents, unintentionally sending out a signal that attracts the attention of a much larger ‘Super Predator’ that had been hunting the smaller Predator that Quinn and his team had encountered. At the same time, that Predator, which has since been detained by the government at a secret facility, breaks out of its confinement and heads off to collect its gear by any means necessary. Thus, with two different Predators heading towards his family, Quinn teams up with a bunch of fellow ‘crazy’ soldiers, including ex-Marine Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes) and the wise-cracking Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key), plus biologist Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn), to stop the two alien creatures before they can cause some major damage.       

The first thing to note about this film is that being a Shane Black film, it, of course, features his most definitive trait as a filmmaker, his knack for snappy dialogue. This dialogue is all throughout the film and results in consistent humor throughout, especially whenever the main characters interact with each other. The film also benefits from having some solid pacing, at least when in contrast to the slower build-up of some of the franchise’s previous installments. In other words, this film gets going right out the gate and is non-stop with its action. However, that doesn’t mean that this is entirely a good thing. Because the film goes by so fast, it doesn’t really have much time to stop and take a breather, and because of this, it does result in some pivotal plot lines (e.g. the demise of certain characters) and even a few bits of the humorous dialogue being glossed over. This ends up being the case all the way through to the ending, culminating in a finale that hasn’t been received very well by a lot of critics. And to make this situation even more ironic, that ending was the one major thing that Black and his crew reshot after the original ending didn’t go over very well with test audiences. In other words, it does kind of feel like a few problems emerged during the editing process. It was reported that some parts of the film were trimmed down (to the point where a character played by Edward James Olmos was cut out entirely) so that it wouldn’t be negatively affected by a hefty run-time. And yet, in this instance, it probably would’ve helped the film to have a longer run-time, even if it meant that this would’ve been the first Predator film to be over two hours long, because it ends up sporting a rather bare-bones plot due in part to its frenetic pacing.  

Admittedly character development has never really been the Predator franchise’s strongest suit. Even the original 1987 film, when it was first released, was criticized for not spending a lot of time developing its characters. This trend does continue with the new film, but at the very least, it does benefit from having the best ensemble cast since the original film (and yes, I know I just said that about the Predators cast a few days back in the Predator series retrospective…). Not only do all the main stars do a great job with Black’s trademark dialogue, but they also have phenomenal camaraderie together. The film does admittedly go the same route as Predators by giving us a bunch of characters who aren’t exactly the most likable in the world, but they’re a lot more entertaining to watch by comparison. Boyd Holbrook is solid in the lead role of Quinn as is Jacob Tremblay as his son Rory. The team that Quinn ‘assembles’ in the film also has some notable standouts as well, like Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Jane as Coyle and the PTSD-ridden Baxley, respectively, who bicker constantly throughout the film (e.g. Coyle hurls a lot of ‘your mama’ jokes at Baxley). Some are a bit underutilized, however, like Alfie Allen as ex-marine Lynch and even Olivia Munn as main female protagonist Casey Bracket. But arguably the one who gets it the worst is Sterling K. Brown as Will Traeger, the agent who runs the government facility that the smaller Predator is initially held at and then leads the operation to hunt both Predators down. Without spoiling anything major, the screenplay decides to have him serve as an antagonist towards Quinn and company for no real reason. Brown is great in the role, but he’s ultimately just as waylaid by the erratic editing/pacing as everyone else.

Now to be clear, I’m not saying that this film is ‘as good’ as the original Predator… but what I can say is that, despite everything that I’ve said in this review, it’s easily the best of the series’ sequels. Under the direction of someone who is clearly quite familiar with the franchise (i.e. one of the original film’s cast members), The Predator is a thrilling sci-fi B-movie thanks to its decent (albeit extremely frenetic) pacing and a strong ensemble cast that works phenomenally with Shane Black and Fred Dekker’s dialogue. With that said, though, that doesn’t mean that this film is flawless. While its rapid-fire pace is welcome after the tepid pacing of 2010’s Predators, it also means that the film basically rushes through everything, and this does really affect things in the long run, resulting in a film that doesn’t have much of a plot to it and characters that, despite being entertaining to watch, don’t have a lot to work with in terms of character development. From the looks of it, something must’ve happened during the editing process that led to all these issues, apparently due to the necessity to not have the film be overlong. Ultimately, though, I’d say that your enjoyment of this film will depend on whether you’re okay with it not really spending a lot of time with things like plot and characters. In other words, I do agree with everyone else in stating that this film is quite a big mess from both a narrative and technical perspective and that it is far from being Shane Black’s best film as a director. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t an entertaining big mess.

Rating: 3.5/5

Logan (2017) review

There have been many iconic superhero film casting choices over the years; Christopher Reeve as Superman, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, the list goes on. But, easily, one of the most iconic casting choices of the entire genre, namely due to how long he’s been in the role, has been Hugh Jackman in the role of the clawed mutant James ‘Logan’ Howlett AKA Wolverine. Jackman was first cast in the role in Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film back in 2000, and while some may have taken issue with a 6’2’’ Broadway actor taking on the role of a character who is a full foot shorter by comparison in the comics, it would end up becoming the definitive role of Jackman’s career. He would then go on to reprise his role in almost every subsequent X-Men film, either in a leading role or an awesome cameo. The popularity of the character even resulted in a few spin-offs. However, the Wolverine spin-offs have been a bit more hit-and-miss. The first of these, 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was savaged by both critics and audiences for its flawed screenplay, disastrous deviations from the comics (e.g. ‘Deadpool’, a term used loosely in this case), and for being overcrowded with other mutants. Even Jackman himself has admitted that it didn’t turn out as well as he had hoped. Thankfully, he managed to get Wolverine a much more satisfying spin-off in 2013 when he teamed up with director James Mangold (whom he had previously worked with on 2001’s Kate and Leopold) for The Wolverine, based off the popular 1982 limited series of the same name by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. And while not perfect, it at least did better with critics and audiences compared to the previous film. However, the film truly shines with its unrated Extended Edition. Debuting with the film’s home media release, this was easily the superior cut of the film, partially because it gave fans some of the R-rated Wolverine action that they had been hoping for after many years of PG-13 rated Wolverine action in the previous films.

But, this year, fans of the character are finally getting what they’ve always wanted, as Mangold and Jackman team up once again for their second Wolverine solo film, this one simply titled Logan. Like The Wolverine, the film takes inspiration from a famous storyline in the comics; in this case, Old Man Logan, a 2008 mini-series by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven which centers on an aged Wolverine in an alternate future where supervillains have taken over the world. However, in this instance, the film is not a direct adaptation of the source material, probably because some of the key characters featured in that story are over at Marvel Studios. But, of course, most of the hype surrounding this film is due to one primary reason, and that is that it is set to be Hugh Jackman’s final outing in his career-defining role. As such, he and Mangold seek to give the iconic X-Men member a fitting onscreen send-off. And, thanks in part to the success of last year’s Deadpool, the two were given the chance to do what fans of the character have been demanding since Jackman first debuted in the role; an R-rated Wolverine film that wasn’t tied down by the limits of the PG-13 rating that was given to every other X-Men film to date (minus Deadpool, of course). Having now watched this film, I can safely say that it does live up to its status as a gritty and brutal R-rated Wolverine film. But, of course, now the big question remains; does this new film manage to not only be the best of the Wolverine films but also serve as a fitting send-off for one of the superhero genre’s greatest icons? The answer… is a resounding yes.

The year is 2029 and most of the mutant population has gone extinct. One of the last surviving mutants, Logan (Hugh Jackman) AKA Wolverine, now spends most of his days working as a chauffeur in Texas. He also looks after his increasingly senile friend, telepath Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), with the help of mutant tracker Caliban (Stephen Merchant) as it becomes clear that Logan himself is starting to age as well due to the diminishing nature of his healing powers as the result of poisoning caused by the adamantium in his body. One day, he is approached by a woman named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) who asks for his help in escorting her and a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) to a place known as ‘Eden’ in North Dakota. Logan reluctantly accepts but Gabriela is soon murdered and he, Xavier, and Laura begin to be pursued by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), the ruthless, cybernetically-enhanced head of security of the company that Gabriela used to work for, Transigen. Logan learns that the company had been experimenting with mutant DNA on the children that they had been breeding. When the children were set to be killed following the completion of a different mutant project known as ‘X-24’, Gabriela helped several of the children escape, Laura being one of them. Not only that, but it’s revealed that Laura was bred with Wolverine’s DNA, resulting in her not only having the same abilities as him but also technically being his ‘daughter’. Now forced to go on the run, the trio embarks on a road trip across the country in hopes of finding the mythical ‘Eden’.

One of the coolest things about director James Mangold’s two entries in the superhero genre is that both films are more than just ‘superhero films’. The Wolverine, being set in Japan, utilized a lot of the elements that are commonly seen in samurai action films, especially from a stylistic perspective. And in the case of Logan, he basically made a superhero film that was a western, a genre that he’s certainly well-versed in having directed the 2007 remake of 3:10 to Yuma. It’s also worth noting that these last two Wolverine films don’t rely heavily on action sequences. Now, that’s not to say that they aren’t there because they are. But just keep in mind that this is a slow-moving film, especially considering that it’s over two hours long (admittedly, it may be just a tad bit overlong). But, that’s ultimately one of the key elements of the film’s narrative. The longer runtime allows you to become fully invested in the lead trio of Wolverine, Xavier, and Laura as they embark on their road-trip, so much so that even if you probably guessed in advance how it’s all going to end, the film ends on one of the best emotional notes in the history of the superhero genre. It also very much stands on its own compared to the other X-Men films; for one thing, they don’t tie it too much into the series’ overall continuity, which is probably for the best because it just would’ve sparked more debate over the series’ infamously convoluted canon. As for the action sequences, fans will be pleased to know that the film does live up to its status as an R-rated Wolverine film. These action sequences are intense and bloody and many of them will have you audibly saying ‘oh s***’ when they happen because of how brutal they are. Seriously, Mangold doesn’t hold back on them; not even Deadpool was this intense.

I’ve talked about how great Hugh Jackman has been in the role of Wolverine many, many times over the years (in fact, I just did so again the other day) so I’ll try not to repeat myself too much here. However, this may arguably be his greatest performance in the role to date and if so, it’s only fitting that it came from his last appearance as the character. Logan’s trademark hard-edged persona is still there, of course, but that’s well-mixed with the tragic nature of him being at a point in his life where he’s clearly past his prime. Patrick Stewart is also great as usual in the role of Xavier, whose role in the film is also one based in a tragic light as we sadly see the beloved telepath becoming more and more senile by the day. In fact, one of the darkest plot-points in the film establishes that Xavier inadvertently had a hand in the decimation of the mutant population due to the intense, seizure-induced psychic attacks that he now suffers from on a regular basis. Still, he works great off Logan, as always, and while the film does maintain a generally serious tone throughout, the R-rating does allow for some funny moments in which Stewart gets to be a bit cruder than he usually is in these films. The two are joined by newcomer Dafne Keen, who makes one hell of a great first impression in the role of the primarily mute but often quite volatile young girl who becomes the closest thing that Wolverine has ever had to a daughter. Stephen Merchant also has a memorable supporting role as Caliban, who had previously appeared in a much smaller role in X-Men: Apocalypse. As for the villains, they’re admittedly the weakest links of the film. Still, Boyd Holbrook proves to be an enjoyably despicable antagonist in the role of Donald Pierce, who’s shown to be quite a big fan of Ol’ Wolverine. The same can’t really be said, though, for Richard E. Grant, who plays Zander Rice, a scientist who is revealed to have an interesting personal connection to Wolverine. Despite this, he’s barely in the film.

Hugh Jackman has been in the role of Wolverine for nearly two decades. He was first cast in 1999 and has since appeared in all but one of the ten currently released films in the X-Men franchise. And with Logan, he and director James Mangold give the character the proper send-off that he deserves in a film that is pretty much the official finale of the original X-Men series. From an action perspective, this film delivers some of the most epic and brutal action sequences that the genre has ever seen. But, through all that bloodshed, stabbing, and numerous scenes of limbs being sliced off, the direction from Mangold is fantastic. This is an unrelentingly brutal but also fully emotional story in which the film’s [possibly] overlong runtime gives you plenty of time to care about the main characters in their endeavors. As such, if you’ve been a longtime fan of this franchise, it is practically guaranteed that you will get teary-eyed at one point or another while watching this film. Thus, not only is this the best Wolverine film, by far, but it’s one of the best installments of the entire X-Men series. Clearly, 2017’s lineup of live-action superhero films is off to a great start. And on that note, I’d like to salute the legend that is Hugh Jackman by saying thank you, Mr. Jackman, for all your contributions to both the X-Men franchise and the superhero genre in general. Because at the end of the day, the story of Weapon X ended on the best note possible.  

Rating: 5/5!

(P.S. When you go to see this film, be sure to get there in time before the film starts. Without giving anything away, there’s a special little clip that plays before the opening credits that’s sure to put a smile on your face.)