THE DANMAN CAN

Prey (2022) is a solid Predator film that adds a cool angle to the franchise—that of Comanche facing off against the monster. I am all for taking the character and putting new spins on the basic premise (hunter vs. hunted), dropping the beast into different time periods, etc. And Prey does that, mostly quite well. I really like the way that the lead being a woman this go-around was handled and Amber Midthunder is very good. But some of the goodwill is unfortunately squandered by too much reliance on CGI and mediocre superhero-style action. This could have been something truly special but instead it's on par with 2010's Predators . My reviews of the first four films here, here , here , and here . Predator Franchise Films Ranked

After a second viewing of The Predator  (2018) (my initial review here ), my thoughts from the first time are not only confirmed, but amplified, resulting in a full star deduction. In addition to everything wrong with the film that I mentioned in my original review, add the annoyance of the dialogue constantly being delivered too quickly—including  Olivia Munn 's snarky delivery of every line (which really gets under my skin), callous and unnecessary killing of characters that don't deserve it (often times by our "heroes," rather than the aliens), and outdated humor that revolves around autism and Tourette's. The Predator  is a tonal and total mess, populated by weak characters, messy action, and zero gravitas, that devolves into typical action movie fare by the finale (which can't arrive soon enough). Woof.

I've flip-flopped over the years re: my star rating for Predators (2010). I'm settling back on 3 stars for various reasons. Adrien Brody is an unlikely action hero (though I think he works here), but the whole cast, populated by strong character actors, works really well for this type of film. I like the concept of the more powerful Predators warring with their own weaker kind. There is some really strong cinematography (and fortunately not much shaky cam), effective production design and impressive practical f/x from KNB though also some functional but noticeable CGI that detracts somewhat. Some of the callbacks and ties to the 1987 film ( review ) are fun but overall there's a bit too much reliance on them. However, I don't think  Predators   is simply a rehash—it has enough of its own identity to serve as an entertaining, testosterone-fueled popcorn flick.

While not the classic that Predator  (1987) turned out to be, Predator 2 (1990) is a worthy follow-up and a thoroughly enjoyable action/sci-fi flick. Danny Glover  was a bit of an odd choice to square off against the "silent, invisible, invincible, ultimate hunter" but somehow he makes it work in a cast filled with intense /over the top male actors— Gary Busey , Bill Paxton , Robert Davi , and Morton Downey Jr . among them. There's definitely an additional level of comedy added that wasn't present in the first film, but it's also a gorier affair, at times dipping deeper into horror movie territory than its predecessor (or Predacessor? Sorry.) did. Stan Winston 's alien creation gets some nice updates in costume and upgrades in weaponry that are put to great use. Stephen Hopkins was a solid choice to direct Predator 2 . While A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child  ( review ), which he directed the previous year, is when that series starred to decl...

The last time that I watched  Predator (1987) was 11 years ago. That seems like an eternity for this particular film—one that I've watched so many many times growing up and one that I consider lightning in a bottle. It's simply a perfect blend of action, sci-fi, and horror with an unreasonably macho cast quipping one-liners like nobody's business. It holds up incredibly well and is endlessly rewatchable. There's so much testosterone in this film it should come with a warning. The dialogue is highly quotable and the action sequences are bloody and bloody well executed (you can actually discern what is happening). In fact, director  John McTiernan  made two perfect action films—the other being  Die Hard  (1988)—in two consecutive years, which is no easy feat.  Alan Silvestri 's score is brassy, percussive and drives the action home. The acting is a notch above what you'd expect in movies of this ilk, thanks to the intensity of Arnold Schwarzenegger , Carl...

I wasn't expecting a masterpiece from The Predator  (2018) but I guess I was hoping it wouldn't be quite so Shane Black ized. By that I mean that all his trademarks are there—the macho humor, sarcastic male camaraderie, the smart/smart aleck child actor, the sassy female—and they just don't work for me in a Predator film (at least not his versions of them). On top of the Black trademarks, there's a whole lot of bad CGI (the Predadogs in particular are terrible), a slapped together script, sloppy editing, mediocre camerawork, action scenes where it's hard to discern what's happening, and characters that somehow magically adapt to everything that happens to them instantly. My biggest gripe though is that the film is far too comedic (and way too meta). It really just plays out like all the recent superhero films. As in most of Black's films, there's a sense that everything is a joke and the stakes don't really matter that much as long as we have fun...