In 1987 John McTiernan directed one of the best sci-fi action movies of all time, Predator. An instant classic, the film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger (Major Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaefer) as the leader of a special-ops unit that, while on a mission in Central America, encounters an alien being on the hunt for humans. After killing a number of the locals for some time, the creature enjoys the challenge posed by an elite military team.

For the last 30 years 20th Century Fox has been failing to recapture lightning in a bottle with a large number of mediocre sequels and spinoffs, including the Alien vs Predator series that pits the Predator against the Xenomorph from the Alien films. With every ill-advised attempt from the studio, one realises just how special the original Predator truly was. It began as an overly macho one-liner packed bro-film and slowly transformed into a chilling survival drama. The small group of seasoned, highly-trained soldiers with bulging muscles and enough testosterone to fill a small tank were slowly disintegrated mentally as the film shifted gears into gory horror.

Now, the reason I spent two paragraphs talking about the original is to explain why this new film, The Predator, is such a failure. It is directed by Shane Black who was once a Hollywood legend for writing successful action comedies such as Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) and Last Action Hero (1993). He inexplicably disappeared after directing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) but made a rather sensational comeback in 2013 when he wrote and directed Iron Man 3, a film that was praised for its humour and vulnerable characterisation of Tony Stark, though bitterly criticised by comic book aficionados for disrespecting the Iron Man mythos.

With every execrable attempt from 20th Century Fox, one realises just how special the original Predator was

Interestingly, Black had a small acting role in the original Predator as a comic relief character named Rick Hawkins who epitomised the commando unit’s bro-culture before being brutally killed by the Predator. I say interestingly because Shane Black has now directed this entire new Predator film like Rick Hawkins was the best, not worst, character from the 1987 original.

It’s almost as if Shane Black is taking revenge on the franchise for having that unmemorable role by making the entire film, not an initial act, a bro-film. And sure, it is initially entertaining with more than a few laughs which Shane Black is excellent at writing. But the comedic atmosphere seems to last almost the entire film and when The Predator tries to shift gears into action or suspense, it struggles. Certainly, during some of the more serious scenes I heard some awkward laughs from the audience, as if they were unable to understand what the film wanted from them.

The last act of The Predator is particularly terrible. This is a film about a group of mentally unstable soldiers who are in hot water with the army for various reasons and by circumstance are fighting a mega Predator of sorts. They are led by Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) whose son, Rory (Jacob Tremblay), is an autistic child with a skill that can help fight these aliens. While the first two acts are short on quality writing, they still establish the many characters and set the stage. The final act, however, is written and directed in a manner suggesting that Shane Black lost interest and ran out of budget. The haphazard last segment is confusing, with characters dying left and right, and amateurishly edited, as if scenes from different films were almost randomly patched together. To make matters worse, the CGI gets noticeably worse; some effects as bad as an old video game. I kid you not. Then there is the ultimate scene, which shamelessly sets up a sequel with a premise more interesting than the entire film.

As unforgiving as Hollywood can be, one bad film isn’t normally enough to bring a comeback to a standstill. But as we now all know, Shane Black cast a friend while knowing that he was arrested as a sex offender for trying to have relations with a 14-year-old. Yes, he was a predator of a different variety altogether. I’d say that’s enough to get Shane blacklisted.

The only bright light in The Predator is the talented child actor Jacob Tremblay who produces a wonderfully nuanced performance as a gifted young boy. Watching Tremblay here is almost like finding a shining gem in a field full of cow dung.

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and crude sexual references

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 23rd, 2018