(No Spoilers Here)
I watched it last night and my goodness. I tend to go into those kinds of movies trying to not hold any expectations, as that will ruin a movie quicker than you can say, “There’s something out there waiting for us, and it ain’t no man. We’re all gonna die.” But… because this was the second Predator movie from director Dan Trachtenberg, I was expecting it to be at least pretty good all around.
Thankfully for me, I very much enjoyed it. Perhaps more than I was expecting to.
((I’ll add more of my take of the movie and such if others are interested in having that discussion.)
But what did you think of the movie overall?
Please use the Spoiler text feature if you do share any further details that might ruin the movie for someone else. Thank you.
This was mindless fun and did some very clever action design that made wonderful use of the sci-fi genre; it had some story beats that could’ve had more friction (e.g. alliances were too easily formed considering the context of this supposedly isolationist race) but… whatever; this is easily on par with the things you’d read in a Predator comic (or AvP for that matter), and it was nice to see it in live action on the big screen.
Way to stretch that PG-13 rating
My nitpicky, spoiler qualms were as follows:
spoiler
The baby kalisk understands their language enough to laugh at jokes? Thia is meant to know everything about wildlife on Genna but doesn’t recognize a baby kalisk? Both Thia and Tessa supposedly have higher sensitivities; why is Thia’s higher than Tessa’s, and why is Tessa exhibiting none (a simple fix: say the empathy nodule had been damaged in the attack)? Why did the Spray Snake sacrifice its life for Dek? Why didn’t the synths open fire on Dek while he had his back turned and sitting down; where are the lightning-fast reflexes and sensitivities synths are meant to have? They were such easy fodder (fix: weyland bought the shittiest synths save for one). Why did Dek think his dad was going to be happy with a synth head for a trophy; was his dad meant to know that particular synth is more impressive than the hundreds killed alongside it? So Dek-- the runt of the clan-- is able to easily take on two personal bodyguards, as well as his dad (who beat his brother) without so much as a scratch? I feel like it would’ve been more badass and driven the message home better if he used all of the animals/tech he got from Genna against his dad in an attempt to show sparing someone’s life/working together with species deemed weaker than you can make you more powerful than any Yuatja.
Yes, and it was awesome. Just thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.
I love it… as I love Prey
Both great fun films
I thought it was really fun. I didn’t find it to be a “Predator” movie, though. It felt more like a Saturday morning cartoon version of the Predator storyline. I had to really distance the previous Predator properties to enjoy it. But I did still enjoy it.
I saw it closer to when it came out and I thought it was pretty good. Definitely better than I expected
on one hand, i did enjoy it after i adjusted to the tone but on the other hand ::: spoiler spoiler
a cute found-family adventure movie with obligatory plushie character just isnt what i want out of a Predator movie :::so yeah, i didn’t think it was a bad movie, it’s a serviceable popcorn flick imo. and i think it’s not wrong to try new types of story with yautja. it just didn’t reach the lofty heights of Prey for me (a tall ask tbf) and i prob would have preferred a full length live action of any of the Killer of Killers segments over Badlands
It was a heck of a lot of fun.
spoiler
___ Like, having a fight scene with the disembodied legs helping out? Delightful choice.
Also saw it. I thought it was a great ride. I avoided reviews, but had very high expectations after “Killer of Killers.” Totally buying the Blu-Ray in 3 weeks, if only to encourage them to make more of these with Trachtenberg’s vision (even though he won’t be directing the next movie). I think it’s hard to meaningfully discuss the movie without getting into spoilers, so those are obfuscated below.
The makeup… Dek’s facial expressions convey loads of inner monologue with no words. Scene pacing, overall pacing… all great. Lots of show-me-don’t-tell-me.
spoiler
The buddy comedy aspect caught me completely by surprise, and I absolutely LOVED that “twist.” The banter and quips between Thia and Dek added to the ride without hurting the overall tone and “seriousness” of the plot. The buddy journey also helped with the characters’ growth.
Great nods to the larger universe, great Easter eggs without fan-servicing the movie into an unpalatable mess.
Excellent use of Chekov’s Gun. I cheered when Dek armed up and equipped his new “shoulder cannon.” :D
Very tight writing to not completely massacre canon. Speaking of canon, Dek’s father is such a dishonorable prick. I’m surprised his clan didn’t challenge him on his actions.
The ending was delicious payoff and comeuppance. Sure, it was a touch of a cliffhanger, but done properly IMO. A lazy cliffhanger leaves the viewer not knowing what happened; a proper cliffhanger shows the viewer what happened, but leaves the “why” unanswered until the next installment. See: “The Expanse” series for cliffhangers done correctly.
I overall liked the movie. My only complaint being the main predator design felt weird. Too emotive maybe? The android was great though.
I hope they make a sequel.
I try to go into movies blind. I recall it leaned hard into common tropes to carry the plot which made it rather predictable for me. But looks like I gave it an 8/10 when the credits were rolling so former me agrees it delivered more than expected
Top 3 movie of last year for me with Frankenstein and Sinners. Trachtenberg has a great vision for the series and hopefully the redemption and success leads to more yautja-centered content. It’s what the fans have wanted for years and this is hopefully the early days of a payoff in movies and tv.
I don’t really like Predator movie, but this one was nice. I think I watched for the Android.
