[ad_1]
In theory, Shane Black directing a Predator movie was a perfect marriage. Not only did he act in the original film (playing the first-to-die Hawkins), but he went on to redefine the action-comedy as a filmmaker with Lethal Weapon, going on to direct genre favourites Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys and Iron Man 3. Somewhere, though, it all went wrong. While there are flashes of Black’s signature wit, the ‘Predator in the suburbs’ premise feels fresh, and the upgraded mega-Predator is cool, The Predator ends up mostly a mess. With choppy and incoherent storytelling (you barely register when major players are bumped off), an unbalanced tone, unlikeable characters, and a questionable approach to autism and PTSD, the radar on this one went seriously awry. Over-reliant on nods to the past and bearing all the hallmarks of studio interference, an apparent effort to relaunch the franchise instead resulted in it stalling once more. Still, it has a strong ensemble, with Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Sterling K Brown, Keegan-Michael Key and Jacob Tremblay trying their best. If only everything else lived up to them.
Read the Empire review.
[ad_2]
Source link