Movies: Relentless Action Amps Thrilling Hunt In “The Predator”

From veteran action director Shane Black and producer John Davis (who also produced the original and subsequent Predator films), man’s most formidable adversary once again reaches Earth in “The Predator”.

Movie Review: "The Predator"

Set in the same universe as the other "Predator" movies, 2018's "The Predator" is giving this franchise another chance at the movies by introducing new characters and possibly even a sequel or two, depending on how the film does. 

Setting its own pace and tone from its predecessors, Shane Black's "The Predator" is "good gory fun" which could either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. You might miss the stalking and really hunting that the Predator does, or did in previous films. It was lacking here, what we have instead is an explosive and messy third act, albeit there's a lot of action in it.  

The film opens when a spaceship carrying a 'Predator' crashes right in the middle of a military operation in Mexico being led by Boyd Holdbrook's Quinn McKenna. McKenna  escapes and takes evidence with him, alien tech which he mails home (to a post office, that unfortunately is past due) knowing the risk of him being a "lose end" the government will have to cut to keep this under wraps. The alien tech reaches the hands of his autistic son, Rory (Jacob Tremblay).  

Sent off to a military hospital and diagnosed as "insane" McKenna finds himself in a bus full of former military who were discharged for one reason or another. The group calls themselves the "Loonies" and while in mid transport to the military hospital witnesses the escape of "The Predator" who has been captured by a group of scientists led by Sterling K. Brown's Will Traeger. One of those scientists is Olivia Munn's Casey Bracket, a biologist who isn't afraid to hold a shotgun, should the occasion call for it.  

The Loonies and Casey join forces as they try to rescue Rory, who is being targeted by "The Predator" as he is in possession of lethal alien technology. 

Comedy and action ensues as the literally rag tag team ride through suburbia in Halloween while trying to search for Rory and with a deadly Predator just behind them, things are about to get exciting. 

I liked the idea of not having "the best, the strongest and most intelligent" go up against the Predator, instead what you have is literally the least, the lost and the last and really not the most ideal crew but its their underdog charm which endears you to them. 

Truly, the strength of "The Predator" is in its fun and likeable cast, which also includes  Keegan-Michael Key, Alfie Allen, Trevante Rhodes, Thomas Jane and Augusto Aguilera.  

Injected with humor and action, "The Predator" will keep you entertained and it doesn't shy on the f-bombs, the gore or the body count either.  While the cast was fun and endearing, led by an able Holdbrook, I had a few problems with the plot, such as the intentions of the "Predator" being unclear and a missed opportunity for more story (maybe in sequels?), also I felt that Tremblay's performance of a boy with autism wasn't consistent throughout the movie. If you see the kind of work they put through the series "Atypical" you would be ashamed. I mean, if you will create a character who is on the spectrum, do it right. 

I did not and will not get Alien dogs. 

I felt that the epilogue was not well done. It felt sloppy and just had poor direction but I am excited to see where the franchise goes moving forward, should there be a sequel. 

"You know Whoopi Goldberg? Its like an Alien Whoopi Goldberg."

6.5/10. "The Predator" is now showing. 

Movies: Award-Winning Young Actor Jacob Tremblay Triggers Return Of “The Predator”

Boyd Holbrook & Jacob Tremblay in The Predator

From the outer reaches of space to the to the backwoods of southern Georgia, the hunt comes home in director Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before. And only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biology professor can prevent the end of the human race.

Young gifted child Rory (Jacob Tremblay), unknowingly triggers the return of “The Predator” to Earth when he tinkered with the package that contains alien technology his dad , Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook), sent to their home from a recent military mission.  With the government attempting to cover up the extent of Predator incursions on Earth, a rag-tag group of military veterans must figure out what is going on and how to save the world – or at least themselves – as the battle spreads from the depths of outer space to once-safe suburbia.  Rory’s gift for solving puzzles helps him understand the Predator language.  “He’s really good at figuring out the Predator,” Tremblay says.

Shane Black directs an extraordinary cast from the script he penned with Fred Dekker.  Boyd Holbrook heads the ensemble which also stars Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, and Sterling K.  Brown.  “The Predator” is produced by John Davis, who brought the seminal Predator franchise to life.

Quinn’s son, Rory, is on the autism spectrum.  To help research his role, Tremblay and Black paid several visits to the Canucks Autism Network, a Vancouver-based organization providing sports and recreational programs for individuals with autism.  “We made friends and got to hang out with some of the kids,” says Tremblay.

“This wonderful little boy was probably the most dependable actor in the cast,” says Black about Jacob Tremblay, who plays Rory.  “He’s a one-take wonder.” Black notes that when they were pressed for time, they never needed to worry about young Tremblay hitting his marks.  “We’d get all three shots because he’d do every one perfect, the first take!”
         
Jacob Tremblay has quickly established himself as one of the industry’s finest working young actors.     Tremblay garnered international recognition for his breakout performance opposite ‪Brie Larson in the critically-acclaimed, Oscar-nominated film Room. Tremblay received the “Breakthrough Performance Award” from the National Board of Review, a Critics’ Choice Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for “Best Young Actor,” and a nomination for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role” by the Screen Actors Guild, among other accolades, for his performance in the film.

Jacob Tremblay in The Predator

“The Predator” opens September 12 nationwide in cinemas from 20th Century Fox.

Movies: Iron Man 3 Director Shane Black Helms Lates “The Predator” Movie

The Predator director Shane Black

The hunt has evolved in the latest action-thriller “The Predator” where a young child named Rory (Jacob Tremblay, “Room”) unknowingly triggers alien technology in their basement sneaked out by his estranged father, Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) from a military mission in Mexico. 

The Greatest Movie Monster “The Predator” Sets Foot In History Con 2018

20th Century Fox brings “The Predator” this year closer to fans at History Con at the World Trade Center (Pasay City) where the life-sized resin of the alien creature will be on display from August 10 -12.

Opening this September 12 in Philippine cinemas, “The Predator” tracks from the outer reaches of space to the to the backwoods of southern Georgia.  The hunt now comes home in director Shane Black’s explosive new film of the Predator series.  In the latest “The Predator” movie,  the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before. And only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biology professor can prevent the end of the human race.

Movies: Highly-Upgraded And Deadliest “The Predator” Returns On September 12

Thirty-one years since Arnold Schwarzenegger first faced down a lethal alien creature hunting him and his comrades through the jungles of Central America, the Predator franchise is being brought up-to-date by one of the people who suffered at the hands of that original extra-terrestrial. This time, though, Shane Black is in charge, and the Predators do what he says. Black, who acted in the 1987 original, is now co-writer and director for “The Predator,” which aims to bring a whole new dimension to the story.

In this year’s “The Predator”, a former Army Ranger and Special Forces soldier (Boyd Holbrook’s Quinn McKenna) has an encounter with a mysterious alien – which he later learns is a Predator – while on a mercenary mission in Mexico. He sends some of the creature’s technology back to the US, where his son Rory (Jacob Tremblay) figures out the unearthly language used to control it. This, in turn, exposes him to a serious threat from the Predators. Confined for psychiatric evaluation by the government as a way to keep him from revealing what he’s seen, Quinn escapes with a group of fellow former soldiers, dubbed “the loonies,” and heads out to save his son, discovering a much greater conspiracy at work.

In addition to writing a slate of sensational movies, including Lethal Weapon, and directing films such as Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Shane Black (known as one of the pioneering scribes of the action genre) is also an actor, perhaps best known for the role of Hawkins in Predator, the 1987 classic directed by John McTiernan.  But, says Black, “The Predator in this film is the deadliest and scariest one yet.”

“Thirty years later, it’s the same Predator, but over time the Predator has upgraded himself,” says producer John Davis.  “This is not a reinvention and not a redo.  This is the franchise you loved, 30 years later.  These are the consequences of what has happened.  This is what has been going on in the last three decades.  They’re badder and bigger – they’ve evolved.  It ain’t your daddy’s Predator.”

Davis says, “I think this is one of those franchises that people love, and have loved through the ages.  The very first Predator still has a huge worldwide audience, and sells around the globe on cable and streaming services.  It’s hard to believe that 30 years later, this movie continues to captivate generation after generation.”

Black says the biggest homage he could pay to the original was getting the right actors that had the same kind of camaraderie that the characters in Predator had - Boyd Holbrook heads the ensemble which also stars Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, and Sterling K.  Brown.  Holbrook plays a mercenary who finds himself leading a ragtag team of veterans to go up against the lethal alien.  Black says, “They’re the forgotten soldiers, misfits.  They’re all broken.  They aren’t a crack team of soldiers.  It takes these guys a bit of effort to be good, but there’s still a spark waiting to be ignited.  There’s an unquenchable spirit that is flickering, and this is their opportunity to come to life and support each other and go up against the monster.  They are the least likely people you would ever choose for this, except that they’re really tough when the chips are down.  They have spirit, they have spunk, and they have an unquenchable loyalty to each other.”

A 20th Century Fox feature film, “The Predator” opens September 12 in PH cinemas nationwide.

Movies: “The Predator” Trailer Debut Reveals Return To Earth Of Upgraded Deadliest Hunters

20th Century Fox finally reveals the first trailer of “The Predator” where a young boy unknowingly opens a path towards Earth for the most dangerous of hunters in the universe. Helmed by blockbuster filmmaker Shane Black (Iron Man 3), “The Predator” is an action-packed and intensely high-octane movie that will open in Philippine cinemas on September 12.

Trailer links -  YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztuoos9A4Vw         

FB: https://www.facebook.com/20thcenturyfoxphilippines/videos/10160376015145582/

“The Predator” trails the return of the most dangerous of creatures in the universe that continuously upgrade themselves genetically using DNA from other species making them supreme and unequal killing machines.  When Rory (played by Jacob Tremblay, The Room & Wonder), activates a mysterious alien device that paves way for the predators’ return, his father and an unlikely band of crazy ex-soldiers form an alliance to fight a common unbeatable enemy to save the human race from extinction.