‘The Predator’ Review Roundup

The fall movie season will see some old horror franchises making attempts at big comebacks, and one of the most anticipated is no doubt Shane Black’s The Predator, a sequel to the classic Schwarzenegger sci-fi/horror flick.

The Predator has been wrapped in a relative amount of mystery all throughout its production. The promotional trailers and footage have shown us a film that is distinctly a Shane Black product, which has left a lot of fans wondering if the full film will be able to balance the sci-fi / horror action with Black’s trademark stylized dialogue and humor.

Now the first Predator reviews are rolling in, to help give fans some kind of sense of how this installment stacks up against the original, and all those later sequel and reboot attempts. Check that out below:

The Hollywood Reporter

“Taking up the reins of the franchise after a few underwhelming sequels and an even more problematic handful of tie-ins with the Alienmovies, writer-director Shane Black strays rather far from the original film — in which he co-starred as a bifocaled trooper who literally gets turned inside out — but he also takes things in a fun direction. Beyond adding a definite article to the title, Black applies a more-is-more approach to the material, revealing the extraterrestrial hunter in the very first sequence, then doubling down on the number of predators and corpses we see on screen, introducing a bigger, badder species and even a pair of predator pit bulls.”

Full Review HERE

Dread Central

“There’s way too much going on here that simply is not needed and it feels like the majority of it is done to pad an already overly long runtime. While everyone embraces their role with glee, and their dialogue is full of charmingly witty banter, the characters feel forgettable, are easily dismissed, and often engage in behavior that makes no sense.”

Full Review HERE

IGN

“With its bawdy sense of humor, disorderly cast of characters, and hardcore kills and action, The Predator does a lot right to reinvigorate the 31-year-old series. But everything crashes down during its frenzied, messy final act, a disappointing conclusion to what had largely been a fun romp up until that point.”

Full Review HERE

Variety

“Alas, within the Black oeuvre, “The Predator” lands more between “The Last Boy Scout” and “Iron Man 3,” being a mixture of the flippant-knucklehead-machismo species with frantic comic-book action. Though there’s gore and creatures aplenty, say goodbye to any remaining horror element in this series. Now we’ve got a sort of mashup of Indiana Jones, “Jurassic Park,” and a flying-kung-fu movie, no longer scary in the least but hella loud and busy.”

Full Review HERE

Digital Spy

“The Predator is a flawed actioner, but a strong cast and some Shane Black magic give it a sparkle that has been lacking from recent attempts to revive the killer aliens. It’s not Black at his best, but it’s a fun diversion as long as you don’t think about it too hard.”

Full Review HERE

Fandom

“If you’re a fan of the franchise – or even just the first film — you’ll go into The Predator excited and hopeful. But despite Shane Black at the helm — perhaps even because of — the film is over-ambitious, moving a long way away from what made the Arnie actioner so successful in the first place. While Shane Black is clearly keen to recapture the mood of the original, and transplant it into a bigger and bolder story, everything feels off – as if it’s been put through the teleportation machine in The Fly and come out the other side amalgamated and mashed up.”

Full Review HERE

Slash Film

“Some may long for the franchise to return to its serious roots. After you exit the theater into the real world, the flaws of The Predator become more and more apparent. The plot doesn’t make sense. A lot of the jokes fall flat. There’s a pointless sequel set-up. But while you’re watching the movie, it’s hard not to get caught up in all the fun. Black and company are having a blast here, and it’s infectious.”

Full Review HERE

*****

How do these reviews make you feel about The Predator? Do they affect your plans to see the film or not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

The Predator will be in theaters on September 14th.