The Predator

Directed and cowritten by Shane Black, The Predator is the fourth film in the series, though sixth with the two Alien crossover films. This installment deals with a group of soldiers and scientists who have to deal with two different Predators who both have their own agendas. Expanding on the lore of the franchise, it turns out that the Predators don't just hunt those they consider worthy, but use the genes they extract to upgrade themselves to become better hunters. The film stars Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K. Brown, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, and many others. While all of their performances are very good, one huge problem is that they're sometimes over the top and try to be too funny many times. The comedy can work but can sometimes come off as overly sexist and rude, which I think is trying to capture the very 1980s manly feel that the original film and many others at the time had but just comes off as trying to hard. A lot of the editing, particularly when going from one scene to another, is very jarring and sudden. The way people learn about something new, like Holbrook finding the Predator's weapons and Brown's science team learning about the true reason why the Predators are on Earth, feels way to easy without time and very rushed. Some of the things many of the characters do throughout the film tend to either not fit with the character we've seen before or the motivations they have, like the smaller Predator being part human and wanting to help Earth even though he ends up killing a lot of people. The action scenes are fun to watch, especially the last one, if not a little over edited and hard to see in the night scenes. While it has great acting, a cool ending that hints at the future, and awesome effects, it suffers from over the top characters that we know little about, a story that's not very new and tries too hard and also not enough, and numerous moments that sometimes try to be way too macho. Over all: 87%

2018 top list so far:
1. Won't You Be My Neighbor?/BlacKkKlansman (tie)

2. Incredibles 2

3. Avengers: Infinity War

4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

5. Solo: A Star Wars Story

6. A Quiet Place
7. Deadpool 2

8. Black Panther
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp

10. Ready Player One

11. Sicario: Day of the Soldado

12. Ocean's 8

13. Isle of Dogs

14. Game Night
15. Thoroughbreds

16. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

17. The Predator

18. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom