Predator - Upgrade

Shane Black macht ein Upgrade von allem, was man sich vorstellen kann. Es hat Schwung und mit Dolby Atmos hat es die Parameter eines Actionknüllers (dazu trägt hauptsächlich das intensive Finale bei). Was bei ihm aber nicht funktioniert, sind die Figuren. An denen mangelt es zwar nicht, es ist jedoch keine sympathische oder interessante dabei (der Junge von Jacob Tremblay hatte ein "Spielberg“-Potenzial, das ist aber auch schon alles). Man hat sich auch mehr um Humor und Coolness bemüht (die im Film nicht funktionieren) als um die richtige Atmosphäre und Spannung, die der Grund dafür sind, warum wir den ersten Teil lieben und uns der zweite nicht stört. Das hier ist ein intensiverer und einfallsreicherer, aber nicht sehr viel schlauerer Alien vs. Predator von Paul W. S. Anderson. (20.09.2018)

A new comic-book toilet flush from Marvel, or maybe even worse, DC, who coincidentally feature the Predators. You piss me off, Hollywood. Why is it that there are almost no good adult films produced anymore? Why is it that when studios pour a lot money, what comes out is uniform, sterile infantility? There is plenty of blood and it does fuck things up all the way to 11, but it has the mental level of a six year-old kid. The characters must utter stupid one-liners and jump 10 metres up in the air, even is nothing is happening, and fearlessly balance on a moving bus and a flying spaceship (!!!). Plus a cute clever boy and a domesticated predator dog. Did we fucking need any of that, really? In a Predator film? In the first half, at least the humour works sometimes, but in the second half, absolutely nothing. It falls apart to such extent that you can even see massive editing mistakes, when there isn’t a fundamental continuity between two consecutive scenes. It is as if parts of it were missing (I got scared at the transition from the barn to the helicopter, I thought I had fallen asleep for a moment). Shane Black deserves nothing but hell from this. And maybe people will start retroactively appreciating Antal’s well executed Predators. (13.09.2018)

Holy shit, who would have guessed how totally fucked up this was going to be? Shane Black as director? That is an absolute win. So, what did go wrong? Maybe the fact that Shane made a bit of a joke out of the Predator. The Predator is rough. It is like if you put a group of the toughest soldiers into Vietnamese jungle and asked them to smash their way through the worst shit. They will go and do it, similarly like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was shooting the machine gun into the jungle not knowing what was happening around him. However, the fundamentals there were clear. Not to drive fear to the absurd but drive fear to the reality and add a bunch of tough lines that will be legendary even in a third generation. But here? The main theme of Predators is an autistic child and the whole thing revolves around a bunch of weirdos who do not take themselves seriously at all and turn this film into a complete farce. I get that it was meant that way, but I have to say it doesn’t fit Predator at all. Had I not known the original Predator, I would’ve been more or less satisfied. For example, Keegan Michael Key is a great comedian, but does a comedian belong into the Predator? I don’t fucking think so. Pardon my French, but this film does not deserve a more delicate review. (07.05.2019)

If you're expecting a classic Predator, you'd better stay at home, because Shane Black will really piss you off. Unlike the first and second films, there is no sense of a fight for life, but instead the building of a mythology that is not very interesting and feels rather funny. Furthermore, Black completely mismanages the action scenes and especially towards the end Predator: Evolution turns into a proper mess. But on the other hand, I can't say I was bored. The running time is just right, Boyd Holbrook more or less handles the lead role, and the other soldiers are likeable, although, unfortunately, they occasionally make some unexpected and off-the-cuff remarks, as if the editor didn't quite get his job together, and they understandably are no match to Arnold's crew from the first film. The new Predator is actually a weird mix of an old movie, a war flick, a bit of dumb comedy, and something that has ambitions to have two more installments. As action sci-fi B-movies goes, it's fine. As a Predator movie, it’s not. (14.09.2018)

As if the Predator got into the hands of Carpenter in the mode of Big Trouble in Little China / Escape from XY. Yes, it's a truly B-rate nonsense. Yes, it's stuck time. Yes, it has little in common with the Predator. But it's extremely fun; sometimes intentionally (it typically uses one-liners in a Black style) and sometimes not (it does not hold together and does not make the slightest sense). Which doesn´t mind because whether it's silly, degraded, B-rate in terms of one-liners, it's just fun at all times. I this movie had been made a decade earlier, it would have been a cult movie today. So, the worse Predator, the better the B-movie. And it´s a damn good B-movie. (12.09.2018)

It's not as bad as the ratings and reviews say, but from one of the most anticipated films of the year and the guy who wrote the screenplay for The Last Boy Scout, the untapped potential hurts quite a bit. As an action B-movie, though, the film works reliably. There's quite a bit of action, blood is not spared, and especially at the end it's a pretty decent carnage and the characters are pretty good. The prevailing triple combo is the likable Boyd Holbrook, the beautiful Olivia Munn and the witty Keegan-Michael Key, who finally has a role tailored to him and quite a lot of space. Disappointingly, the atmosphere is almost non-existent, the suspense is also lacking and I couldn't find any Wow effect or scene that made me want to see the film again. That the story is uninteresting and naive I won't criticize, because the old Predator doesn't have a sophisticated script either. For me, the film is hurt quite a bit by the fact that it takes place in a city instead of a jungle. Anyway, the film fulfils its purpose of entertaining, but unfortunately you will not take anything more away from it this time. 65% (16.09.2018)

The best film in the last thirty years with the Predator in the main or a supporting role. Which is weak praise and a truly dismal business card for the series' sequels and spin-offs, since there are inconsistencies in almost every scene. For every good line, there is at least one awkward one, and every great action scene is followed by a WTF moment (all thanks to Thomas Jane and the overly used dogs). While the casting of Boyd Holbrook and Sterling K. Brown is on point, Olivia Munn's unfortunate presence is a disappointment, as I cannot believe her as a doctor even for a moment. Similarly, Jacob Tremblay, who never fails, seems to have stepped out of a different movie. But beware, this is unstoppable and relentless entertainment, and after almost falling asleep eight years ago while watching Predators, this is a big step forward, though unfortunately with a sad lack of care. Shane Black must have known how many fans look up to him as the savior of the entire franchise, and his sometimes self-parodic approach must have surely shocked many of them. (13.09.2018)

Just my type of movie. I pity the people who expected what had been written about it. A new Predator that refreshingly shatters people’s conventional expectations. Black serves up a wacky team movie in which the toughest badass grandmaster killer is a kid with Asperger’s. The great cast led by McQueen’s badass Holbrook has great dynamics. The best scenes are those without action, with dialog and tinfoil unicorns. The deaths are cool (Tomas Jane rules) and the only problem is that sometimes the creators overdo it and the story loses its logical progression and they make too much fun of the genre. The ending relies exclusively on strength. But full marks for entertainment value. If Forrest Gump looked at the back, he would know what he was about to eat. (13.09.2018)

I wish it was an homage to the classic, a witty, self-absorbed genre film, or at least a guilty pleasure for a Predator geek, but it’s none of that. A wannabe comedy, stupid action movie where one situation out of a hundred is funny, with a story written by someone who is either from high school and loves the Predator universe or a professional screenwriter who hates the universe and was under the influence of narcotics. Moreover, the solid bloodbath is ruined by unnecessary and not very accomplished CGI. Only put it on if the hunting toys, the killer instinct of the villain and the music from the original film were something memorable for you. (19.12.2018)

Es gefällt mir, dass Shane Black den Film so geschrieben und gedreht hat, wie er es wollte. Er hat nicht nur einen sklavischen Bezug zum Original hergestellt wie letztens Predators. Er hat einfach eine für ihn typische Komödie voller Wortgefechte und unerwarteter Situationen gemacht (in denen wieder eine wichtige Rolle auch ein Kind in Gefahr spielt, welches aber bei weitem nicht wehrlos ist). Und obwohl es ihm vor allem um Unterhaltung ging, gibt es im Film auch ein bisschen Spannung. Auch wenn ich einige Vorbehalte habe, die vor allem den Anfang und das Finale betreffen, bin ich immer noch sehr zufrieden. Auch die unbekannten, aber sympathischen Schauspieler*innen haben mir Freude gemacht (der Drehbuchautor Black hat ihnen sehr geholfen, damit sie dem Publikum ans Herz wachsen, und ihr Weggehen ist wirklich beeindruckend). Ich möchte auch Henry Jackman loben, der mit Silvestris Musik viel origineller als letztes Mal John Debney gespielt hat. (13.09.2018)

Good. I expected the worst and I had a decent time. If it weren't for a few retarded screenwriting gems and the fact that I'm generally annoyed that Hollywood in the 21st century is unable or unwilling (or both) produce serious and dark sequels to 80s classics, I'd be pretty satisfied. It's obvious that it's been rewritten in places, and the editing feels clunky, but fortunately Black is an interesting enough filmmaker to hide stylistic flaws under relentless pace and precise storytelling (and, in the first half, a decent number of funny lines). Shame about the moronic ending and the attempt to turn such a complex and straightforward survival adventure into family friendly entertainment. It's great as a bloody B-movie, when it gets to that position... 60% (13.09.2018)

Der neueste Predator ist größer, blutiger und künstlicher als je zuvor, was seine Vor- und Nachteile hat. Es hat mich ein wenig gestört, dass uninteressante Familienwatte in den Film eingeflossen ist und dass die Autoren das Potenzial der Figuren nicht voll ausgeschöpft haben, vor allem wenn man das Panoptikum der Kriegsveteranen betrachtet. Die abschließende Verfolgungsjagd auf dem Raumschiff war voller solider Action, und ich war erfreut über die Anwesenheit von Predator-"Haustieren". Ansonsten ist es aber leider ein unterdurchschnittliches Stück, das am Ende eine bessere Pointe hätte auspacken können. Ein fader Actioner, der sich auf eine bewährte Marke verlässt, aber nicht einmal annähernd an die Qualität seiner Vorgänger herankommt. (24.12.2018)

It wasn't a complete tragedy, which nonetheless is far from being enough for another film in the Predator franchise. Actually, I can't really understand how it was given an 88-million-dollar budget, an R rating, and the involvement of Shane Black. Besides, it's true that this time it's not even saved by the otherwise extremely punchy and funny lines (which I had been looking forward to the most). I wouldn't be afraid to say that the script for The Predator is the Black script with the least decent lines ever. What it does have going for it is an appealing wink to the original Predator ("You are one beautiful motherfucker"), some awesome Dolby Atmos sound, and the relatively charismatic Boyd Holbrook in the lead. What fails is the attempt at gender balance and mythology building, as both are just annoying here. I can't say I was bored though, as it's quite briskly paced and moves along well. Above all, don't let Black make another sequel. (30.09.2018)

I was really looking forward to the new Predator, but the result is absolutely worthless. None of the story makes any sense. Apart from a few exceptions, the vast majority of jokes don’t land, there are about a million characters none of whom are interesting, the special effects are at the level of a B-movie from 15 years ago and the action is simply pathetic. The endurance and near-invincibility of the characters is almost ridiculous given the context of the original movie. It lacks atmosphere. As time goes on, it just keeps on falling apart, and when you think it can't possibly get any dumber, there are some truly absurd deaths in anticipation of the final showdown. The scene on the flying ship is like icing on a botched cake. A nominee for a flop of the year. (04.12.2018)