Shane Black. Few names more accurately represent the 1990s B-movie action vibe.
The mind behind?Lethal Weapon,?The Last Boy Scout,?The Last Action Hero,?The Long Kiss Goodnight,?Iron Man 3, and?The Good Guys?went back in time (not really) to provide a sequel to his best-known acting role from 1987’s Predator. Set after?Predator 2?and before?Predators, The Predator?assembles a crack team of military castoffs to stop a new iteration of the alien hunter species, with an autistic boy who may hold the key for survival.
Boyd Holbrook stars, flipping his villainous roles to that of broken anti-hero Quinn McKenna who finds himself fighting for his son, Rory (Jacob Tremblay), against the Predator and the United States government who want to alternatively control the Predator technology and cover up its existence. McKenna becomes the de facto leader of a group of other soldiers, Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes), Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key), Baxley (Thomas Jane), Lynch (Alfie Allen), and Nettles (Augusto Aguilera), bent on protecting Rory, McKenna’s ex-wife (Yvonne Strahovski), and evolutionary biologist Dr. Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn).
This Predator flick is funnier than some of the others, but it’s clearly an ode to the past. Jake Busey plays Sean Keyes, a scientist who is the son of his father’s (Gary) character from the 1990 sequel; Baxley is named after the stunt director of the original, Craig R. Baxley.? Fans of the earlier shows will see moments that reflect back on the previous films, but new fans will appreciate the ferocity of the Predators, and potentially buckle up for another go round that the film’s ending certainly sets up.
