Shane Black's The Predator made its big premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and the reviews for it have flooded the internet. Unfortunately, most of the reviews that I've seen haven't been good. That's a shame because I was really excited about this movie! So, reading these reviews has been a bummer. There are a few good things that people have to say about it, but for the most part, it sounds like a big disappointment.

That being said, I'm still going to see the movie and form an opinion for myself, and I imagine most of you will do the same. I just thought Shane Black was going to be the right man for the job and give fans a Predator movie that they would love. But it doesn't look like that's the case.

Read what the critics are saying below and let us know what your thoughts are on them:

IGN: The Predator is, in many ways, a throwback to what made the 1987 original so beloved: it includes many of the same elements, such as the rowdy camaraderie amongst absurdly macho protagonists, a debauched wit, and a primal battle between man and beast. It’s a shame when everything splinters apart in the haphazard and shoddy-looking last half-hour, largely derailing what began as a promising entry in the wildly inconsistent franchise. [6.5/10]

UPROXX: The Predator is probably not worth your time, and I’m surprised actors of the caliber of Sterling K. Brown, Olivia Munn, and Boyd Holbrook even thought it was worth their time. On a surface level, the script makes a meager amount of sense, as long as you just shut up and don’t think about the plot too much. None of the characters are particularly interesting, and some are downright offensive. (More on that in a bit.) To top it all off, the digital effects, which this film relies heavily on, look only slightly better than a well-constructed video game.

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. [3/5]

Total Film: Still, the lion-like predator pooches add some variety, while the human cast proves mostly (ahem) game (though pity poor Alfie Allen, whose main contribution is a card trick). Inevitable nods to the ’87 movie (and ’91 sequel) are both kept to a discreet minimum and handled with crowd-pleasing care, and there’s a slyly dismissive attitude to the AVP movies. Yes, this is superior to those, and 2010’s direct threequel. But while Black’s film carries a ‘The’, the original Predator remains far and away the definite article. [3/5]



The Hollywood Reporter: If things tend to get carried away during a loud and rowdy finale, there’s still one hilarious late bit involving Key’s and Jane’s characters, while a closing nugget sets up the possibility for a sequel. Whether the world actually needs one, and whether this reboot was necessary at all, is probably a question worth raising, but at least Black’s take on it is to never take it too seriously while keeping us duly entertained.



Splash Report: I am still hopefully that TIFF’s Midnight Madness section will bring us worthy revivals. Despite negative rumors, I look forward to the Halloween sequel forty years in the making. And for all I know diehard fans of Predator and its progeny find plot ridiculousity heartwarming. As for me, while I did genuinely laugh at several jokes, the only thing that warmed me was when I was finally able to run for the exit. [C-]

Dread Central: The Predator is a genuinely fun movie, but it’s impossible to overlook the issues that plague nearly every moment. Poor story choices and strange, if not outright silly, character decisions result in an experience that will ultimately leave audiences feeling a great amount of “meh”. [2/5]

Games Radar: What Black’s movie really has going for it is pace. It starts with a crash, followed swiftly by a bang and vast swathes of wallop. The relentlessness doesn’t allow you any time to catch a yawn, but it’s also not too conducive to tension or suspense. Frantic editing gets the pulse racing less often than the eyeballs spraining, especially during the dark, forest-set finale. The kill count’s close to infinity, yet only a few of the deaths are truly memorable; shout-out to a nicely sticky riff on one monster’s use of invisibility. [3/5]



Variety: All of this is silly, borderline senseless, lively, and without any real rooting value at all. The supposedly lovable misfits here aren’t, no matter how the cast members feign hilarity at their potty-mouthing. Not that it matters — because nothing does in this expensive toy of a film, which ultimately works on the level of a disco ball. It’s shiny, it moves, and is accompanied by much noise. There’s not so much to say about the actors at hand, save that they showed up when they needed to, and the rest of the time (a lot, in fact), their stunt doubles did. Production values are highly polished across the board, which is not the same as saying the film has style — or that if it did, we’d have time to notice during 105 minutes that are strenuous, clamorous, yet still feel altogether like a tossed-off goof.

The Playlist: “The Predator” knows exactly what type of picture it is. This is an action-filled, popcorn movie with no aspirations for anything more. This movie throws caution to the wind in service of creating 2-hours worth of brain-melting thrills. Black knows his genre tropes inside and out and he loves throwing out cliché setups and then subverting your expectation for the payoff. Most often, he does this for laughs. Whenever you think you’re going to see a heroic moment, the director pulls the rug out in service of a joke. This tactic never cheapens the movie, though. “The Predator” has a wild, if not completely ridiculous, conceit and self-awareness is part of the fun. Black’s real skill here is repeating this trick without cheapening the movie’s stakes. His script is irreverent one moment and cold-blooded the next.



Den Of Geek: A bad misfire this, particularly disappointing given the pedigree of who’s behind the camera. I think I may have got that across. Save your money. Buy a Predator boxset, The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Lethal Weapon. Every single one of those is worth your time to some degree. The Predator, though, is not. [1/5]

Slash Film: Limbs fly, guts splash, and heads roll. It sounds ghastly, but almost all of the violence is played for laughs. The Predator is no longer a scary unstoppable force. It’s a punchline. There’s also plenty of fan service – at least two classic lines from Predator are repurposed here, to (mostly) amusing effect. Is this bent towards comedy a problem? Purists (do Predator purists even exist?) might find fault. 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. [6.5/10]



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. It’s essentially Brundlefly, if you will. Only Olivia Munn really emerges intact – with a refreshingly strong and engaging woman character who’s probably Black’s biggest, and not insignificant, success here. [1/5]

Keith Loves Movies: The best part of the film was the acting, specifically the chemistry between the whole cast. McKenna may have gotten the focus but this was an ensemble piece. The script was great but it would have worked as well if not for them. Holbrook was a serviceable lead and compelling to watch as McKenna. Munn as Bracket may not be believable as a scientist, however, this was easy to forget as that side of her disappeared quickly. Tremblay stole scenes as Rory. Overall, this was a fun action movie that sometimes tried too hard to be a comedy. There were still plenty of thrilling and violent moments throughout and the cast and their great chemistry more than make up for this. [8.5/10]