The Predator Doesn't Feature Enough of the Predators

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Shane Black's The Predator, in theaters now.

When you look at the naming conventions of the Predator franchise, expectations can be set. Most of the films, like 1987's Predator and 1992's Predator 2, only feature one of the titular aliens. By contrast, third film in the main series, 2010's Predators, has quite a few, and introduces "Super Predators," enhanced with additional abilities that make them even more deadly.

So, of course, there's an expectation that The Predator has only one Predator. While that's not totally true, we also want to make it clear that this isn't about the number of Predators in the film, but rather the screen time those Predators actually receive, and what's done with it.

At the beginning of The Predator, we're introduced to the first of the film's aliens from the perspective of Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook), an elite U.S. Army sniper. While on a mission, he's caught off-guard by the Predator's ship crash-landing on Earth, with the alien jettisoning in an escape pod. This Predator gets in some quick kills, much to the chagrin of McKenna, and is later captured. That is pretty much on-par with how we've seen the alien presented in the franchise to this point, so that's fine.

We next see that same Predator under heavy sedation in a secret government facility, from which he awakes when his arch-nemesis, a large "Super Predator," heads to that location. The first Predator slaughters a lot of people working in the lab, but doesn't kill Casey (Olivia Munn), and then escapes. Then comes the "Super Predator," who is much larger, and brings along two Predator hounds. That's s where the film starts to lose its footing.

Eventually, we learn the original Predator is a rogue agent on a mission to deliver a package that will help the humans defend Earth against these larger, territorial aliens. But where the film could have focused on a true showdown between two Predators, and the humans that get caught in the crossfire, it opts to waste that conflict about halfway through.

There's a horror trope-filled scene in which Quinn, Rory (Jacob Tremblay) and Casey hide from the Predator in a school. The scene could have been extended, building upon the terror of the Predator before introducing his much larger foe. That's all kind of stuck together, and we get a quick school scene and a showdown in which the larger Predator obliterates the rogue.

And sure, that makes sense in the context of showing just how fierce this threat is, but it doesn't offer anything unique to the plot. A team-up between this rogue Predator and the humans could have been something great, and it would have evened the odds, surely.

Then there's the ultimate Predator's hounds. One is offed pretty quickly when Quinn shoots a grenade launcher into it, and the other is lobotomized into thinking it's a regular, Earth dog. That last bit really doesn't make much sense, and aside from dropping off a killer weapon at the end of the film, this docile Predator dog doesn't serve much of a purpose.

The film concludes with a final hunt and showdown with the "Super Predator" that wraps so quickly that it's difficult to really feel the tension, something earlier films in the franchise did well. Even Predators had some cool showdowns, although they were book-ended by a campier film.

There's certainly a human story being told in The Predator, but it's one that could have doubled down on its gratuitous violence by having more of that unfold between the Predators themselves. It might be a nitpick, but when the character name is right in the title, there's an undeniable expectation.

Maybe we were oddly spoiled by the Alien vs. Predator films, or perhaps we just want to see how that rogue Predator could have helped the human cause moving forward. But, hey, that's what sequels are for.

Directed by Shane Black from a script he wrote with Fred Dekker, The Predator stars Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey, and Yvonne Strahovski. The film is out in theaters everywhere now.

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There's Isn't Enough Predator in Shane Black's The Predator