Tag Archives: film franchise

Film Review: “The Predator” (2018)

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Promotional poster for the 2018 film “The Predator”

I have a confession to make. I’m a fan of the original 1987 film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, and a ton of other fun tough guys. No, it’s not even close to the best movie ever made, or even the best Schwarzenegger film, but like I said, it’s a lot of fun, relative to 1980s action, blood and guts movies. I’ve seen it dozens of times.

I’ve seen all of the other Predator sequels including the various “Aliens vs. Predators” movies exactly once. They aren’t as much fun, but still a way to kill a couple of hours.

So when I saw the 2018 The Predator at my local public library, I figured “why not?”

Like the original, it starts out in a jungle environment (that is, after the whole “chase through space” sequence), but that’s not where the main action takes place. Also, this movie is really a sequel to all of the others (not sure why they didn’t mention Aliens) and naturally, after a spaceship crash, a secret U.S. government project called “Stargazer” captures the pilot and calls in evolutionary biologist Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn) as a consultant. Of course, all hell breaks loose and the Predator escapes.

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A Sequel…Why Did It Have to Be a Sequel?

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From the teaser/trailer to “Ghostbusters 3”

Oh, good grief. I mean “Ghostbusters 3?”

Okay, I’m a huge fan of the original 1984 Ghostbusters starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and directed by Ivan Reitman. Every Halloween, I close up all of the blinds on the front of my house, hide from trick or treaters, and watch this comedy classic. It’s a beautiful movie that never gets old.

I’ve watched the 1989 sequel exactly once, hated it, and have never viewed it since.

I read extensively about the gender-flipped 2016 Ghostbuster’s remake and decided to avoid it altogether. Yes, that probably leaves me vulnerable to being called “sexist” and “misogynistic” since a “woke” man would have not only watched the film but loved it for being pro-woman and progressive (however, as Paul Bois at The Daily Wire quipped, “Get woke, go broke”)…

…or maybe it was just a bad movie banking on using an established and beloved franchise to push an ideology in the most shallow and blatantly obvious way possible.

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