Movie Review: The Predator (2018)

The Predator (2018) co-written and directed by Shane Black

A Predator ship fleeing from another Predator ship crash lands on Earth. The fugitive Predator bails out and loses some of his armor in a Latin American jungle to an American sniper (Boyd Holbrook). The sniper knows that no one will believe he met an alien, so he mails the helmet and bracer to his P. O. Box stateside. The box winds up with his estranged wife (Yvonne Strahovski) and autistic son (Jacob Tremblay). The son naturally figures out how to use the equipment and accidentally sends a signal to the Predators. They know where to find the fugitive. Meanwhile, the sniper winds up on a bus filled with other military nutballs, because nobody believes his "space alien" story. Well, almost nobody. The secret agency that recovers the Predator's body and what's left of his armor summon him. The bus (still with the whole set of nutters) goes to the secret base just as the Predator wakes up and escapes. The nutballs chase it and have fights with it and with the eleven-foot tall Predator that's come to "take care" of the fugitive. Tall Predator wants whatever was on the first ship, so another chase ensues as the humans try to outrun and outfight a warrior from an advanced race of space travelers. If Schwarzenegger could do it in the 1980s, why not a rag-tag bunch of misfits in the 2010s?

The plot is a bit rambling and random, as if they were making it up as they were shooting the film. Another character is a female biologist (Olivia Munn) brought in to study the Predator. Her character's ongoing involvement doesn't make any sense other than checking off a box on the diversity checklist. The story makes up new things about the Predator culture throughout the movie that don't make much sense. Black is a reasonably good action writer (the original Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, among others), so the mediocrity of the script is surprising.

The special effects are impressive and the fights are exciting even when they don't make much sense. The actors do the best with what they have. None of them have the star power of Schwarzenegger or even of Danny Glover in the second film, a factor that moved those films to a higher level. Probably neither Schwarzenegger nor Glover could have saved this film.

Not recommended.

Movie Review: Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3(2013) written and directed by Shane Black

 Now that we are in the Twilight Zone between theatrical release and home video release, here's my review of the first summer movie!

MPAA rating

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.

ZPAA rating

Early teens and up

Gore level

1.5 out of 10--Some scars and a little bit of blood; some burn wounds and burning wounds.

Other offensive content

A little bit of suggestive dialog; live-in girlfriend for the hero; drug references; typical comic book movie violence.

Synopsis & Review

Iron Man 3 follows on the events of Avengers Assemble. Tony Stark is trying to return to his normal life, but the stress of the attack on New York manifests itself in many sleepless nights and quite a few panic attacks. Sure, Tony can tackle problems like how to make his armor more compact and powerful but the problems of the soul are not his forte. He needs help. Being an alpha male, he doesn't really seek it until his back is against the wall.

A terrorist named the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) has been bombing various places across America and the world, accusing Americans of deceit, arrogance, and greed. The hits finally come too close to home and Tony recklessly demands the Mandarin come fight him. After his posh cliff-side home (and almost everything he has) is destroyed, Tony has to rebuild his life from the ground up.

Meanwhile, Stark Industries and Pepper Potts are being courted by a scientific company, A.I.M., headed by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). They are working on bio-tech but aren't too ethical about their practices. Killian had tried to get Tony in years before, but he hopes with new leadership at Stark Industries he can woo Pepper into a merger.

The story moves at a good pace and is quite interesting. The dialog is fresh and fast. Performances from the cast are good and the action scenes are exciting if not overly imaginative.

Fans of the comics might object to the handling of the Mandarin (who is well-played by Ben Kingsley) but I thought it was an interesting take on the character and worked well for the story. The theme it suggests could have been played up more in the film. The end of the film is a little robbed of drama by the more or less invincible bad guys fighting Tony and his army of Iron Man suits (which we saw in the trailer). Other parts of the ending just don't make sense. It's as if they used up the movie's quota of smarts in the first two thirds of the film.

All in all, Iron Man 3 is a fun summer action film. It could have been smarter for my tastes but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

Movie Trailer