PREDATOR: BADLANDS Is The Predator Movie I’ve Been Waiting For – MOVIE REVIEW

At this point, anyone who has been on my blog knows that I am a massive Alien and Predator fan. I saw the movie way too young, but that paved the way for me to have the tradition of seeing every new movie in theaters when they come out. Sadly, I never got that privilege with Prey, since it was a Hulu original. However, Prey restored my faith in the Predator franchise after the abysmal attempt at rebooting the series in 2018. Dan Trachtenburg delivered an awesome return to form with Prey, and then just earlier this year, he gave us an AMAZING expansion on the Yautja lore with Predator: Killer Of Killers. Suffice to say, Trachtenburg has become the new face of Predator, much like how Fede Alvarez is now the face of the Alien franchise. So, no matter what, I was all-in for whatever was next for Predator, which is now Predator: Badlands.

Bold New Direction (At Least For The Movies)

There are only so many ways you can do the classic Predator formula: having some humans go into some location where they become the target of an extraterrestrial hunter. That has been done six times now, and while most of them have been entertaining, it has gotten stale to see many of the same tropes repeated. Predator: Badlands completely ditches that formula to tell a story from the point of view of a youngblood Yautja Hunter named Dek.

While this is new for movies, I have experienced this before with the comics, video games, and even novels that delve deeper into the lore of the Predator species. This is the first movie to officially label the hunters as Yautja, a name that has been in comics and games many times before. Dan Trachtenburg continues to show his love and appreciation for the expanded side of this universe, making Predator: Badlands feel like one of the classic Dark Horse comics brought to life.

However, this is a direction that could have backfired since it essentially takes what has been a villainous monster for the last four decades and makes it into the hero. A drastic shift in direction could alienate die-hard fans of previous movies who expect a certain tone and feel from these hunters. In my opinion, Predator: Badlands hits the perfect balance for long-time fans of the movies and the expanded material, because while Dek is an interesting hero to follow, the movie makes it clear that the Yautja Hunters are still ferocious and deadly beings that should be feared by most of the galaxy.

Within the first fifteen minutes, I was sold on Dek as our protagonist. His personal story is simplistic but emotionally effective to keep the audience invested as they follow him in trying to regain his honor among his clan of hunters. Dimitrius Koloamatangi portrays Dek, and he brings so much life to this character, from the action to the emotions. It is strange to see a Yautja with so much expression, but that is not a bad thing. Thanks to the strong combination of practical effects, CGI, and Koloamatangi’s performance, Dek remains the heart and soul of the movie, from beginning to end. That same mix of digital and practical work extends into the scenery that was filmed in New Zealand and enhanced with CGI to create the alien planet, which helps turn Genna into a beautiful location filled with crazy creatures and plant life.

Without giving anything away, Dek reminded me a lot of Kratos from the more recent God Of War games, where he is a very one-minded yet badass warrior fighting his way through every obstacle, yet there are layers to him that gradually peel back over the course of the story. It even results in some nice comedic moments between him and other characters.

The PG-13 Rating Is Not What You Expect

It is 100% understandable why people would be nervous that a Predator movie is PG-13, when all previous movies were R-rated due to their violence and gore. Thankfully, there is actually a genuine reason for it being PG-13: there are no human characters. It’s a movie 100% comprised of extraterrestrials and synthetics, so all the intense gore and blood are still present, but because none of the blood is red, it gets away with PG-13.

When Dek is being a Yautja warrior, ripping out body parts and slicing things in half, it still feels like stuff you’d see in Prey or Predator: Killer Of Killers. As a result, it is so satisfying, especially when viewing the typical Predator action from the point of view of one of these deadly hunters.

This is especially shown with Dek’s arsenal of weapons. If you’re a fan of all the high-tech weaponry that the Yautja are known for in other movies and material, you’re going to have a lot of fun with this one. Dek’s main weapon is his sword, which gets put to use in some very creative ways to make for some of the most unique fight sequences in the franchise. However, there are still classics like wrist blade, cloaking, and plasmacasters…but with a twist that I ended up really liking, without spoiling it.

The Deadliest Planet In The Universe

While Predator: Badlands takes things in a new direction, it never diverts into anything overly complex, trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s a very simple premise that takes our main character on a sci-fi adventure through a planet that wants to kill him via its flora and fauna. It reminds me a lot of Mad Max movies with a lone wanderer and a sidekick bonding over a journey of high action and adventure.

Speaking of sidekicks, Dek does have one in this movie in the form of Elle Fanning as Thia, a Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic. Not only does this further cement that Alien and Predator movies share a cinematic universe, but it also allows Dek to form a bond with a character who shares similar aspects with him.

Now, when Thia first appeared, I was a little concerned by how much of a comedic sidekick she was going to be. She quips a LOT in the first five to ten minutes with her, but as the movie progresses, she becomes a very interesting character, and her bond with Dek evolves into a surprisingly heartfelt portion of the movie. Elle Fanning gives a great performance as this charming and happy android that feels like the total opposite of Dek, yet they complement each other perfectly.

It also helps that Elle Fanning gets to portray Thia’s twin sister: Tessa. Tessa is the main antagonist for Dek and Thia, showing off her range, because where Thia is this more bubbly character, Tessa is more along the lines of Ash or David from the Alien universe. I am always a fan of double roles, and Elle Fanning knocked it out of the park in my opinion.

Don’t Expect Xenomorphs In This Movie

I know what most people are thinking when they see that Weyland-Yutani is essentially the villain of this movie, and I’ll admit, I thought of it too. No, this movie is NOT an Alien Vs. Predator reboot. Don’t go in expecting some giant reveal that the company is holding Xenomorphs for Dek to fight. It just uses Weyland-Yutani as a logical threat, as this movie takes place in the distant future, utilizing the shared universe wisely.

Now, that’s not to say that we’ll never get Alien Vs. Predator, as this essentially could be the seed that eventually grows and blossoms into a future crossover event. However, I just want to make it clear to everyone that there are no Xenomorphs in Predator: Badlands, not even as a cameo.

Instead, Weyland-Yutani’s outpost on the planet Genna is manned entirely by synthetics, which have become almost as much a part of the universe as the Xenomorphs. While Thia and Tessa are the more typical synths that fans are familiar with, Predator: Badlands introduces the assault class synths, who are more combat-oriented. As a result, this movie not only expands the Predator universe but also builds on the Alien universe without seeming like a cheesy attempt at a crossover.

One Of My Favorite Soundtracks Of This Year

Benjamin Fallfisch returns to compose the score after already doing Predator: Killer Of Killers. This time, however, he is collaborating with Sarah Schachner (who composed the soundtrack for Prey), and they deliver music that is very different from all other Predator movies, but I absolutely adored it. It sounds more tribal and epic, utilizing chants in the Yautja language that get you pumped up with every action sequence.

The music reminded me a lot of what Ludwig Göransson brings to The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett soundtracks, and it just fit a Yautja-centric story. If there is one thing I recommend doing after seeing Predator: Badlands, it’s going on YouTube or whatever streaming service to listen to the soundtrack.

This Hunt Is Almost Perfect

I do have a couple of nitpicks, but they do not hurt the overall experience. There is a character introduced that I personally was mixed on. At first, they come off as a little ill-fitting, but as the movie goes on and certain things are revealed, they end up becoming a lot less jarring.

There is one character I wish got a bit more time to shine as an antagonist, especially since they play such a big role in the movie’s initial setup.

The pacing can be a little much. From the moment the movie starts, it never lets up, and through most of the movie, it works. It never gets boring or feels like it has to drag: it’s a giant adventure, but it can feel like it’s moving at breakneck speed sometimes. For being only an hour and forty-five minutes long, when the credits started rolling, it honestly felt like I was only in the theater for an hour.

I guess that’s a sign that time flies when you’re having fun, but I still wish that the movie had gone on for another fifteen minutes.

The Franchise Is Not Going Away, And I Am Here For It

I’m not going to sugarcoat it; I genuinely thought this franchise was dead after the 2018 fiasco—it was that bad. However, Dan Trachtenburg has brought new life to it with Predator: Badlands, now making him 3 for 3 with this franchise. The film was an action-packed adventure that satisfied my love for sci-fi, delivering a live-action version of the comics I adored growing up.

If Dek is set to be our new protagonist, I’m excited for whatever the future holds for this franchise. I loved Predator: Badlands and highly recommend it. It offers exactly the change this franchise needed. I believe even the most hardcore Predator fans will enjoy it, and newcomers can easily watch it without needing to see any of the previous films.

I’m going to give Predator: Badlands a 9/10. I’m not sure where it ranks among other Predator movies at the moment, but it is definitely in my Top 3.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter or on BlueSky.

It Will Make Anyone Yell WAHOO! – The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) MOVIE REVIEW

Nintendo and its franchises have been around since before I was born. I was raised on the Nintendo 64 which gave me my introduction to the Mario universe with Super Mario 64 as well as Mario Party and over the years, I have gone through the history of the franchise to play most, if not all, games in the series. From the original NES game to recently beating Bowser’s Fury on the Nintendo Switch to still putting hours into Mario Kart 8. So, keep all this in mind when I say that Illumination and Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie is something that I have been anticipating from the moment it was announced.

I personally enjoy most of Illumination’s work: I think Despicable Me is now a classic comedy, I adore Sing as well as its sequel, and I found myself really enjoying their take on The Grinch. So, when they were revealed to be taking on Mario, I was intrigued. Slowly, as things started getting revealed such as the cast and how involved Nintendo was going to be, I got more and more hyped until the first trailer dropped that made me literally tear up. Subsequent trailers did the same as the movie appeared to be giving fans the movie that we have been wanting for so long.

I’ll be 100% with everyone, I have fondness for the 1993 Super Mario Bros. The Movie. It’s weird, it makes no sense, and it does not adapt the games well…at all, but there is a charm to it that I’ve always enjoyed. It’s a fun guilty pleasure, mainly because of the actors all doing their best with the material. With that said…the new movie blows it straight out of the water in every single aspect.

I WAS SMILING FROM BEGINNING TO END

You know you’re in for a good time when the literal opening ten seconds makes you grin. From the moment it started to the very end of the post-credit scene, my smile never left my face because I was just in awe of how well Illumination and Nintendo crafted this movie.

First off, rather than the usual art style for Illumination, The Super Mario Bros. Movie featured visuals that looked straight out of the game, but characters were given a slight enough redesign to make them distinct as Illumination’s version. The result is one of the most beautiful animated films I’ve ever seen with cartoony designs for everything that had an astonishing amount of detail that even Pixar would be jealous of. From the titular brothers to the Mushroom Kingdom to even Brooklyn, everything was a spectacle to witness.

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Pretty imagery doesn’t immediately mean a good movie but if you enjoy animation, you are likely going to be thrilled by everything The Super Mario Bros. Movie does. Probably my favorite aspect to the animation is the lighting: the bright and colorful Mushroom Kingdom and even the gloomy Dark Lands end up having some of the best lighting that makes every scene just pop. Even the worlds that we see for literal seconds are jaw-dropping.

However, like I said, a movie needs more than visuals and thankfully, The Super Mario Bros. Movie delivers a simple yet effective story. Two caring brothers trying to make it as a plumbers in Brooklyn are transported to the Mushroom Kingdom thus taking them on adventure to stop the evil Bowser. I am actually thankful that it went for such a story, because it’s Mario: we don’t need some complex storyline. It’s a call to adventure that introduces longtime and new viewers to the Mushroom Kingdom as well as its menagerie of iconic characters, hazards, creatures, and locations. It also makes it perfect for the whole family: adults and kids will have a blast and that’s mainly due to the characters being instantly lovable, even the villains.

EVERY CHARACTER IS PERFECT!

Not only do the characters look great, but they are backed by some astonishing performances. Let’s get the big one out of the way: Chris Pratt as Mario. From the instant that he was announced to be playing Mario and not Charles Martinet (the man who has been voicing Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi for decades), the internet lost its mind. People were whining, attacking Chris Pratt online, and even threatening to boycott the movie if Illumination and Nintendo did not get someone else. I was interested in what he would deliver from the start and I will say right now that all of those toxic individuals need to apologize to Chris.

In my opinion, Chris Pratt sounded like he was born for this role. Not only does he homage Charles Martinet’s performance multiple times throughout The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but he also gives Mario his own unique voice. Before anyone asks: no, it’s not just Chris Pratt using his normal voice. He puts on an Italian-American accent throughout the entire movie and after just a few seconds, it’s actually hard to recognize Pratt’s voice at all. Immediately, he just sounds like a Mario that was charming and lovable, especially when he interacts with his little brother Luigi. I can’t wait to see what Pratt will bring in future entries to this Nintendo Cinematic Universe.

Speaking of Luigi, this is my personal favorite Nintendo character. I’ve always loved playing as Luigi over Mario; I think the green and blue is a great look, I think he is adorable with how scared he is of everything but when the situation calls for him, he’s actually braver than Mario. On top of it all, I can relate to being a younger sibling who is taller. So, I am happy to report that Charlie Day’s Luigi nails every single aspect of the character that I wanted to see in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. If Illumination and Nintendo ever decide to give Charlie Day his own Luigi’s Mansion spin-off, I will be there at a midnight release because every single scene with Luigi stole the movie for me and I adored his relationship with Mario in this movie. There is a scene that shows what Mario means to him and it genuinely made me tear up a little bit. I do wish Luigi had more scenes but we’ll get to that later.

Anya Taylor Joy plays Princess Peach and THANK YOU NINTENDO AND ILLUMINATION. Not once is Peach the damsel in distress that Mario has to save; that tropes was already tiresome in the games and I am so glad that Peach has a different role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Peach in the movie is actually the most competent one of the group who can traverse a gauntlet of challenges. She’s funny, she’s smart, and super sweet with Anya Taylor Joy giving a pitch perfect performance that made me love Peach instantly. They made Peach into an absolute badass, sort of like the older Mario comics; seeing her in action also reminded me of games such as Super Mario Bros. 2 or Super Mario 3D World, two games I always appreciated. That reminds me, after this movie, can we finally get a Super Princess Peach 2? I mean come on Nintendo, if Yoshi and Wario can have their own franchises, so should Peach. Anyway, Anya’s Peach was a great one with some of the best scenes in the movie.

This should come as no shock since everyone liked this casting from the start but Jack Black 1000% stole the show as Bowser. No more weird Dennis Hopper with T-Rex arms, this is a genuine Bowser who was not only a genuine threat when the moment called for it but he was hilarious. Bowser in the movie very much reminded me of his portrayal in the Mario & Luigi RPGs where he’s big and mean but he’s also kind of a fool. In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Bowser is a lovestruck idiot who only cares about Peach and wooing her, even if it means conquering the Mushroom Kingdom. This results in easily some of the funniest scenes in the movie has he longs for Peach while trying to be an intimidating villain. Jack Black nails the goofiness (again, no shocker there) but the times when Bowser has to be scary, Black gave a shockingly good performance, especially in the movie’s climax.

I am struggling to process the fact that this high-pitched little Toad is voiced by Keegan-Michael Key. Keegan is personally one of my favorite performers working right now because he can do so many types of roles that it is crazy, and he is also one of the funniest comedians I’ve ever seen. I loved his Toad performance because not only is he unrecognizable, but I loved seeing this adventurer version of Toad who is loyal to the very end and it seems like all he wants is to make a friend. He’s a very cute character who I would also like to see get his own movie or maybe an animated series on Peacock.

When it comes to Donkey Kong, I would be lying if I said that this was the one character I wasn’t worried about. I enjoy Seth Rogen’s movies in the past, but I wasn’t sure about him as Donkey Kong. Thankfully, all my concerns were abolished as soon as he showed up, because while he doesn’t do a voice for the character, Seth’s voice and performance worked for DK. In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, DK is portrayed as this cocky and arrogant prince but he has some extra layers to him. There is this great heart-to-heart scene with Mario and DK; Seth Rogen delivers a great line that reveals more about DK as a character. It’s very obvious that Donkey Kong is the one that Illumination really wanted to set up a spin-off for and I am all for it because not only did I love Donkey Kong but they established the Kong mythos rather well.

Overall, there was not a single character I disliked or thought was disappointing. Even minions of Bowser such as Kamek or side characters like a psychotic Luma ended up bringing laughs and smiles through the whole movie.

NINTENDO FANS WILL BE OVERJOYED

There is no exaggerating when I say that not five seconds of the movie goes by without some kind of reference to the games both old and new. Even the opening Illumination title card has a reference in it. However, not every reference is shoved right into the audience face; some things are blatant while others can be as simple as some text in the background, an enemy from the game wandering the Mushroom Kingdom, or a simple music cue. It’s very clear that Nintendo was involved in the making of The Super Mario Bros. Movie because every little detail, homage, or reference shows that they care about the fans.

You know that meme of Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the screen? That was me and the entire group of people I was with. It isn’t to the point that non-Nintendo fans can’t enjoy the movie, though. Everything is interweaved into the story and world as basically a plethora of bonuses for fans to enjoy while everyone else can still enjoy the charming story and characters.

The great thing is that The Super Mario Bros. Movie references so many Mario games. There is even a piece of music from Bowser’s Fury and Super Mario Odyssey. It’s not just Mario references, though, because there are references to other Nintendo products including one that has me hoping it was their way of hinting at things to come since…it’s something I have been asking for since I was a kid.

It’s not just little details that impressed me. Entire set pieces like the Mario Kart sequence and the Kong Kingdom were giant throwbacks to the games that adapted iconic locations, sequences, and delivered action-packed thrill rides for everyone to enjoy. The movie even goes out of its way to pay homage to previous adaptations such as the 1993 movie and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

CRITICS DESERVE A BLUE MUSHROOM

Look, I try to be civil and not get bothered by what the score on Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic says. I just check out movies, games, and TV shows then judge for myself but today is going to be different. The critic reception of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is MIND-BOGGLING to me.

First they complain that the original 1993 movie was not close enough to the games, but now they are complaining that the 2023 movie is too much of a representation of the games because it has “too many references.” Wait what? Why is it being a proper adaptation of Mario a bad thing?

There are even critics saying it’s too silly or too simple. IT’S MARIO! What are these people expecting? Animated Macbeth? That’s not even getting to a certain critic who called the movie’s story offensive. This is just one of many examples in recent years that “professional” critics are so detached from pop culture and cinema as a whole that people are not going to trust their word anymore as shown by the current 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

OVERALL THOUGHTS, LET’S A-GO!

I am skipping a flaws and nitpicks section this time, simply because I don’t have any. I almost did because at first, I thought Luigi was wasted in the movie. That was until the last 10-15 minutes of the movie happened and that complaint was immediately erased. I won’t spoil what happens but yeah, the climax is an amazing highlight of the movie for me.

So, my final thoughts on The Super Mario Bros. Movie is that on top of being a beautiful yet fun fantasy adventure for the whole family to enjoy, it is also a spectacular loveletter to the long history of Super Mario Bros. going all the way back to when he was Jumpman in the Donkey Kong arcade game. If you like action, comedy, and adventure: you are going to love it, especially if you have kids. If you grew up playing Mario and Nintendo games in general, you are probably going to be like me where the nostalgia and respect for the source material will make you tear up.

I think The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a great adaptation and a great movie that I strongly believe has hit in the top half of my favorite animated movies ever made. When the post-credit scene was over, I had been smiling so much that my cheeks were actually sore. I did not have any problems with the movie whatsoever and as a result, I feel like I have to give it a 10/10.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! We are accepting donations to fund this blog for the future, so check me out on Ko-Fi! Love you all!

Fantastic & Funny – Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) MOVIE REVIEW

High Fantasy is something that I always look forward to seeing. We rarely get new fantasy movies, which is odd considering the special effects featured in movies today could really bring the worlds of elves, orcs, and dragons to life. That’s one of many reasons I was excited to see Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Before I begin, I want to thank Paramount Pictures for allowing me to see the movie early. It was a great theater experience I will remember for a while because, on top of seeing it in a really cozy private screening, the movie itself was everything I wanted in a modern fantasy blockbuster.

THIS MOVIE IS JUST PURE FUN

From beginning to end, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves focused on being a self-contained adventure that pretty much the whole family can enjoy. A large part of that is due to the direction it takes its characters and dialogue; fans of the tabletop RPG will be happy because it manages to nail that humorous chemistry between the characters with the party fumbling from one situation to another with some things succeeding and many others failing, leading to plenty laugh out loud moments that feel like a genuine campaign of the game.

The humor is also expertly handled all around. None of the jokes feel forced or repeatedly used to the point of making the viewer groan because Dungeons & Dragons, in my opinion, feels somewhat similar to the original Willow: it embraces the weirdness and silliness with plenty of great gags while maintaining enough stakes and serious plotlines to keep it from feeling like a fantasy Saturday Night Live sketch. Part of that is due to the adventure that the party embarks, featuring plenty of spectacle with its locations, set pieces, monsters, and action scenes that give something new to the viewer every five or so minutes. Though, there is one gag in the movie that I know is going to be turned into a meme and I can’t wait for that because it had my sides hurting from how funny it was.

Dungeons & Dragons is effective in branching across multiple genres: it’s an action movie, it’s a high fantasy epic, it’s a heist movie, and it’s a comedy. It provides something for all demographics to enjoy. Even those who have never played the original D&D tabletop can have a great time.

However, those who know the game and the lore will also have extra fun because Honor Among Thieves is jam-packed with references and Easter Eggs. It also shows a lot of loyalty to the world while still sticking to being a self-contained story. That is another great thing about this movie: it tells its story in one sweet thrill ride. It leaves things open for possible sequels, prequels, or spin-offs but never once does the movie feel like it’s trying to set up a sequel or some Dungeons & Dragons cinematic universe. As much as I love shared universes and the potential of sequels, sometimes it’s nice to have a good story with a beginning, middle, and strong ending.

THE PARTY MAKES THE MOVIE

Every Dungeons & Dragons character achetype is here to enjoy: Chris Pine is a charismatic Bard, Michelle Rodriguez is the Barbarian with a heart of gold, Justice Smith plays a Mage with zero confidence in himself, Regé-Jean Page absolutely steals the movie as a Paladin without a sense of humor, and Sophia Lillis as a polymorphic Tiefling is a joy. Anyone who has watched Critical Role or the show The Legend Of Vox Machina will likely enjoy these characters just as much since all of them get their chance to shine in the spotlight throughout movie from their different skills to having genuine emotional moments.

Chris Pine’s Edgin is a character you’ve seen many times before. He’s the selfish main hero who thinks he doesn’t care about anything else but his personal plight, yet Pine delivers it so well, making for a charming lead that is never not entertaining throughout.

I mentioned before that Regé-Jean Page was a show-stealer and I cannot say that enough. His Paladin named Xenk Yendar is so dead-pan and serious in a party filled with jokesters and loudmouths that he ends up bringing some of the most hilarious scenes in Dungeons & Dragons, whether it’s him or someone else commenting on him. On top of all that, Yendar has some of the best action sequences as well and it honestly makes me want to see this character have his own spin-off.

Holga Kilgore ends up being the heart and soul of Honor Among Thieves with Michelle Rodriguez being a tough yet adorable warrior on the team. Even when she’s off in the background, she is usually doing something entertaining, such as when she’s eating a potato. They could have made her the big dumb character who smashes things, and while she does provide that, she’s more like the big sister who is taking care of a bunch of younger siblings on a sugar high leading to her becoming a rather endearing character.

I have nothing but praise for the rest of the cast as well. Nobody felt squandered or annoying or useless, though I wish we did get to see more of Sophia Lillis as Doric. She’s great in every scene, but I would say that she has the least dialogue in the whole movie which is unfortunate. Justice Smith is another show-stealer as Simon who comes off as the typical comedic relief but ends up going on a character journey that I really enjoyed.

THE VILLAINS WERE A MIXED BAG

The truth is that people should come into Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves for the main party of characters as well as the adventure. However, villains are important as well, and this movie has two main villains: one ends up being far more effective than the other.

Hugh Grant plays Forge and he is basically a weasel character who uses his wealth and status to get whatever he wants. However, he’s not some villain like Thanos or Emperor Palpatine who are famous for their powerful presence and confidence. Instead, Forge is essentially a conman who got rich and he’s practically useless thus resulting in a hilarious yet memorable villain, mainly due to Hugh Grant’s quirky performance.

I will not go into who the other villain is since that goes into spoiler territory and I’ll just be honest: they were just…fine. A rather typical evil character for the party to fight which, again, leans into the idea that Dungeons & Dragons plays out like a campaign from the game with the villains being the least developed characters. There was nothing particularly bad about the character; in fact, there are several great sequences with them but I would not call them a great villain.

SURPRISINGLY BEAUTIFUL

One thing I was a little concerned about was the visuals of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which is usually something that never worries me since trailers usually don’t look as good as the actual movie. With that said, something about the trailer gave me that vibe that things were going to look rather really cheap a la Thor: Love And Thunder.

Thankfully, I was immediately proven wrong because not only did Dungeons & Dragons have some really good cinematography thanks to Barry Peterson, who really surprised me since he previously worked on projects like 21 Jump Street and Game Night. Some shots in this movie look straight out of a Star Wars project with gorgeous scenery and visuals.

Unlike a lot of modern blockbusters, there is a shocking amount of practical effects work in Dungeons & Dragons, from the sets to the different races seen in the world. They could have easily used CGI for a lot of these things (which is far from a bad thing) but a lot of the film is tangible other than the obvious ones such as flying dragons, the use of magic, and the appearance of an Owlbear. The movie finds a nice balance between the two to deliver a beautiful movie that never fails in the visual department.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

If it’s not obvious enough already, I loved Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. It was such a refreshing return to the world of high fantasy that mixed in so many genres. It’s an adventure film, it’s a heist movie, it’s epic, it’s a comedy, and it has something for everyone to enjoy. The characters are downright perfect throughout the whole movie and the fantasy set pieces show that classic formulas can still work today with the right execution and directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein nailed it.

Alongside John Wick Chapter 4, I’d say Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is tied for my favorite movie of 2023 so far. That might change over time, but for now, I cannot recommend this movie enough. If you agree that fantasy movies deserve a comeback, this is the film for you that adults will love and kids will likely enjoy as well. I’m going to give Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves a strong 9.5/10 and the only reason the movie doesn’t get a 10 is because of the less than stellar villains. Other than that, I rank this up there with Willow and The Dark Crystal as a great fantasy adventure movie.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! Love you all!

A Promising Return To Form! – DC’s Titans Season 4, Episodes 1-5 REVIEW (SPOILER FREE)

Before I begin, I just wanted to say thank you to Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO Max for allowing me to check out the first five episodes of Titans Season 4 early. It means a lot that they thought I was worthy of this kind of early access.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE LAST THREE SEASONS

I want to start by saying that DC’s Titans has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. I think the first season starts off really strong and has many great elements about it but kind of fell apart in the last couple of episodes.

Season 2 started off even better and for the most part, I thought it was a superior season thanks to Deathstroke and the introduction of Nightwing. I think Brenton Thwaites is the shining beacon of the entire series that never fails to impress me as Dick Grayson. The finale of Season 2 was…disappointing to say the least, but I can at least say I thought the season as a whole was enjoyable.

Then Season 3 happened and…I’ll just be completely honest about it. I didn’t care for it at all. To me, it stopped feeling like Titans and became a watered-down Bat-Family story with an embarrassing portrayal of Batman, a despicable take on Barbara Gordon (one of my favorite DC characters), and two villains that made me laugh more than anything. There were some things I liked such as Superboy and Starfire being show-stealers and Nightwing continuing to shine. However, even the best characters stopped feeling like their proper selves and it had me worried about the future of this series. I originally had little to no interest in the fourth season of Titans.

WELCOME BACK, TITANS!

After seeing the trailers, I got a bit more intrigued and when HBO Max allowed me to see the first several episodes early, I couldn’t really say “no.” So, I checked them out and I’m happy to say that I found myself pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

This is arguably just as strong of a start, if not stronger than the second season. For the first time in quite a while, Nightwing, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Tim Drake, and Superboy feel like a proper team of Titans. They act like brothers and sisters and feel more like themselves again.

Once again, Brenton Thwaites is the highlight; from the moment he was announced to be playing Dick Grayson, I was sold. This season in particular is great for Nightwing because they finally showcase the quippy side of the character. Almost every situation that the Titans deal with has at least one snappy remark from Grayson and I love it.

Superboy is put into the spotlight a bit more this time around and I couldn’t be happier about it. Conner was always a favorite of mine in the Titans and Young Justice comics so it’s nice that he gets a bit more to do than he did in the last season.

Raven being back as a major player is also really refreshing. That’s one of the best elements of Season 4 thus far: none of the characters feel side-lined. Every character has some kind of story whereas the last two seasons felt really hesitant to give any development to certain characters with Beast Boy getting the worst treatment despite the character being nearly-perfect.

MYSTERIOUS AND SPOOKY

Season 4 introduces another rather dark storyline and at first, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it but the episodes I’ve seen so far display the most balance of tones.

It keeps that dark and grittiness that Titans has become known for since the very first episode but there is enough the DC mythos and wonder mixed in that now the show feels truly immersed within that universe. Part of that has to do with taking place in Metropolis with places such as LexCorp, the Daily Planet, and STAR Labs providing more fantastical settings for the story.

Season 3 took place in Gotham City, but never once did it actually feel like Gotham City. It looked and felt like every generic crime-ridden city in fiction that happened to feature Gotham City characters. Metropolis has a lot more flavor and history to it to make it seem like a world where Superman has existed for a long time.

But like I said, it still retains that mature tone with bloody deaths and rituals featuring the villains. However, where it improves on the darkness is a nice fix to the dialogue. My biggest flaw with the first two seasons in particular was that Titans featured dialogue that was straight out of a Rob Zombie production where every single sentence felt the need to drop an F-bomb or some other obscenity. I’m not exactly a prude myself, but the cursing felt so forced and unneeded for a lot of scenes. Season 3 suffered from this too much not nearly as much.

Season 4, in my opinion, fixes this by having the dark and mature themes without feeling the need to have a swear jar on standby. In 5 episodes, I think I heard the F-bomb maybe 4 times.

Another element that adds to the darker side of Titans Season 4 is the introduction of Mother Mayhem and Brother Blood. I certainly don’t think these two will measure up to Deathstroke from Season 2, but they are definitely two great additions so far. The pieces slowly assemble to show how the two connect and the two actors give strong performances, particularly Joseph Morgan as Blood.

I don’t watch The Vampire Diaries, it is simply not my thing so this is my first experience watching the actor perform and he delivers a really sympathetic performance. I truly feel bad for the character, even though I know that he’s going to be the villain at some point. I like his character as a regular person which made me not want to see him turn bad. At the same time, I’m excited to see more of him throughout the rest of the season.

Mother Mayhem, played by Franka Potente, is definitely an interesting villain and it is cool to see a villain who can dominate all of the Titans in a fight. I haven’t seen something like that since Deathstroke; so the two villains in Season 4 are the best elements of Deathstroke split into two characters.

INTRIGUING AND WELL-PACED

I can’t speak for the whole season but so far, Season 4 seems to have the best direction and story. Every season prior suffered from a lull point, where the show would grind to a halt or focus on the wrong characters.

With Season 4 focusing on nearly all of the Titans as a team, nobody feels overused or underutilized. There was no point where I felt like the show got too distracted with something or was padding itself out to reach that 45-minute mark.

There is even a new addition to the Titans team in the form of Jinx and I couldn’t get enough of this character. She’s essentially a magical villain who is joining the team for this season and she is a sass master in every minute on screen. Even though I can assume that she won’t be a permanent addition, I am still glad that she’s part of the team to not only add a magical character but also some dark humor.

NOT PERFECT (SO FAR)

No season of any show is perfect and Titans is no different. While I certainly enjoyed the first five episodes overall, I still have a couple of minor gripes and nitpicks that I thought I should share.

  1. There is a death in the episodes I saw that I am mixed on. It was a surprise for sure, but part of me hopes this death is not permanent because I wanted to see more of them.
  2. Sometimes the visual effects are lacking. It’s TV budget so I’m not expecting Rings Of Power-level effects, but sometimes when characters use their powers, it can look really fake.
  3. This is a nitpick that could easily be erased depending on what happens later in the series, but the reasoning for Superman not being in Metropolis felt contrived.
  4. Without giving any spoilers, that little tease of Deathstroke’s return in the trailer? Yeah, it was a big lie and does not pay off well, in my opinion.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

As of right now, Titans Season 4 definitely feels like the show is back on full steam and filled with fresh energy. I am intrigued, I’m loving the direction with the characters, the actors are still performing well, and the superhero stuff that I come to see is a highlight.

Consider me a proud fan of Titans once again. It just goes to show that one bad season doesn’t always mean the entire show needs to be damned. I’m going to give this first portion of DC’s Titans Season 4 a solid 8.5/10.

The first two episodes of DC’s Titans Season 4 premiere on HBO Max on November 3rd and I recommend everyone to give it a chance if you too were heavily disappointed by Season 3.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! Love you all!

Marvel’s Most Sensational Woman – What She-Hulk Means To Me

Every one of us has that one atypical Marvel character that we hold in high regard whilst others roll their eyes. For some, it’s a character like Ant-Man or Squirrel Girl or even Moon Knight but for me, She-Hulk has been than emerald gem on the Marvel lexicon.

For years, I have met so many people who only hear the name “She-Hulk” and immediately scoff. They think she’s nothing more than a female clone of Hulk with nothing else to give her merit, but they have no idea how wrong they are.

To be frank, She-Hulk is just neck and neck with Spider-Man as my favorite Marvel character of all time. I can even label She-Hulk as my favorite female superhero. So with the new She-Hulk: Attorney At Law series on the horizon, I thought I’d go into detail on how She-Hulk has affected me for years.

This is She-Hulk, how I remember her…

A FANTASTIC FOUR CARTOON INTRODUCED ME TO HER

I had known about She-Hulk for quite some time growing up, but I never had much exposure. That all changed when I started watching a short-lived animated series titled Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes. Now, I don’t want this article to turn into a review of this series, but I will say that this is arguably Marvel’s most underrated animated series that delivers on an updated version of the Fantastic Four that maintains what made the characters so great in the comics.

One of the episodes titled The Cure focuses on the idea of Ben Grimm AKA The Thing returning to his human form. As a result, the team holds auditions for a replacement and this leads to Jennifer Walters auditioning and becoming the new fourth member of the Fantastic Four as She-Hulk. This idea stems directly from the comics when John Byrne brought his two stories of She-Hulk and Fantastic Four comics together.

Now transformations have always fascinated me; werewolves, Jekyll and Hyde, and gender transformations. It’s always interesting to see anatomy morph and twist into something else and She-Hulk’s transformation in this series was a great one. Tons of detail with really beautiful animation really caught my attention as a child and that was just the beginning because She-Hulk ended up being this sassy yet badass woman who was just as beautiful as she was a kickass hero.

As a young girl, I ended up looking up to She-Hulk. I wished she had struck around for the whole series, but I settled for her being the guest star of my favorite episode of that series. I needed more though; She-Hulk was officially stuck in my brain.

THE DAN SLOTT RUN

I didn’t know where to start since, at this time of my life, I was not big on collecting or even reading Marvel comics. I got lucky and found the Dan Slott comic run of She-Hulk from 2004 and I was hooked.

The mix of genres really captured my attention; it was the life of a superhero yet it was also about the struggles of a single woman and it was about a lawyer all in one. It was a dynamic I had never seen before with a superhero and I found Jen Walters AKA She-Hulk to be such a fun character that I was determined to know more about her and read everything.

I WANTED TO BE HER

As a transwoman, I look back at my fascination with She-Hulk and realize that she was a big part of my secret desire as a teen. Every time I read a comic and saw Jen Walters transform into the gorgeous jade giantess, I imagined myself doing the same.

I wanted to be able to transform into a woman, let alone a She-Hulk. I wanted to be like Jen: having fun, going on adventures, making a name for myself as a woman, and experiencing a new body. I also saw that she always fought for justice and protected those that needed it in both her hero and lawyer life; I saw her as a role model.

Years passed by and I slowly consumed more and more She-Hulk material. I read both of the Dan Slott runs, many of The Sensational She-Hulk run from John Byrne, and I watched The Incredible Hulk animated series which featured She-Hulk as a co-star of the series after a while, and after that, I was fully obsessed with the character.

I WROTE ABOUT SHE-HULK FOR YEARS

When I first began to work as a writer online, I had been adamant about wanting She-Hulk in the MCU since Phase Two began. I started writing theories and pitches about how She-Hulk could be introduced in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, who could play her, and what she would look like.

There was even a time when I genuinely considered writing my own reboot of She-Hulk for a modern age and submitting it to Marvel to become a professional comic book writer. I was only in my teens at the time so I realized soon enough that it would never happen. However, that didn’t stop me from writing ABOUT her.

Even to this day, I have written different articles about She-Hulk for ScreenRant in preparation for the new series on Disney+, teaching those who have never read the comics about the awesomeness that is Jen Walters.

Being able to talk about She-Hulk as part of my job is one of the greatest pleasures I’ve ever had. So, She-Hulk has even influenced the direction of my career to a degree!

MY VIEWS ON SHE-HULK TODAY

My love and appreciation for this character have only grown over the years. I’ve read almost everything involving She-Hulk, even her guest appearances in comics such as Avenging Spider-Man and Heroes For Hire.

As an adult, it is even more fascinating to see how much She-Hulk has evolved and changed. I’ve now grown to love the John Byrne era as much as the Dan Slott era. I love that she used to break the fourth wall and that aspect is returning for the Disney+ series. I’ve read runs like the Charles Soule and Mariko Tamaki runs and found them incredibly underrated.

So many different writers and artists have taken Jen in so many unique directions. One run has her as this fourth-wall-breaking supermodel who fights villains such as the Living Eraser while other runs have her focusing on her job as a lawyer above all else to tell a more grounded story.

She-Hulk is not just a fun character, she’s an example of how a spin-off character can have a legacy of their own, similar to Miles Morales, Robbie Reyes, Scott Lang, and Kate Bishop. I will always love Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk, he’s one of the quintessential Marvel characters. However, I will always prefer She-Hulk because I find her stories to be more engaging in every way.

This is not dissimilar to how I view Blue Beetle from the DC universe. I will always enjoy Dan Garrett and Ted Kord for being the ones who made Blue Beetle into icons in the first place, but Jaime Reyes will forever be the definitive Blue Beetle in my eyes. She-Hulk is that to me: she’s a Hulk spin-off but she has her own unique qualities: she retains her mind (most of the time), she’s a better negotiator since she argues for a living, she’s funny, she’s charming, she can outmaneuver the Hulk, she’s a strong leader when she needs to be, and she has been part of a plethora of superhero teams.

The Avengers, A-Force, The Fantastic Four, Fearsome Four, The Last Defenders, SHIELD, Hulkbusters, and more. Even to this day, her journey as a superhero continues in the comics and I am excited to see what else Marvel does with her.

I’m still following Rainbow Rowell’s current run of She-Hulk and it is so well-written that it honestly is on the same level as Slott and Byrne. She focuses so much on Jen as a person that I honestly wish I was her roommate instead of Janet Van Dyne. If it weren’t for the fact that she’s a seven-foot-tall green woman, the current run is essentially about a woman getting a fresh start and it’s such a joy to read.

I AM SO HYPED FOR THE SERIES

I remember there being rumblings about She-Hulk for years. I wanted her to be introduced in a new sequel to The Incredible Hulk and then get her own film. However, I got the next best thing coming with Tatiana Maslany portraying Jen Walters in the live-action series.

Was she ever my first, second, third, or even tenth choice for Jen? Nope! I watched some Orphan Black and loved what I saw, but never got around to watching that series from the start. That doesn’t mean I’m not excited for Tatiana because the truth is quite the opposite.

That’s the beauty of Kevin Feige and Sarah Halley Finn: they always know how to pick talented actors. I never would have picked Chris Evans to play Captain America back in the day yet he killed it for an entire saga of the MCU. So, now that I’ve seen footage and trailers of Tatiana, I think she is going to do great and make She-Hulk her own just like everyone else in this franchise.

As a bonus, Tatiana is a proud ally of the transgender community and that makes me love her already!

SHE-HULK IS MY HERO

I have difficulty picking just one superhero as my all-time favorite because there are so many that I love. However, I do have a pool of heroes that I say can all compete for the top spot: Batgirl, Spider-Man, Superman, Blue Beetle, Ghost Rider, and many more, including She-Hulk.

Jen Walters is someone who has everything I need when I want to read a comic or watch an animated series or binge a live-action series. If I need a smile or a laugh, She-Hulk provides witty humor and fun adventures to make me feel better. If I’m looking for heartfelt drama, I can see the genuinely heart-touching relationship she has with characters; her sibling-like love for Bruce Banner, or how she’s willing to fight governments and empires for her friend Jazinda.

I can also relate to the fact that she may be a superhero and a lawyer but she’s not some flawless character. She makes mistakes, goes through character progression on her adventures, and has dealt with a lot of trauma over the years and handles it much differently than her cousin does.

In my opinion, She-Hulk has yet to have a disappointing run. Each one provides something interesting, unique, or simply fun to read; making her one of the most prolific spin-off characters to come from comics.

She’s a character that I admire and aspire to. Very rarely can I say that I view a fictional character as an inspiration, but She-Hulk is one of those times. I want to be the fun-loving woman with a good heart like her and overcome all of my own traumas and issues. So, I take some pages from Jen throughout my adult life and try to be a better person every day.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE WRITERS

I wish Stan Lee was still among us so I can thank him personally for the original creation of this character back in 1980 with Savage She-Hulk. Without him, the character would not have the legacy that she does today. However, I can thank others that have contributed to the She-Hulk and helped her evolve over the last forty years.

Thank you, John Byrne, Dan Slott, Rainbow Rowell, Charles Soule, Mariko Tamaki, Peter David, Al Ewing, G. Willow Wilson, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron, Harrison Wilcox, and every other writer who has made this character an important figure in my life. You’re all very talented writers and have credit for helping shape me into the woman I have today.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! Love you all!

Pure Pain… – The Predator (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

I am so glad that after I make this review, I am off to see Prey because we’ve hit the final stop on my Road To Prey review series and it is one section of road I dread to drive down.

Back in 2018, this was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. So, we have an ultra-violent R-rated Predator movie that was basically going to be a blend of the first two movies; Shane Black is the director, we’ve got plenty of action, plenty of gore, and it stars Boyd Holbrook, Keegan Michael Key, Thomas “OG Punisher” Jane, and Sterling K. Brown? COUNT ME IN! The Predator looks like it’s going to be awesome.

It wasn’t…

I didn’t get the chance to see it in theaters and I heard everyone just despising it, calling it worse than the Alien Vs. Predator movies. Being the optimist that I am, I thought maybe people were overblowing it (which tends to happen a lot with movies) so I kept my hopes up. When it finally reached digital, my parents bought me the 4K version without even seeing it and we watched it. Two hours later, I was ready to march down to 20th Century Fox and purge them for this but Disney was already doing that for me at the time.

Predator (1987) Review
Predator 2 (1990) Review
Alien Vs. Predator (2004) Review
Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) Review
Predators (2010) Review

THE MOST TONE-DEAF MOVIE I’VE SEEN

Is it horror? Is it sci-fi? Is it a dark action film? Is it a silly comedy? I don’t know and The Predator doesn’t seem to know either. From beginning to end, the movie cannot stick to a single tone because sometimes it tries to go for the darker style of the original two films but then the look of the movie along with the dialogue will feel like Men In Black of all things. And not the good Men In Black, something more akin to Men In Black: International.

The humor in this movie COULD have worked if they had simply just dialed back a bit, but every character is so over-the-top and goofy that most of the poorly written jokes just fall flat and do not fit the Predator universe at all.

How do you make Keegan Michael Key unfunny? Granted, he is still the funniest character in The Predator but even his character becomes obnoxious after a while. Remember Hawkins from the original Predator? Imagine if every single character in the movie was some variant of Hawkins, that’s the cast of The Predator.

I’m not against humor in a Predator movie; the original Predator, Predator 2, and Predators had moments of levity but only in the right moments to keep things entertaining. The Predator can’t seem to go five minutes without some annoying and immature joke to pause the movie.

Even the damn Yautja Hunter himself is forced to be a clown with gags straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon.

WASTED CAST OF CHARACTERS

Now, even though I hate how obnoxious they get, the characters in this one are far from the worst.

Boyd Holbrook plays this sniper whose team is wiped out by the Yautja at the beginning and he’s out to get revenge. That is a very simple character but I think he makes a decent main character to lead the film.

Keegan Michael Key, again is the funniest character in The Predator, but if they had just dialed back on the humor just a bit, I could have seen him becoming this awesome modern version of Hawkins.

Trevante Rhodes plays Nebraska Williams who is basically the leader of these lunatic characters that we follow and I ended up really liking him the most. He’s charming and he was probably the most grounded of the team but the writing just lets him down.

The villain is played by Sterling K. Brown and good god, this character was so annoying. Not in the antagonistic kind of way either. Traeger is a total cartoon villain who has to make every scene so silly and over-the-top that it’s impossible to feel any kind of threat from him. Sterling K. Brown is an AWESOME actor so why would you waste him as such a terrible villain? That’s not even getting to how the character dies which is one of the most laughably unsatisfying ways for a villain to go out but that is part of a whole other issue with this film that will get its own section.

Okay, I have given Olivia Munn every chance to prove herself, and to be fair, it’s a horribly made movie so it’s not her fault. With that said, I have yet to find a movie where Olivia Munn impressed me as an actress. In The Predator, her character is so bland that I often forget that she’s in the movie when she’s not on screen.

Ugh. Let’s talk about Thomas Jane. I love this actor, I think he is one of the most underappreciated badasses of Hollywood so I was so excited to see the closest thing to a Punisher VS Predator fight. Instead, what I ended up getting was another cartoon character and again, I’m blaming the writing for this. See, I have a friend who actually has Tourette Syndrome and after I got done watching The Predator, I instantly told her: “Do not watch this movie. It has probably the worst portrayal of Tourettes I have ever seen.” It’s played entirely for laughs and is so exaggerated that it actually angered me.

The rest of the cast was just…fine. They did their job but sadly, you can only do so much with one of the worst scripts to ever exist. Not even bringing in Jake Busey to play the son of Peter Keyes could bring me some joy and that’s sad.

STOP DEPICTING AUTISM LIKE THIS

One of the most aggravating aspects of The Predator to me is its depiction of Autism. Now, I love when a movie shows love and appreciation for those on the spectrum. Representation of neurodiversity is either sorely lacking or horribly depicted by Hollywood and sadly, The Predator succumbs to the latter.

The Predator introduces Rory, a kid with autism and this character could have been a great new aspect of this franchise. Instead, it’s one of the worst because not only are the symptoms the most cliche and stereotyped traits of an Autistic character but the movie basically tries to turn Autism into a weapon.

For no other reason other than “he’s Autistic”, Rory is able to decipher the language of the Predators, understand their tech, and it’s revealed that the Predator wants Rory because his Autism is a sign of the next stage of human evolution.

Instead of proper representation, it comes off as disrespectful since the character’s Autistic traits seem to just disappear by the mid-way point. I could go on and on about how disrespectful The Predator is to neurodiversity but honestly, I can just point you all to this article from Autistic & Unapologetic and they go into even more detail than I do as to why this Hollywood-ized version of Autism is more harmful than helpful.

I can say, however, that if you want a movie that casts a better light on Autism, go watch The Accountant starring Ben Affleck. Not only is it a great thriller, but its main Autistic character is written and performed perfectly.

A DISGRACE TO YAUTJA HUNTERS

Continuing the trope of trying something new with every Predator movie, The Predator introduces the Fugitive Predator and Ultimate Predator. Now I actually found myself really liking the Fugitive Predator who was this more classic Yautja Hunter but on a mission to go against his people since they had lost their way. This seemed like a really neat idea and I think Brian Prince did a great job with the physical performance as the Fugitive, playing a more nimble version of the monster with a surprisingly good practical effect suit by Amalgamated Dynamics.

Honestly, if they had stuck with this kind of Predator through the whole movie, it would have probably saved the movie just a little bit. Unfortunately, the Fugitive is killed off about halfway through the film and we are introduced to the Ultimate Predator.

My hatred for this thing knows no bounds. All they did was take the basic Yautja Hunter, remove all of the cool armor, make it twice as big, and make it a CGI monster. This thing is supposed to be the upgraded version of the Predator but it’s basically just a Hulk that uses spears and wrist blades.

Now, the idea that there are different sects of Yautja is nothing new. Predators had that concept and it worked really well in my opinion and so I was on board with the idea of these new Ultimate Predators being these more evil hunters who use the DNA of the beings that they hunt to splice with their own.

It would have worked…if the movie could make up its mind. At first, they make it seem like the Ultimate Predator was this new threat but apparently, the Ultimate Predator has always been the goal of the Yautja. They’ve been hunting us because our planet is…suffering climate change? Wait, what? And apparently, the hunting was never about proving themselves in a ritualistic trial of honor but was all about getting spinal fluid. Thanks for that retcon, I hate it.

It’s a total mess in the writing department, especially when the Ultimate Predator starts speaking English and we learn its plan. At that point, I had just given up hope on this thing being a cool villain but instead, I just wanted to see the Fugitive again. Or hell, I would have rather they expanded upon the Super Predators from the previous film because they were far more interesting as villains than this bloated thing.

Now, I’m not someone who usually complains about CGI since I am not an expert in the field, I am not a VFX artist. I couldn’t do better if my life depended on it………BUT I can recognize genuinely bad CGI when it pops up and why should I be nice to this movie now? The CGI for the Ultimate Predator is shockingly bad and that especially goes for the kills which all are done with digital blood and gore. Any fan of horror will say the same thing: a CGI creature is one thing but CGI gore never looks good.

I haven’t even mentioned the Predator dogs which look nothing like the dogs in Predators. These things were the dumbest part of the movie. Simple as that. Moving on.

STUDIO MEDDLING NEEDS TO STOP

Now you may or may not have noticed but I have not blamed Shane Black once through this whole review. When the movie first came out, I definitely did since this is the same guy that made me dislike Iron Man 3. However, I do not think this movie is Shane Black’s fault simply because it has been revealed that The Predator was the victim of massive studio meddling.

It’s almost on the same level as what Zack Snyder suffered with Justice League. So much of The Predator was reshot and/or rewritten as well as scenes being cut to the point where entire plotlines change and time passes in an instant.

This is especially noticeable when Sterling K. Brown’s character suddenly dies out of nowhere at the beginning of the climax. It’s not some epic confrontation between him and Boyd Holbrook or he goes out fighting the Ultimate Predator. Nope, he just…accidentally kills himself the instant that the action starts and I remember doing a double take when I witnessed this. This was the VILLAIN of the movie and he’s taken out like he was a random goon.

Breanna Watkins as Adult Newt

Apparently, the entire last 30 minutes of the movie was changed where instead of the goofy and over-bloated CG-fest that we got, it was originally supposed to be humans allying with classic Yautja Hunters to fight the Ultimate Predator. It was even supposed to end with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch making a return for a stinger final scene.

There were also plans for an alternate ending that was apparently shot that featured an adult Newt from Aliens to set up a new Alien Vs. Predator project. All of this sounds amazing to me but the studio got involved and changed so much that I literally cannot in good conscience blame Shane Black since it sounds like he got screwed over. Even the studio ending that we got was enough to make me slam my face into my desk with this Predator armor that was clearly an attempt to capitalize on the Iron Man hype train.

I would love to see what the Shane Black version was like since apparently it was all filmed. Maybe one day 20th Century Studios could allow Black to finish and release that version on Hulu.

I HATE THE TITLE

This is a smaller flaw but I really dislike the title for this movie and it’s something that I’ve been disliking with a lot of newer movies. The Predator is not a new title, it’s just the same title!

What’s the new Halloween movie called? Halloween. What’s the new Scream movie called? Scream. Those are literally the exact same titles as previous movies! And simply removing or adding the word “the” to a title, does not make it a new title! The only time I accepted that was with The Batman and that was because it was a total reboot and that’s what the people of Gotham call him. Other than that, can we PLEASE just put some effort into titles?

Predator IV
Predator: Evolved
Predator: New Hunt

There I just provided three better titles without even thinking about it.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I don’t want to talk about this movie anymore and I never want to see it again. The Predator is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. It comes off as disrespectful to every other Predator movie out there, it’s all over the place, the tone is non-existent, and the studio meddling alone makes it one of the most frustrating movies to watch.

The Predator could have been one of the best entries in this franchise but instead, it’s almost universally labeled as the worst, and for good reason. I am going to give The Predator a 2/10. Skip this one and go right on to Prey.

My next review will be Prey after I watch it and let it sink in.

Return To The Jungle – Predators (2010) MOVIE REVIEW

We have reached Part V of my Road To Prey review series of the Predator franchise. Things start to look up for the series again with Predators!

I remember back in 2009 when loading a movie trailer on the internet took forever to do, but it was worth it to see that the Predator franchise was coming back. It was going to be about a bunch of people in the jungle being stalked by, not just one but multiple Yautja hunters? Hot dog! I’m in!

I saw Predators in theaters and it was easily the best sequel in the Predator franchise thus far. Now, where my views on other movies have changed over the years, Predators is one of the times where I continue to adore it after having seen it multiple times over the years. Even with this latest rewatch, I can say that I still love it.

Predator (1987) Review
Predator 2 (1990) Review
Alien Vs. Predator (2004) Review
Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) Review

FAMILIAR BUT FRESH

Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal clearly have a deep love and respect for the original Predator and that shines throughout. Predators brings the franchise back to its roots in the jungle with a group of deadly individuals trying to survive encounters with an alien hunter.

Now Predators could have easily just rehashed the original but instead, it’s more of a tribute to the first film that still brings in new ideas and concepts. For example, this film takes place on an alien planet known simply as the Game Preserve which makes the characters’ quest to escape much more daunting and challenging.

Also, in the original, the group of spec ops soldiers led by Arnold Schwarzenegger was all established as a team of friends who had been working together for years. The humans we follow in Predators are all strangers of vastly different backgrounds who have no choice but to band together to survive. As a result, the audience doesn’t really know who to trust which makes for a very different dynamic than before.

Predators still does lean in on nostalgia quite a bit by reusing Alan Silvestri’s score from the first film, a few throwback scenes, and even a few lines taken directly from the original. However, it’s usually met with some kind of twist or new concept that keeps the movie from becoming redundant.

THE MYSTERIOUS CHARACTERS

I really like how Predators handles its characters. Almost none of the characters are given any backstory and they only give hints about their past and professions. All that is established is that each of them is some of Earth’s deadliest soldiers and criminals which is why they were chosen to be hunted by the Yautja.

So, you end up having to get to know the characters as they trek through the jungles of the Game Preserve and, in my opinion, it really works because I think this cast plays perfectly off each other. There is animosity but when they need to work together, they prove to be an effective crew with each character standing out.

Adrien Brody plays Royce who is this cold black ops unit with a clearly checkered pass and I find him to be one of the best additions to this franchise. Now, I understand that some people find his gruff Batman-esque voice to be a little silly, but I think when it comes to his performance, he makes it seem believable that he’s this rugged soldier who can survive almost any mission.

Royce is also refreshing because he’s the polar opposite of protagonists such as Dutch or Mike from the first two Predator films. Those two characters were always good guys trying to fight for survival and protect their friends. Royce on the other hand is more of an anti-hero who seems to only care about his survival but his humanity comes through just enough to make him likable.

Royce is one of those mystery characters where you know so little about him but yet you can’t help but be fascinated by him. Especially when he’s dishing out some of the absolute best one-liners in this movie series, kicking ass, and proving why he was chosen for this hunt. This character left such an impact as the main “hero” that fans have actually petitioned for him to be added to Predator: Hunting Grounds as a playable character.

Isabelle is the co-star, played by Alice Braga (a very talented and underrated actress in my opinion), and she’s the other side of the coin to Royce. Where Royce is rather cold and heartless, Isabelle is the more human character with a lot of heart and is always willing to help others which leads to her and Royce being at odds with each other even though they still respect each other in their own ways.

It’s also with Isabelle that we actually learn about a backstory and it’s one of the best-acted scenes in the film. On top of that, she’s a total badass throughout the film who remains likable from beginning to end. Though Royce never returned, I was happy to see Alice Braga return as Isabelle in Predator: Hunting Grounds.

The rest of the cast is really good too. Walton Goggins basically plays every crazy character he’s ever played in the form of this serial killer convict and even though he’s this foul and murderous rapist, Walton Goggins makes everything he does fun to watch and he brings a welcome bit of dark humor to the film. It’s not too dissimilar to Gary Busey’s Peter Keyes from Predator 2 where it’s the actor’s natural style of acting that just enhances the scenes.

Topher Grace plays the doctor named Edwin and this character really showcases Topher’s acting chops. I won’t spoil anything but he has a few scenes where he shines and I think he doesn’t get enough credit for it. Edwin is such an interesting character that breaks the mold a bit for human characters in these movies.

Laurence Fishburne is in this movie for a small amount of time but he absolutely steals the show. This role comes even closer to Peter Keyes with Fishburne delivering a scene-chewing performance as Ronald Noland, this survivor of the Game Preserve who has been on the planet for ten years which has driven him just a bit insane. It’s very clear from the beginning that Fishburne is having fun with this performance and it’s hard to not enjoy it since it’s unclear if he’s trustworthy or not. Fishburne also gets to deliver a few memorable one-liners as well and I just wish he played a bigger part because I was loving every scene with him.

Mahershala Ali is in there in a role before he exploded to stardom in Hollywood, Danny Trejo is a delight as always, and I really liked Oleg Taktarov as the minigunner Nikolai. Even though there is little to learn about these characters, they give just enough that you want them to live or you cheer for them when they go out fighting one of the Predators.

Louis Ozawa Changchien as the Yakuza was another show-stealer for me, mostly because of his fight with the Falconer Predator. It’s like a better version of Billy’s sacrifice from the first film but this time we get to have a one-on-one fight between the two with Yakuza wielding an old Japanese blade for a fight to the death.

THE SUPER PREDATORS

“Anyway, there’s two different types of them out there. Hmm? Now, they’re similar, but they’re different. It’s kind of like the difference between dogs and wolves.”

Ronald Noland – Predators (2010)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love the expanded lore of the Predator universe and I am so happy that Predators continued to explore more. It introduces a new breed of Yautja known as the Super Predators and these creatures are not the honorable hunters that fans are used to.

They only care about accomplishing the hunt and they are willing to do anything to get that done. They have new weapons, more advanced heat-vision, and they have more abilities due to their classes. The Tracker Predator commands a pack of alien dog-like creatures, Falconer commands an aerial drone to detective his prey, and Berserker is the most ferocious of the three.

Even though the trailer straight-up lies about the movie by making it seem like the humans would be fighting an army of Yautja, I still really liked seeing the three Super Predators in action. Once again, it keeps things fresh while still honoring what made the original so great.

Speaking of the original, fans are given one of the classic Yautja in the form of the Crucified Predator. He is played by Derek Mears, who some might know as Swamp Thing or from various other monster roles but I will always remember him as the best version of Jason Voorhees in the Friday The 13th reboot. Though I love what Ian Whyte brought to the Predator in the two AVP movies, Derek Mears delivers on the classic Predator very well and does Kevin Peter Hall justice.

On top of all that, the Predators all deliver some perfectly gory kills with a good balance of practical and digital effects. It never feels like it’s going overboard like AVPR; it simply shows just how much more brutal these new Predators are and keeps within the vein of the first two films.

NOT TOO LITTLE, NOT TOO MUCH

The story is really bare in this one but much like the original, it’s simple and straight to the point. It doesn’t get too distracted with subplots and it sticks to being a tense action-horror thriller with the humans fighting the Predators.

The return to roots makes the action so much more intense and gritty. One of the biggest problems with the AVP movies and the next sequel (oh god, is that next?), they try to keep making the Predator action so much bigger and bombastic when Predators works best as a darker survival film.

The Super Predators are not these giant CGI monsters, they are essentially just more powerful Yautja than what we’ve seen prior. It’s just not taken to the extreme that it comes off as a Michael Bay version of the Predator movies while still updating things just enough to keep things interesting and dangerous for the human characters.

Predators even plays on the fact that it’s going back to the original quite a few times. It will make you think that Royce is going to do the mud trick from the first film but instead, he uses a wall of fire to disorient and confuse the Predator’s heat vision. The minigun makes the audience think that Nikolai is going to be Blaine for this movie but instead, the minigun is destroyed and Nikolai has to rely on other weapons.

ONLY A FEW NITPICKS

I really don’t have any big flaws with Predators but I do have a couple of small nitpicks that have come up over the years.

The first is a scene where they find a plant that causes paralysis with its poison. How exactly did this plant get here if this is an alien planet? It doesn’t really hurt the film but this one annoys me.

SPOILERS! Killing off the classic Predator after only a minute of a fight felt like a wasted opportunity. I always felt like the climax should have been two cloaked hunters fighting each other but I love the fight between the Super Predator and Royce so I get over it.

I love the idea of other alien monsters being put in the Game Preserve to throw off the humans but it’s only utilized for one scene so it comes off as a wasted concept. I also wish that the dogs played more of a role when Tracker attacks the humans because they are only in that one scene and never appear again even though it’s established that the Tracker is the one controlling them.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Predators is one of those unfortunate situations where I love a movie but almost nobody seems to even remember it. It made 127 million dollars at the box office on a 40 million dollar budget but after its time in theaters, I rarely see anybody talk about it. When I do, pretty much everyone has the same opinion: it’s a very underrated sequel.

It honors the original while still advancing the universe of the Predator for what could have been a great new series of movies. I love all of the characters, I think the action scenes are just as strong as the original, the Predators are all executed rather well, and it actually does some special effects better than all of the other Predator movies prior.

I highly recommend this one if you are looking for a movie that is more akin to the first film and you were not a fan of Predator 2 or the AVP films. I am going to give Predators a strong 10/10. I consider it to be on par with the original and is the strongest sequel thus far. It’s the one that should have been the start of a new run of Predator movies in this style but sadly, 20th Century Studios would go on to once again changes styles and direction for the next sequel that would come out in 2018.

Next time I review The Predator and…oh boy. I’ll just say this: if you thought I was harsh on AVPR, you’re in for a fun time with my next review.

CAN SOMEONE TURN ON A LIGHT?!? – Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) MOVIE REVIEW

We are at Part IV of my Road To Prey review series with Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem and like I said in my previous review, I was not looking forward to revisiting this one.

When I review movies, I try to avoid the word “hate” simply because I think it is thrown around way too much by audiences and critics. I try my best to be as positive as possible and not judge too harshly. However, this is a time when a movie earns my wrath.

I hate Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem. Is it one of the worst movies ever made? No, not even close. It is, however, one of the most frustrating movies I’ve ever sat through. When I first saw it in 2007, my dumb tween mentality was: “Blood and gore mean it’s better.” But with each viewing over the years, the less and less I have enjoyed it.

YOU CAN’T SEE ANYTHING

Let’s get the big one out of the way, the lighting of Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem is atrocious. You could be watching this movie at midnight in the middle of winter on the shortest day of the year with clouds covering the entire sky and it would still be nearly impossible to see what is happening.

Now normally, when a movie gets a reputation for a certain aspect being so bad, I usually end up feeling that aspect was overblown. That is so not the case here, I despised looking at how dismal and dark this movie was shot.

This time Paul W.S. Anderson was replaced with the Brothers Strause who, from what I know, were two very new filmmakers in the business. But apparently, they were too cocky for their own good because there are actual behind-the-scenes videos of crew members trying to tell them that the scene is too dark to film and the directors just told them to “shut up.”

Maybe they should have listened because almost all of the nighttime sequences are a pain to watch. Some scenes are so dark that when someone is killed, you can’t even tell who it is. It’s only when the group gets back together in a slightly better-lit room do we know who died.

Combined with the constant shaky cam during “intense” sequences, it almost feels like a Rob Zombie movie at times. BLECH! Just being reminded of his movies puts a bad taste in my mouth.

To give an example of how dark this movie is, I am someone who almost never has problems seeing a movie. People complained that Zack Snyder movies were too dark to watch and I saw everything just fine. AVPR on the other hand was a chore to watch.

However, the lighting is only one problem with this sequel…

THESE CHARACTERS SUCK

The characters in the first Alien Vs. Predator were pretty lackluster but they are as charismatic as Dwayne Johnson in comparison to the cast of fodder we got in Requiem.

Kelly is this military Mom who comes home to an estranged relationship with her daughter and when the Xenomorph infestation comes, she has to protect her daughter and they bond over the events. It’s just like with Lex Woods from the last film where it’s clear that she’s meant to be an analog of Ellen Ripley.

Lex was more akin to Ripley in the original Alien whereas Kelly is nearly identical to Ripley in Aliens, even down to having a Newt equivalent via her daughter. As a result, Kelly ends up being the best character in my opinion but that’s really only because the rest of the characters are cardboard cutouts.

The only other one that I kinda enjoy is Dallas. It’s suggested that he went to jail but he seems like a nice guy doing his best to be a good big brother and then he becomes the kinda hero when the infestation happens.

Everyone else? I don’t even remember a single name. There’s the younger brother of Dallas who pretty much just thinks with his little Xeno in his pants. The bully and his friends. The girlfriend. The cop. The waitress. The other pizza guy. The other cop. They are all just the basic archetypes seen in thousands of horror films with little to no characterization of them.

It makes Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem feels more akin to one of the lesser Friday The 13th movies but without any of the intentional cheesiness to make it fun. Instead, Requiem always comes off as a lame creature feature film that almost has no care or passion put into it….except for one thing.

WE NEED A WOLF PREDATOR SPIN-OFF

I will continue to explain why this movie is a failure, but as I have stated, I like to always showcase the positives. When it comes to Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem, the best thing by far was the Predator who is the star of the film.

His name is Wolf, named after Harvey Keitel’s character from Pulp Fiction. From the moment he is introduced, this Predator has more going on for him than all of the human characters combined.

Wolf is missing a mandible, he has a collection of masks and the one he wears is heavily weathered with battle damage and markings from his hunts. It’s merely shown through hints that this Yautja hunter is one of the biggest and baddest hunters of their race which is why it is up to him to come to Earth and clean up the mess of the other Yautja. He’s equipped with all of the classic gadgets and some new ones including a whip made from the tail of a Xenomorph, laser mines, a powerful gauntlet mode to his wrist device, and a really neat device that creates an acid-like ooze that melts anything.

On top of all that, Wolf can do in this movie was three Yautja hunters could not in the first film: he demolishes the Xenomorph swarms with ease, fights humans, and even takes on the Abomination AKA Predalien hybrid alone.

Similar to the last movie, anytime it actually becomes Alien Vs. Predator, it is the highlight. Wolf is such an interesting character that I would actually be all for a prequel starring this Yautja and his rise to become this legendary hunter, especially since this movie shows that you can have a Predator carry scenes without it ever needing dialogue.

THE PREDALIEN IS A WASTED CONCEPT

In the games and even in the comics, the Predalien is this highlight, or even in the 2010 reboot game, it was the final boss of the Predator campaign. It’s always utilized well but that is not the case in the film.

The only real thing that distinguishes the Predalien of the movie is the fact that it can produce multiple Xenomorphs by face-hugging someone with its mandibles. A decent idea but it turns icky (and not in an interesting way) when he does it to an already pregnant woman…multiple times throughout. There is shock value and then there is tasteless and this mostly comes off as the latter.

Other than that, the Predalien is essentially treated as a bigger Xenomorph. The only time where I thought the Predalien was starting to get better as a villain was when he finally battled Wolf. It’s a fun fight (despite it needing better lighting) but nothing amazing.

MORE ALIEN THAN PREDATOR

Even though the Predator ends up being the real hero of this story, he’s sadly a supporting character throughout. Most of Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem focuses on the humans dealing with a Xenomorph infestation in the small town of Colorado.

Once again, a neat concept, and it is something different for this franchise. However, when you don’t care about the characters’ survival, I don’t feel as much dread. So, Requiem ends up turning into a generic story about a small town being plagued by an alien menace which had been done a plethora of times over the decades.

That’s the other biggest issue I have with AVPR. Never once does it actually feel like an Alien or Predator film except for maybe a few scenes with Wolf. While the first film may not have taken place on an alien planet, it did not have the Colonial Marines, and it went for a modern-day setting, Alien Vs. Predator still felt like it loved and belonged in the franchises it was crossing together.

IT’S R-RATED AGAIN…COOL?

The directors were really happy to show off how R-rated it is. Oh yeah, great. You show a ton of really graphic gore and while some of the kills are decent, they come off as super edgy. It doesn’t enhance the threat levels or disturb me in any way, it just makes me feel like the movie is going overboard with a complaint about the first movie.

Yes, Alien and Predator being R-rated should be the norm. However, most Alien and Predator movies back it up with stakes, tension, good characters, and a good story. I know I’m just coming off as a broken record at this point but that’s just how this movie gets to me. Every little thing that almost feels like a step in the right direction is immediately met with something else that sends the movie ten steps backward.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I don’t like ranting and raving so I’m going to cut this review short. In short, Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem is the epitome of a wasted concept. It takes every nugget of potential it has and squanders it to become this generic sci-fi horror that makes its titular monsters feel like an afterthought.

It’s not scary, the action is not impressive, and it has easily the worst set of characters out of both Alien and Predator franchises. There are worse movies in both franchises in my opinion, but this one might be the most frustrating. I’m going to rate Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem with a 4/10. I say skip this one unless you really want to see Wolf but then I’d just say watch clips on YouTube.

Thankfully, the series would rise from the ashes once again in 2010 with Predators and I for one am excited to review that sequel.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! Love you all!

Cheesy But Fun Crossover – Alien Vs Predator (2004) MOVIE REVIEW

Today I continue my Road To Prey with Alien Vs. Predator on my marathon of Predator movies reviews! You can read my review of Predator here and my review of Predator 2 here.

This was a moment from my childhood that I could not be more excited about. Alien and Predator, two of my favorite franchises ever made finally coming to the big screen for a crossover! This was like seeing the Avengers coming together for the first time.

I already had the Aliens Vs. Predator video games on PC as a kid so I was more than ready. When I saw it back in 2004, I remember being equally pleased and disappointed. Mostly, I was a dumb kid and my big complaint was that it was on Earth and not on an alien planet like in the games.

So, where do I land now rewatching Alien Vs. Predator as an adult? Well, it’s definitely not what would expect from an AVP film but I can’t lie I had a smile on my face.

IT’S DEFINITELY A PAUL W.S. ANDERSON FILM

I mean that as a good and bad thing. I don’t think Paul W.S. Anderson is a terrible director, I still have a love for the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie, I think Event Horizon is an absolute horror gem, and despite their flaws, I still have some fond memories of the first two Resident Evil films.

So, when I rewatched Alien Vs. Predator, I found that it is a perfect display of all of Anderson’s strengths and all of his flaws as a filmmaker. When Paul W.S. Anderson does good, he delivers some awesome scenes but when he trips, he falls hard.

For example the first act of Alien Vs. Predator is a bit of a drag. I wasn’t expecting the movie to just be Aliens and Predators fighting for 2 hours but AVP takes way too long with the setup in my opinion. I like a lot of the concepts in the setup but it feels like it takes ten to fifteen minutes too long to get to the stuff audiences came for.

The biggest reason why the setup is uninteresting is mainly because of the characters that we follow. Other than a few standouts like Charles Weyland, Lex Woods, and Graeme Miller, pretty much all of the characters are generic fodder for the two titular monsters.

Weyland is the best human character and that is mostly due to Lance Henriksen continuing to be a show-stealer. He even gets to fight a Predator which is one of the only times I actually felt a little bit sad for a human character’s death.

Lex is a fine protagonist. She’s definitely an analog for Ripley: the confident and wise character that clearly knows what she’s talking about but nobody listens to her. Sanaa Lathan gives a nice performance that actually gets better as the movie progresses, especially when it’s just her and a Predator working together.

Ewen Bremner is a delight in everything he does and I genuinely liked his character. He’s one of the only characters who have some sort of development. But other than that, I couldn’t really care less about the characters in Alien Vs. Predator.

Paul W.S. Anderson also reuses a lot of tropes from the first Resident Evil movie in this and sometimes it’s a bit distracting. From holographic maps of the pyramid which are just like the Hive holograms from Resident Evil to some of the traps and kills being uncannily similar, it gets a little annoying.

However, Paul W.S. Anderson delivers on so many other things. I think the Antarctic setting brings a different but refreshing aesthetic that allows it to be set in the modern day without it feeling too contemporary. The icy wasteland already feels like something on another planet and combined with the pyramid, I think it is an interesting setting for Alien Vs. Predator.

When the characters actually enter the pyramid, I think the set design is phenomenal. The ancient architecture and design with an extraterrestrial twist give a chilling atmosphere; mixing claustrophobia and elegance into one. You can see elements of Event Horizon in the world-building and the set design and though it’s not a horror movie, both franchises’ roots in horror are ever-present and it’s clear that Anderson has a love for both.

IT DELIVERS ON THE TITLE

Despite its rocky start, the second and third acts are much stronger. Mostly because, when the Xenomorphs and the Yautja Hunters finally meet? It is when this movie goes from decent at best to a total thrill ride.

Ian Whyte portrays all three Predators in this one and Tom Woodruff Jr. portrays the Xenomorphs and it is a match made in heaven. Both of these performers excel as these monsters and it’s enough to make anyone grin since they each are given a fair amount of time to show off how both monsters have their strengths and weaknesses.

I can’t lie, when the Celtic Predator is throwing down with the lead Xenomorph known as Grid, I have the biggest grin on my face. This is where Paul W.S. Anderson shines: he knows the ins and outs of these aliens and he effectively showcases what each can provide in a fight.

And this continues throughout the rest of the film: anytime it focuses on the two factions of monsters battling, it is the best part of the movie. Even when it’s just one of each monster, I find it enjoyable. Xenomorphs are much smarter here and we see more of how the Queen communicates with her swarm of soldiers to do her bidding.

Fans also get to know more about the Yautja Hunter lore and their culture. I love the idea of the Xenomorphs being the ultimate rite of passage, where the Hunters who survive graduate from a Youngblood to an Elite Hunter. I’m a sucker for lore and even though these two Alien Vs. Predator movies are no longer canon, they did leave an impact since future Alien and Predator games would take inspiration.

Even just small details sprinkled throughout the film that reflects previous movies in both franchises are a delight. It may not be the smoothest film ever made but it clearly respects the Alien and Predator movies to deliver a fun experience throughout.

WHY SETTLE WITH PG-13?

I’ll be honest, I’m not someone who needs everything to be super gory and hyper-violent. I think it’s a complaint that is not only overused but showcases that some people are a little twisted in the head when they beg for it. However, Alien Vs. Predator is one of those times where I wish it was rated R.

Thankfully, creature gore is not considered the same as human gore so when a Yautja or Xenomorph dies, the movie does not hold back and I heavily appreciate that. However, there is almost no blood when it comes to humans and sometimes it’s fine, other times it feels like a waste.

See, the reason why the gore works in both Alien and Predator movies is that both are showcasing how much of a threat they are. Xenomorphs are pure evil and all they care about is killing and reproducing: that’s all. Yautja are the most ruthless hunters in the galaxy with methods that are meant to show how formidable they are.

As a result, when little to no blood and gore is displayed, it definitely makes both titular monsters come off as nerfed. Especially since the Predators are all equipped with plenty of iconic weapons such as the Net Gun, the combistick, the Plasmacaster, and new ones such as the shuriken. This should have been the most brutal of the films but it’s actually the tamest.

Thankfully this is something that the sequel improves upon…probably the only thing.

SEBASTIAN THE EXPOSITION MAN

This is not the actor’s fault, Raoul Bova was simply given the most annoying part as Sebastian. This character’s entire role is to be nothing but the greatest archaeological genius on the planet and as a result, he delivers nearly every bit of exposition to the audience when it comes to the Xeno and Yautja lore.

By the third act, his schtick actually gets so annoying that I felt relieved when the xenomorphs captured him. And when he’s killed off, it’s supposed to be this super sad moment for Lex, but I literally felt nothing for his death. Actually, I got more reaction when the Predator catches his chestburster and kills it with his thumb.

SCAR IS A BADASS PREDATOR

I mentioned earlier how Ian Whyte delivered with Celtic when it comes to the action scenes, but he gives an even better performance as Scar. Scar is the main Yautja who outlives his two brothers and becomes the star Predator of the movie.

Even though he has no dialogue, Ian Whyte gives Scar so much personality that I couldn’t help but fall in love with this guy. Small things such as showing respect to Lex or explaining that his wrist computer is going to explode, he’s just a joy to watch throughout the last half of the film.

Scar even has easily one of the funniest gags in the entire franchise when the Queen rises out of the ground and he just drops his jaw in disbelief. Almost like he’s saying, “Oooooooooh sh*t!”

I mentioned it prior but I really like the alliance between Lex and Scar. It reminds me of some of the AVP comics from Dark Horse where it’s a bit cheesy but still manages to work; such as when he creates a spear and shield out of the remains of a Xenomorph corpse.

THREE DIFFERENT VERSIONS TO WATCH

So, if anybody is curious about checking out Alien Vs. Predator, I just wanted to alert to everyone that there are three versions of the movie to watch.

  1. The theatrical cut is fine. It’s still a fun time.
  2. The extended cut. This one adds a new prologue and a little bit of extra footage. It’s better but it’s not anything drastic.
  3. The “unrated” cut. Stay. Away. From this version. Yes, it adds all the blood that we were all asking for, but it is some of the worst CGI blood that was clearly just superimposed onto the theatrical cut.

Stick to the Extended Cut. It’s the best version. Alright, PSA is over.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

So, my opinion has changed over the years, but I still maintain that Alien Vs. Predator is a mixed bag. For everything it does really well, it also disappoints in other aspects. The actual Alien and Predator stuff is stellar but it has pretty forgettable human characters of both franchises.

The action scenes are really fun but sometimes rely too much on high-framerate shakycam and the lack of blood is sometimes annoying. It respects the movies as well as the AVP comics but can come off as kind of cheesy at times.

I think the best way to describe Alien Vs. Predator is that it’s a prime example of a popcorn flick. It’s not a masterclass of action or horror but it does just enough right that if you put it on, have some food, and maybe watch it with friends and family, it’s a cheesy monster flick that delivers on having these iconic monsters fight each other.

I’m going to give Alien Vs. Predator a 6.75/10. It has plenty of flaws to poke fun at but I still think it’s a decent experience. Especially in comparison to the sequel that I do not look forward to talking about.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! Love you all!

The Black Sheep That Deserves More Love – Predator 2 (1990) MOVIE REVIEW

It’s been over two years since I reviewed the first Predator from 1987, which remains one of my favorite movies ever made. So, with Prey coming out in just a few days, it seems like the best time to revisit the entire franchise and give me thoughts on each entry, starting with the immediate sequel: Predator 2.

Have you ever had a movie that you saw when you were much younger and initially, you didn’t like it very much? However, when you rewatch it years later, you think to yourself: “what exactly was my problem?” That’s Predator 2 for me.

When I was a kid (I had parents who let me watch all kinds of R-rated material), I used to firmly believe that Predator was great but Predator 2 was awful. Now that I’m all grown up with an adult-ish brain, I’ve come to like Predator 2 more and more with each time I watch it.

WELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE

One of the biggest compliments I can give Predator 2 is that it does not come off as a rehash of the first film. Having it set in a gang war-torn Los Angeles immediately gives Predator 2 a different look and feel than the previous film.

The city environment gives the new Yautja Hunter (yes, that’s what they are called) the chance to show off the new ways it moves and hunts. There are new pros and cons to hunting in the city, it has a much larger selection of prey, and there is just something appealing with seeing the alien hunter performing a victory screech on top of a skyscraper.

On top of all that, the human characters are vastly different. There are aforementioned gangs that are tearing the city apart for control which makes some of the kills feel somewhat earned. There’s no mistaking that the Predator needs to be stopped since he’s killing cops as well, but picking off murderers and gang lords are hardly the worst thing that the City Hunter could have done for Los Angeles.

There is even a line about this early on: “Maybe we should hire him, put him on the payroll.” Almost like a bit of commentary on how flawed the justice system is in the city when an alien vigilante is cleaning the streets better than they have been.

So, Predator 2 utilizes its concept surprisingly well with plenty of new ideas and elements that allow it to still feel like a Predator movie without simply rehashing the first film beat-for-beat which it could have easily done.

MIKE V PREDATOR: A BETTER CAT & MOUSE GAME

Though Arnold Schwarzenegger battling the Jungle Hunter will forever remain iconic, I have to say that I think that Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan is the superior protagonist. Mike Harrigan is not some elite and hardened badass with muscles the size of bowling balls; he’s a regular cop who has been working for years trying to clean up Los Angeles.

He’s afraid of heights, he’s a bit hotheaded, and he’s a little bit older but he’s dedicated and wants to see proper justice. In my opinion, Mike Harrigan being the everyman who has to rise to the challenge to defeat a Predator is much more appealing and relatable. This isn’t me saying that Arnold’s Dutch was a bad character, far from it, I just find Mike Harrigan to be the better character, especially when it comes to his rivalry with the City Hunter.

In the first film, Dutch and his team were fighting the Yautja Hunter out of pure survival. Mike’s journey with the City Hunter in Predator 2 is much more personal and shows that the new hunter is much more twisted in his methods. There are so many times where the City Hunter could have easily taken out Mike Harrigan, but he never does and instead goes after those connected to him.

He kills Mike’s best friend and partner, he kills the gangsters that Mike pursues, and he kills Mike’s new recruit. On top of all that, the City Hunter chooses to toy with Mike by dangling the necklace of his partner from a tree near the partner’s grave. All of this riles Mike Harrigan up to the point where he goes from an old and rugged cop to the new badass hero who storms in with a massive arsenal to take on the Predator face-to-face.

The City Hunter sees Mike as a potential elite trophy for him to mount on his ship, but Mike just didn’t reach his peak yet. So, the Predator toys and manipulates events to basically turn Mike from the hunted into a new rival hunter. This makes the rivalry between Mike and the Predator so much more fascinating, resembling the kind of relationship between Batman and the Joker where both parties fuel each other as they battle.

So, when Mike actually fights this extraterrestrial being, not only do you root for him but you believe that this regular cop is able to fight him. The last act of Predator 2, in my opinion, is just as strong as the first movie’s climax due to its even more grounded take on the action between Mike and the City Hunter.

THE CITY HUNTER

Despite being played by Kevin Peter Hall again, the Predator in this sequel is a very different beast. Where the Jungle Hunter was a more stealthy hunter who waited for the right moment to pick off his prey, the City Hunter is far more brutal and hands-on.

This Predator wipes out an entire room of gangsters using much more up-close and personal methods of killing. He uses a plethora of new hunting weapons and gadgets, many of which would forever become staples of this franchise.

The City Hunter is also shown to kill so many more people in Predator 2 that it’s almost hinted that it’s no longer about sport for him. He seems to enjoy his killing spree which turns him more into a serial killer than a hunter on safari.

However, Predator 2 does showcase more of the honor code that was only hinted at in the first film. He still only kills those that are armed and dangerous, but one scene shows that he refuses to kill a pregnant woman. Anytime this franchise reveals small nuggets of how the Yautja race thinks and operates are some of the best moments, in my opinion, and I think it helps in showing that the Yautja are not just mindless killing machines like the Xenomorphs.

GARY BUSEY IS A NATIONAL TREASURE

Everyone else in the delivers a solid performance: you have to love Bill Paxton, María Conchita Alonso is a badass, and Rubén Blades is really charming as Danny. However, none of them are even close to being on the same level as Gary Busey who portrays Agent Peter Keyes.

This guy steals the entire movie simply because Gary Busey is one of those actors who elevate a character with his style of acting. Jeff Goldblum is charmingly strange, Christopher Walken is a downright oddball, and Gary Busey turns every character into a charismatic psycho.

Peter Keyes has some of the best lines in Predator 2 and easily delivers some of the best laughs. I honestly wish that this character would go on to become a series regular, but I’ll take him being one of the best things about this sequel.

ALAN SILVESTRI IS BACK

If you’ve read my review of the first film, you’d know that I have a deep love for Alan Silvestri’s music. So, Predator 2 knew to not fix what isn’t broken and brought back Silvestri to compose the soundtrack and it’s just as strong, reusing familiar tracks throughout in effective ways whilst still adding new scores to fit this setting and new style.

Funny enough, you can actually hear similarities between the music in Predator 2 to music heard in the darker alternate timeline in Back To The Future Part II. Now there’s a fun idea for a crossover.

PREDATOR 2 EMBRACES ITS FUN FACTOR

One of the biggest complaints that I often see people have with Predator 2 is that they say it is campy. To a degree, I would say that they are right, but that would imply that the first film was never campy. Don’t get me wrong, I love Predator but I feel like people tend to forget that the first half of the movie is pretty over the top as well.

From the characters being walking quipping machines to one-liners like “Stick around” to even the ridiculous about of explosions in the first act. Predator becomes more and more grounded as it goes on as characters are picked off. I honestly view Predator 2 as basically more of that just throughout because of the less isolated setting.

Yes, it is can be a little goofy with some of the shots and editing choices it makes but I think that adds to the fun. I would also like to point out that I think people tend to exaggerate how campy Predator 2 is when it has plenty of gritty action and suspense throughout. Like I said, I think the last act with Mike Harrigan actually chasing and fighting the City Hunter is some of the strongest scenes in the entire franchise. Also, once I was able to understand the depth of the rivalry between Mike and the Predator, I think it overpowers all of the campy elements.

NEW ICONIC WEAPONS, NEW GORY KILLS

Predator 2 definitely ups the kill count with even more carnage candy to enjoy. As I said prior, the City Hunter is equipped with a ton of new weapons this time around. The wrist blades and the shoulder-mounted Plasmacaster are back but you are also introduced to the net gun, the smart disc, the combistick, a wrist cannon, and a speargun.

All of these weapons have gone on to become iconic pieces of the Yautja arsenal. They appear in sequels and have been in nearly every video game featuring a playable Predator. The combistick is clearly a favorite of the filmmakers’ because the City Hunter uses it a lot throughout. The smart disc is probably my favorite but not because of the City Hunter (although the death of Keyes is a memorable one), I actually think Mike Harrigan has some of the best moments in Predator 2 with it.

THIS HUNT IS STILL FLAWED

I’m not going to act like Predator 2 is some flawless masterpiece. Even though I find myself enjoying it more and more, I still have some old issues as well as some new ones.

First off, some of the effects are dated even for 1990 standards. There are some elements where the green screen was so obvious that it looked like effects from the early 80s.

However, I will say that this movie does improve on some things such as the cloaking for the Predator. Now the cloaked silhouette actually looks like the Predator where it almost never did in the original.

There are some cliche cop movie scenes in this. I literally laughed when I heard Harrigan’s chief say, “You’re too close to this!” Thankfully, it’s followed up with a great line from Harrigan but you have a few scenes like that throughout where if you’ve seen any action-cop film from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, you will roll your eyes just a little bit.

“Want some candy?” Why? Why does the Predator decide to imitate that of all things? That always bugs me.

I personally think that Predator 2 has some pacing issues. Where the first film has a nearly perfect pace, Predator 2 gets a little awkward with all the different aspects it tries to tackle. For example, the whole King Willie scene, though makes for one of the better Predator sequences, could have been cut out completely and the movie would be no different. The second act is definitely the weakest part of the film (though I still enjoy it) since it sometimes is a little padded out and jumbled.

Also, this is a common flaw with older films, but the whole idea that it was supposed to be the future of 1997 serves almost no purpose. Other than a few “futuristic” gun designs, you could honestly say it was 1990 and there’d be no difference. You actually have to be reminded that it takes place in 1997.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Though not at perfect as its predecessor, Predator 2 still has a lot of great things going for it and as I stated prior, it actually manages to improve upon certain aspects. I think that Predator 2 still delivers on an action-packed thrill ride with plenty of gritty action, gore, and memorable characters to be a worthy sequel in this franchise.

It will probably never be as good as the first Predator, but I definitely do not view it as the disappointment that I used to. It’s a fun sequel that I think more people need to give a second chance and be less blinded by their love for the first film. I’m going to give it an 8/10.

With Prey coming out in a few days, I’ll be continuing my marathon of Predator movies with my Alien Vs. Predator review next. Make sure to follow me to stay up to date!

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this article! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady where I am much more active! Love you all!

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