The Predator

“Predator” and “Aliens” remain two of my most cherished R-rated sci-fi films of all-time. The magic of the worlds created by John McTiernan and James Cameron, respectively, have been often imitated, sometimes intertwined, but never duplicated in the thirty years since they were both created. The franchises have seen various trial and error, different formulas and character shifts. They’ve attempted sequels, prequels, and reboots. But the fire just hasn’t been rekindled since 1987. Until now.

Shane Black has found success as a writer and director (“Lethal Weapon,” “Iron Man 3,” “The Nice Guys”) but his connection to this particular franchise runs deep. This passion project began with his unfortunate role of Hawkins in the original “Predator” and he had been rumored for years to be working on a sequel that will make us all forget about the previous less than stellar installments.

Imagine my sense of childlike anticipation to see a film that might remedy all that was tragically wrong from “Predator 2” onward. It’s cinematic excitement that only comes around maybe a dozen or so times a year. When the previews finally arrived, I was a bit dismayed. Predator comes to Earth looking for something, humans band together and fight for survival while being picked off one at a time.

The Predator comes to Earth looking for something, and the humans band together and fight for survival while being picked off one at a time. Army Ranger sniper Quin (Boyd Holbrook) leads a motley crew of Veteran’s Affairs patients with names like Nebraska, Baxley, Lynch, and Coyle as they are forced to confront the Predator after his escape from a research facility hidden somewhere in the mountainous forests of Chattanooga. To throw a wrench in the mix, there’s a whole recombinant DNA plotline, a nod to climate change, and an enhanced Super Predator who comes to kill the original Predator, forcing us to wonder who to root for and why. It’s all very confusing. What isn’t confusing is the popcorn-munching action fun that accompanies sharp jokes and nostalgia for the original.

Sterling K. Brown is tremendous as Traeger, the most interesting character in the bunch. He delivers his lines with a poise and confidence that is just plain cool. His character borders on bad guy, but is so compelling that you can’t help but like him. I only wish there were more of him and less of everyone else (except the Predator).

I found myself pondering how someone could have that much clout for a secretive government agency with that many resources at his disposal in the middle of Tennessee, and then I thought, “oh yea, this is Predator.” I sat back and simply enjoyed the ride.

Olivia Munn plays the fascinated scientist, Dr. Brackett, whose lack of fear is remarkable. She’s too busy drooling over the alien technology and biology to consider that the beast is literally driven by an urge to kill for sport. Jacob Tremblay plays the severely out of place child with autism who is the focal point of the alien skirmish. The attempt is to humanize and add a sense of empathetic peril, but the entire sub-plot is simply unnecessary.

The characters were written out of cookie-cutters, and the plot could have used a significant amount of polishing, but I have to say, the dialogue was sharp and humorous, the action was far from disappointing, and the kill sequences were for lack of a better word, delightful.

I was pleasantly entertained considering the unreasonable expectations I put upon this film. Sterling K. Brown is a new personal favorite, and I’ll gladly pay to see anything he stars in from now on. I only wish he had more scenes and his character more fully developed.

“The Predator” is what you would expect, and you will be thoroughly entertained if you’re a fanboy (or fangirl). This installment is truer to the original than any attempt over the past thirty years, and you can be certain there will be a sequel. It’s worth the price of admission with so few good choices out there right now. 7/10.

Peppermint

Oddly symbolic of her own family disintegration, Jennifer Garner makes an attempt to show Ben Affleck what he gave up when he cheated on her with the nanny. “Peppermint” is truly the ultimate closure and a violent metaphor for the adage that hell truly hath no fury like a woman scorned. It’s a fun premise on the surface, and Garner is at her best when faced with combat action, but “Peppermint?” The title is nonsense while trying to be clever. “Soccer Mom Bloodbath” would be more appropriate.

Garner is Riley North, a happy wife and mother who is struggling financially and feeling the social pressures of the affluent stay-at-home mothers who pick on her. After a tragic drive-by-shooting, and the exposed corruption in the system, she sheds her meek, tolerant skin and transforms into a combination of Linda Hamilton and Steven Seagal. Five years later, a battle-hardened and combat-ready Riley returns to Los Angeles to exact her revenge on any and all people involved in her tragedy.

When Riley begins to disrupt business, the Garcia drug cartel digs in their heels and has to turn the slums of Los Angeles into a war zone, which the LAPD doesn’t want any part of. Heck, they are either scared of the cartel or corrupt themselves, so Riley is on her own. She’s the angel of death for her skid row family.

Director Pierre Morel (“Taken”) is to blame for most of the problems here. Sure, the writer (Chad St. John) has to take a little credit, but the director is always the final say. His admiration for Tony Scott is visible in nearly every scene through some flashy camerawork, but plot holes, absurd sequences, spineless characters, and derivative dialogue plague the film from the start. It’s the kind of revenge trope that you desperately want to get behind, but simply can’t. I laughed out loud several times, and couldn’t enjoy the carnage as much as I would have liked due to the insanely poor choices made by the director.

The antagonists are written in an inept, cliché, and quite simply stereotypical way. The Mexican gangsters are given little credibility for any common sense, from being unable to open a locked door to falling for the oldest trick in the book (talk too much, shoot too little). They look menacing with facial tattoos and military-grade weapons, but they are a dime a dozen. It’s simply 1980’s schlock action with a gender swap. Which isn’t to say it wasn’t a little bit fun, but I already saw this movie back when Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Van Damme, etc. played the role back in the twentieth century. And Liam Neeson just a few years back.

As the body count piles up, she makes it look simply too easy. Like Schwarzenegger in “Commando,” she manages to waltz in to a Mexican drug kingpin’s house and dispatch dozens of them without breaking a sweat (maybe she was sweating, but she was calmer than a Marine sniper). A team of Navy SEALs couldn’t execute a mission with this kind of precision. You get my point, it was a little bit unrealistic.

The film quickly escalates from a quirky revenge story to a full-on rampage in a matter of minutes, and there are unexplained subplots and underdeveloped characters galore. I regret to inform you that for the fourth or fifth week in a row, I simply can’t recommend a movie to the masses. “Peppermint” is not nearly as refreshing as its namesake. Skip this one and just rest assured that good films are on the way in October. 4/10.