The Predator Franchise Is Weird and Uneven

The Predator franchise is weird and strangely uneven. I don't want to make it sound like I'm bashing on this franchise though. Plenty of the fictional worlds I love are silly and strange. That's part of the fun. What I find particularly weird about Predator though is that so little content has been produced on the big screen since the first outing with Arnold.

I remember, before having actually having seen the first film, coming across some Alien vs Predator trading cards. This was back in the 90's and well before the two monsters collided in the movies. Being that I'm not a diehard fan, I've always found it interesting how much of the Predator fandom has grown and been sustained mostly on speculative interest. Ever since the alien bounty hunter came across Danny Glover in the sequel, that Easter egg regarding a possible Xenomorph spawned one of the biggest modern movie monster rivalries. Beyond comics and some video games, I'm surprised more hasn't been done with this shared universe.

The first instinct may be to suggest that there aren't enough compelling ideas that could be forged from Predator movies. I'm not sure if that's really true though. After all, the monster has a unique design and tons of cool gadgets. We've also gained some insight into the rituals and culture of these intergalactic hunters. That being said, there doesn't' seem to have been  as much incentive to produce more sequels. Although, considering the decline in quality of the Alien films, maybe it's not the worst thing for the fans. Even so, it's surprising there haven't been more films.

I like the first Predator film from 1987. However, I can't say that I'm a big fan either. That my be more a bias on my part, as I was more exposed to Alien films growing up. I also just like how frightening and insightful those films tried to be. It didn't always work, but they always attempted to be scary and tried to have something to say(even Alien: Resurrection). Admittedly, I don't think the first film is really trying to do much of either. On the surface, it's trying to be an entertaining action film. It's very much in the same vein as a Commando or Raw Deal. Arnold had tested the waters with The Terminator and Conan to try different genres. However, this was probably still in his comfort zone at the time. The main difference was the hook of the alien creature itself. The monster does have a very unique design and the camouflage effect was very cool for the time. I think what grabbed the attention of most viewers was the colorful cast of characters and the final explosive showdown. Let's face it, Arnold's one liner upon the creature's face reveal is pretty iconic.

I feel like I've watched Predator 2 more than the original. I'm pretty sure it had many reruns for awhile. This one had a significant contrast in setting from the jungle of the first film. This time we're in a more urban area and the creature must face down Danny Glover. I'll be honest, I like Danny Glover. I've enjoyed many of his movies and he certainly has the Lethal Weapon franchise on his resume to show his action chops. Still, I feel like he's a bit of a downgrade from Arnold Schwarzenegger. I guess  he didn't want to come back for the sequel. Lethal Weapon always seemed to balance the comedy with the action. Glover's character in those flicks was a cop who was "too old for this shit". He was a bit past his prime. So he seems less likely to be a good rival to these baddies than a major action star like Schwarzenegger. Even so, I think Glover did a good job here. It just seemed like a less serious follow-up.

Two of the Predator films have been shared with the Xenomorphs of the Alien franchise. You see what I meant about the main content being a little light? That may not really be fair, since the Xenomorphs are really the guests in these films. We do learn more about the Predators and their history. I'm not entirely sure what how canon these films are though. The Lance Henriksen cameo confused me, despite how good it was to see him. I know that this one was hated due to not really living up to the hype over the years. I think this was mostly because of the PG-13 rating more than anything. People were still pretty excited about it from what I remember. The movie was kind of dumb and pretty akin to your standard sci-fi original film of the time. As long at the monsters have some good fights, people typically don't care much about the plot specifics. Overall, I found the movie pretty entertaining.

I have a confession to make. My primary inspiration for writing this blog is to complain about this movie. Alien vs Predator 2: Requiem. is, without a doubt, one of my least favorite movies.  I know for certainty that there are plenty of films out there that are worse. However, most of those action/science-fiction/horror films typically had much lower production values and were from less experienced independent filmmakers. That makes the fact that movies like this can be made even more impressive and ridiculous. To be  honest, I'm not sure I even made it through the whole thing. I just remember that the acting was pretty bad, somehow practically non-existent (even in comparison to the first one) and the lighting being some of the worst I've seen in a big budget film since Green Lantern. This is easily the lowest the Predator franchise has gone. I hope they can do better. I'd go so far as to say Alien vs Hunter or Alien vs Ninja are better. At least they were entertainingly bad. You could also see what was happening.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but Predators is my favorite movie in the series thus far. It certainly doesn't have the 80's over the top atmosphere of the Arnold original, but it is a very similar movie. A bunch of people are sent to a jungle to fight against a hidden and certainly more powerful enemy. There a few key differences though. This time, the group  on an alien planet and forced to contend with multiple Predators as well as other alien beasts. Plus these characters aren't a group of beefy soldiers, but people with varying skills and backgrounds who don't know each other all that well. I like situations like this. It reminds me of The Thing (one of my favorite movies) where the threat of mistrust among the people in desperate circumstances is just as dangerous as the unknown alien monster. This one also adds a little to the mythos and provides some of the best gore in the series. If you haven't watched this one yet, I'd say give it a try. It might surprise you.

As for the future, I know we have The Predator coming out this week. The trailers seem to suggest more monsters to fight. I don't know too many details. I am curious though. I think this series has had some pretty good outings overall and still has potential to provide great monster thrills. I'm sure I'll check it out and let you guys know. Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay magical.