Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 13 sepTember 2018
'The Predator' outstays its welcome on Earth

By MARK KENNEDY One welcome cameo is by
Predators are personal Jake Busey, who plays a re-
for Shane Black. He was search scientist who studies
hacked apart by one of Predators. It's an inside joke:
the fearsome alien hunters He's the son of Gary Busey,
in the first "Predator" movie who played a government
31 years ago and now re- scientist in "Predator 2" — so
turns to sit in the director's Black is keeping the part
chair for the latest saga in in the family. Plot-wise, to
the franchise. be honest, not much has
Ready for some payback, changed either — a rag-
Shane? More importantly, tag group of soldiers face
will you oversee the de- off against an alien hunt-
struction of Predators or will er. Hardcore fans will wel-
you accidentally kill off the come the franchise's return
series, once and for all? The but neutral observers may
answer is a little of both. question why this was com-
Only a definite article in the mitted to celluloid.
title separates the new "The "What am I looking at?"
Predator " from the 1987 Munn's character asks
debut "Predator" starring about some data shown
Arnold Schwarzenegger, to her, but might as well be
and clearly Black is trying addressing the film's audi-
to capture the spirit of the ence.
testosterone-fueled original This image released by 20th Century Fox shows a scene from "The Predator." "It's exactly what you think it
with this one led by a dec- Associated Press is," a scientist responds.
orated sniper played by The film created headlines
Boyd Holbrook. Both flicks ing tracked by a huge and and "Alien" with humor They've nicknamed them- after Munn flagged 20th
share a welcome winking technologically advanced that would make a locker selves "The Loonies" and Century Fox that a minor
humor. If anyone asks "Ev- beast with dreadlocks, a room blush. (Black played they are a foul-mouthed, actor was a registered sex
erything OK back there?" face full of mandibles and the bespectacled Hawkins messy wild bunch who met offender, meaning a real
you can be certain it's not. the ability to both go invis- and was an early casualty.) in group therapy. They're predator was in the mix. His
The first film featured car- ible and humiliate arrogant Black has returned — with portrayed by Trevante scenes were soon cut, but,
toonishly masculine soldiers prey. It echoed the horror co-writer Fred Dekker — for Rhodes, Keegan-Michael weirdly, she faced a back-
in the jungle of Central of Vietnam and was a clev- another loud soldier-versus- Key, Thomas Jane, Alfie Al- lash . If there's ever a hero
America tracking and be- er combination of "Rambo" Predator slice in an Ameri- len and Augusto Aguilera, here, it's Munn: On film, as
can forest — well, actually, who all deliver a strange in real life, she's challenged
thanks, Canada! — but with brew of toilet humor, clas- the all-boys' network.
some twists. Although the sic misogyny and aching But Black, who wrote "The
filmmakers boast about a vulnerability, but laughing Last Action Hero" and sev-
much-improved alien, the at broken men and men- eral "Lethal Weapon" films,
only noticeable update is tal illness quickly grows un- flounders, seeing his gifts as
the addition of their track- comfortable. To make mat- a director tested. Scenes
ing canines — that's right, ters even worse, another are poorly knitted to-
"space dogs," as one char- character has Asperger's gether, especially toward
acter jokes. And this time syndrome, which is cynical- the end. Time and tempo
the soldiers are all suffering ly used as a plot point. Pro- break down, as if the film
from PTSD, along with other fessional psychologists are were snapping apart at
problems triggered by To- not going to like this film. the seams. Ideas are of-
urette's syndrome, suicidal One change is the addition fered — might Predator
tendencies and opioid ad- of some estrogen in the DNA be mixed with those
diction. Viewers get plenty form of Olivia Munn, who of a human? Why do Pred-
of decapitations, lynchings, plays not just a scientist but ators keep coming back
head shots and bowels cut a huge one — "I heard you to Earth? — but quickly
open. basically wrote the book abandoned. Some char-
Black's filmmaking is old- on evolutionary biology," acters die in underwhelm-
school, grounded in '80s she's told by a guy in a ing ways, as if the film stock
humor, reveling at its over- white lab coat. In a matter ran out. At the end, Black
the-topness and often of hours, she's gone from lit- somewhat arrogantly of-
gleefully thumbing its nose erally shooting herself in the fers a clear springboard to
at political correctness. foot to blasting an assault a sequel. Whether anyone
That might be refreshing, weapon with aplomb. She cares for it remains to be
but it also can lead to ques- actually manages to make seen. "The Predator," a 20th
tionable decisions. Like, is it the dialogue work, as does Century Fox release, is rat-
necessary to set one of the a thrilling Sterling K. Brown, ed R by the Motion Picture
battles — complete with whose CIA honcho posi- Association of America for
assault weapons and ex- tively swaggers with flashes "strong bloody violence,
plosions — in an elemen- of pitch-dark humor. He language throughout and
tary school? steals the film from the os- crude sexual references."
And is it wise to portray tensible hero, Holbrook, Running time: 108 minutes.
hurting soldiers this way? who fails to sparkle. One star out of four.q