Shane Black Directing Predator Sequel! - Part 2

[DarthSkywalker]

Based on some Q&A panels he participated in at the Austin Film Festival.

What did he say?

 

[TheVileOne]

What did he say?

I just got a subtle backhanded sense that deep down he didn't like Predator and found it ridiculous.

I can't say with absolute certainty he hates it, but it's just the sense I got from him.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Based on some Q&A panels he participated in at the Austin Film Festival.

What he say?

 

[Schlosser85]

It's like he really, really hated the franchise so bad he had to bring it back just to kill it again and make extra sure this time it doesn't come back.

Not sure I follow that logic. It's not a slasher franchise afterall.

One could argue it is a glorified slasher franchise with a sci-fi twist.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Based on some Q&A panels he participated in at the Austin Film Festival.

What did he say?

 

[Teelie]

One could argue it is a glorified slasher franchise with a sci-fi twist.

I was thinking of that myself. It is in some ways a slasher flick. Only Jason or Freddy or Michael is an alien instead of a supernatural monster.

 

[Neno_Kos]

One could argue it is a glorified slasher franchise with a sci-fi twist.

Well that's what real beauty of what Predator is. Original is basically glorified slasher with sci-fi twist, but not hunting teenagers but basically best of the best in that time world has to offer in weapons, military training for all conditions.

And what basically kills him is cave man. Masterpiece.

 

[Consona]

This one is weirs. On one hand, I'm really glad this film exists, on the other, I want the franchise rebooted asap. (F***, I forgot it's under Disney now. No, I don't want any reboot now. Just end it.)

I mean, what can we get after that ending? It will deviate from the original idea even more, from some horror survival almost like a mythic story, to some action warfare flicks.

Spoiler

Predators will send their invasion stormtroopers to attack Earth and we will fight back. Or we will use those space-ships and find their space-strongholds and assault them or what?

Yea I still don’t understand what happens at the end.

I tried to say it rather vaguely so it's not that big of a spoiler that...

Spoiler

It's a technology that the rogue regular predator brought to humans so they can fight a predator invasion that's coming. Which is a way bigger spoiler than trying to explain there's some gizmo in a casket that makes a predator war-machine out of you.

Thank you Nathan..

Spoiler

• The Fugitive Predator stole a weapon.
  
• He tries to bring the weapon to Earth to give humanity a fighting chance.
• The weapon is called the Predator Killer.
• It's a high-tech nano armor, like Ironman wore in Infinity War.
• It gives the wearer the appearance of a Predator, including metal dreadlocks.

Nothing can tell you whether you will enjoy a film before you see it though.

That was my point.

The Predator Reshoots Explained: Every Cut And Change Fox Made To Shane Black's Movie

Yes, you can totally feel the third act is quality-wise very different to the rest of the film. But some of the original ideas were weird as well from what I read here.

It's the only reason I can justify him allowing that horrible ending.

I don't think this is how it works. He didn't have the final word on that. The studio had.

The dreads are actually tech the predators use, it's not something they grow, a character yells out what they do while they are running away from the space dogs but I couldn't catch what it was.

based on the response here, surprise surprise I had an absolute blast with this movie! First and foremost Shane Black wrote a renegade army comedy and then dropped a predator in it and I thought it was historical. I pretty much laughed at all the scenes, Keegan Michael key and Thomas Jane absolutely stole this movie for me. All there interactions with each other had me rolling and the hotel scene when Munn wakes up was a high mark of the camaraderie of the group in this film.

The movie is at it's best when the group is together just conversing and talking to each other but the weakest part is the predator stuff. I didn't like that they basically made the predator bullet proof taking any tension away from the final act of the film which was easily the worst section of this film. Once the comedy stopped and the action kicked into high gear the movie lost it's edge for me. Still really liked it though.

Same. I enjoyed it a lot, but for reasons other people may not like it. The crew together was easily the best part of the film, yeah.

I'm staggered I enjoyed it so much, since I'm a such a purist and basically worship the original.

I just watched it last night in IMAX. Best Predator movie since the first. Honestly it might even be the best character driven, character building Predator movie of all.

Yep.

You don't know how the numbers apply to anyone's individual taste. I certainly don't live by them, but they have always been a decent roadmap for what I want to see in theaters and what I should wait for at home.

Also, you act like they are something evil. All it is, is an aggregation of reviews from critics.

It indoctrinates your feelings and reasoning behind the scenes of your consciousness. It's how our mind works, you slowly but surely get to be like the surroundings you dwell in.

That's how Rian Johnson's Last Jedi felt to me. Like a Star Wars movie by someone who doesn't even like Star Wars.

He was subversive on purpose. Can't believe producers did not notice the writer and director of their fricking SW episode is a troll. Hamill got that from the get-go, yet nobody listened to him.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

It indoctrinates your feelings and reasoning behind the scenes of your consciousness. It's how our mind works, you slowly but surely get to be like the surroundings you dwell in.

Dude, we all know what this is. And you being bitter about how critics felt about a film you probably put a lot of pre-release investment in, is not the fault of RT. RT does not shine a kind light on plenty of movies I don't simply like, but love. That has nothing to do with my own person opinion of those movies. So please stop with the hysteria.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

This movie was really fun for the first half or so. It was clearly chopped to hell, but it still worked and was really fun. Very 80s, very Shane Black. And then well... it got so bad. It got so stupid. It is like it is trying top itself on how stupid it could get. The last act is a disaster.

Spoiler

Once they try to save the son, it just starts its descent. Once they kill the human Predator, the movie just loses its way completely. The Predator has so much personality, he was so much fun. That he didn't end up teaming up with the Loonies is a transitivity.

I was surprised how well the cast worked out, outside of Thomas Jane and Sterling K. Brown imo. They had really nice chemistry and they were all easy to root for. Holbrook, Rhodes, and Munn especially.

 

[TheVileOne]

This is the ending in a nutshell. Props to Jeremy Jahns for making the connection.

Spoiler

 

[Verbal21]

So Fugitive Pred

Spoiler

had a buddy who was helping him give the humans a Predator Killer suit but still felt the need to kill all those soldiers and scientists?

 

[TheVileOne]

From what I've heard about the original script and what was there originally, Shane Black's movie was still an utter **** show. This isn't on Fox. It's on Shane Black and Fred Dekker. The hybridization BS was his idea. The obnoxious humor was his idea.

US Military Ally Predators riding around in a military APC was his idea.

Verbal 21, you might want to spoiler tag your post for safety.

I like comedy, and I like humor. But I don't need every movie to have comedy and humor. I don't think even DC movies have to be more like Marvel films, but of course people are going to reject a movie where Superman is constantly acting like a brooding loner who hates himself, humanity and his lot in life the entire time and snapping necks. Or Batman even acting like more of a violent psychopath than usual.

Deadpool works to be really outrageous, over-the-top, and quippy because that's the character. That's all in the character's wheelhouse. Doesn't work in Predator. It has to be a certain type of humor.

I have problems with Predators, but I respect that it plays things fairly straight and serious for the most part.

 

[Marvolo]

I just got a subtle backhanded sense that deep down he didn't like Predator and found it ridiculous.

I can't say with absolute certainty he hates it, but it's just the sense I got from him.

Even if that were the case, It makes no sense for him to waste years of his life deliberately sabotaging the franchise. Nothing more.

It's far more likely that he intended to make a Predator film that he liked. And it turned out the Predator film that Shane Black wanted didnt fit the franchise and it was ****. What we've got here is Shane Black's vision of this franchise.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Even if that were the case, It makes no sense for him to waste years of his life deliberately sabotaging the franchise. Nothing more.

It's far more likely that he intended to make a Predator film that he liked. And it turned out the Predator film that Shane Black wanted didnt fit the franchise and it was ****. What we've got here is Shane Black's vision of this franchise.

Nah. There is such an obvious shift that it reeks of studio intervention.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Nah. There is such an obvious shift that it reeks of studio intervention.

Act 3 is where it is felt. I could feel trimming and things not lining up there. But even then, I do think Black's general tone he opted for before that was throwing me off, too. There simply was no attempt to make the Predators scary at all. It was just straight action. The Predator here could have looked like any generic movie monster. The Predator was always effective because of the hunting aspect and the fear involved by being chased by something so powerful. Here it was nothing like that. There was no hunt. There was just going beat for beat from one plot point to the next.

 

[TheVileOne]

Even if that were the case, It makes no sense for him to waste years of his life deliberately sabotaging the franchise. Nothing more.

It's far more likely that he intended to make a Predator film that he liked. And it turned out the Predator film that Shane Black wanted didnt fit the franchise and it was ****. What we've got here is Shane Black's vision of this franchise.

Ever see Man on the Moon about Andy Kaufman? Seems like that's exactly what he was doing with Taxi Driver.

You have a point Marvolo, but it also makes no sense that he'd waste years of his life to make such a ****ty movie with all this **** that craps on actual franchise. If he really loved the original, I can't believe he'd defecate over the original and all the established lore like this.

 

[TheVileOne]

Nah. There is such an obvious shift that it reeks of studio intervention.

Where did the studio intervene to make it worse?

 

[TheVileOne]

Act 3 is where it is felt. I could feel trimming and things not lining up there. But even then, I do think Black's general tone he opted for before that was throwing me off, too. There simply was no attempt to make the Predators scary at all. It was just straight action. The Predator here could have looked like any generic movie monster. The Predator was always effective because of the hunting aspect and the fear involved by being chased by something so powerful. Here it was nothing like that. There was no hunt. There was just going beat for beat from one plot point to the next.

Say what you want about Predators, but it still treated the lore seriously and with respect. And I genuinely found the Hell Hounds menacing. The Predator dogs here are on the level of Hulk Dogs.

 

[Marvolo]

Ever see Man on the Moon about Andy Kaufman? Seems like that's exactly what he was doing with Taxi Driver.

You have a point Marvolo, but it also makes no sense that he'd waste years of his life to make such a ****ty movie with all this **** that craps on actual franchise. If he really loved the original, I can't believe he'd defecate over the original and all the established lore like this.

He obviously didnt set out to make a ****ty movie. He may not even think it's a ****ty movie. Especially what he originally conceived before the third act was altered. If the film really does crap all over the lore then it's a safe bet that he didnt like or feel attached to the franchise. But I think he really was trying to do this film his own way. He pretty much did that with Iron Man 3. Iron Man 3 was tonally and in other ways out of step with Iron Man 1&2. Ditching the rock music, including the typical Shane Black Christmas setting, nerfing Tony's armor, giving him arbitrary PTSD, destroying his home and lab, making the Mandarin a washed up actor and Killian, having SHIELD be illogically nonexistent during the events of the film. Etc

If he really did try to do his own thing and disregard the lore and tone of the previous films this should have just been a full reboot from the beginning. The studio should have realized it clashed with what was established in previous films and the tone was wrong for the franchise and gave Black the freedom to make and present this as an entirely new thing not connected to the originals. Hell, Black should have known his film clashed to much with previous films. Then it could have been marketed as a full reboot and people would have had different expectations going in. It may not have improved the critical response to the film, but regardless of that I think it would have been the better way to go about this.

 

[Verbal21]

Speaking of setting up expectations, I still remember when Shane Black said he wanted to make Predator movies summer blockbuster events.

So much for that.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

Dunno about you guys, but I had fun with this. I think y'all are taking this series WAY too seriously. It's action-horror that's meant to be dumb fun. The "lore" is just fluff. The Loonies were a lot of fun, too; I flat out laughed HARD at several scenes. As for the thing at the end, it could be worse IMO. Compared to the complete "F-you" Alien: Covenant was, this was a better example of how to continue a franchise, IMO. I think after Iron Man 3 you guys need to be nicer to Shane Black and stop giving him so much ****. The guy's trying to make these fun for you guys and here I felt he succeeded.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Dunno about you guys, but I had fun with this. I think y'all are taking this series WAY too seriously. It's action-horror that's meant to be dumb fun. The "lore" is just fluff. The Loonies were a lot of fun, too; I flat out laughed HARD at several scenes. As for the thing at the end, it could be worse IMO. Compared to the complete "F-you" Alien: Covenant was, this was a better example of how to continue a franchise, IMO. I think after Iron Man 3 you guys need to be nicer to Shane Black and stop giving him so much ****. The guy's trying to make these fun for you guys and here I felt he succeeded.

This movie would have been more fun if it was better. I like Iron Man 3 despite some issues I have with it, but just because the guy wants the movie to be fun doesn't mean it is immune to problems. It's more than fair to critique the direction he took the franchise if you disagree with it. If we adopted your mentality, then there would be no need to critique films.

 

[Ninjablade]

Decided to see this on a whim because some friends invited me to go. Had no interest based on those awful trailers, but I'm a fan of the series and Shane Black so I was hoping for the best.

The trailers were very indicative of the quality of the film, I'd say it's quality is about as low as you can possibly go for a passable film before you can be labeled bad. I did enjoy some aspects of the movie (the Loonies chemistry was a highlight), but from the very first scene I was shaking my head over how much crap there was. Need some time to think about it before I can give it a full rating, but it's sitting at a solid 6/10 about now.

 

[Spider-Fan]

34%
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 172
Fresh: 59
Rotten: 113