Smashing them action figures together
The new red band trailer for Shane Black’s The Predator has all the blood and cursing you could ask for–in that it doesn’t have much blood and cursing at all. What it does have, however, is the titular Predator facing off against an even bigger, grosser Predator that looks something like the monster from the end of Quarantine. Hopefully this won’t be used as a hook to turn the regular-sized Predator into some sort of anti-hero that the humans need to help against the real evil.
This hits a lot of the right notes as a callback to an earlier era of action film where the original Predator would fit in, though. The second I saw that bigger Predator it was obvious that, yeah, that’s an action figure. Sure, this movie might be a bloody romp for the big kids, but it has definite appeal to the younger audience that will catch it on cable later, if they don’t have cool parents, and those kids will certainly go out and buy the toys. Who knows? Maybe The Predator will get a cartoon deal out of it, like RoboCop did.
What I am definitely not on board with, however, is the horrible video game joke that they forced Keegan-Michael Key to say. “If your mom’s vagina were a video game, it would be rated E for everyone.” Oof. Maybe it has more impact in the full movie. Maybe the joke is that it’s not even a bit funny. Maybe it’s more of that kid appeal. Either way, it hurts. It hurts a little. Shane Black can write comedy into an action movie like nobody’s business, so I’m sure it has its place. I’m just not sure where that place can possibly be.
There’s also a poster, which you can view below, that shows a regular Predator’s decapitated head in the fist of the bigger one with the spinal cord dangling out. I really like the orange background. It’s like a Hawaiian sunset that’s also very heavy metal.
The Predator will hit theaters September 14, 2018.
