The saga of Predator over the years it has been a true cult for many of us, who grew up between the eighties and nineties; starting from 1987 with a young man Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the first historical chapter, passing through 1990 with Daniel Lebern "Danny" Glover, ending with the "unfortunate" Predators, masterfully performed by Adrien Brody but which unfortunately did not attract the general public. The brand went through a great crossover with its cousin Alien in the chapter Alien Vs Predator, a well-designed film with a media impact that has certainly relaunched a genre. Unfortunately the sequel was unfortunate: castrated by the low budget, AvP 2 was unable to convince practically anyone. 20th Century Fox aims for a reboot of the saga with this chapter, The Predator, which leads the brand in another direction: will it have managed to convince an avid fan like myself? Here is how the hunt went!
Hunting has changed
In The Predator, let's lose a bit the focus of mere prey hunting, in favor of a story more focused on a Sci-Fi genre of recent years. Without telling you much, I can point out that the predator arrives on earth after a firefight between spaceships, and once it crashes on our planet it is captured by an American military crew who seem to know very well the subject we are talking about. In the midst of all this we find a Marine sniper, McKenna who during a mission finds himself next to the place of impact of the spacecraft and after a very close encounter with our alien with "long braids", tries to save himself by fleeing and stealing (involuntarily) certain weapons from the intergalactic hunter, leaving the victim unconscious space traveler. Once trapped, the predator's blood is revealed to contain human DNA, which sets the stage for hitherto unexplored inferences and plots for the series. In the one hundred and one minutes of film, you will see the most disparate situations arise, some even capable of tearing a smile and breaking the tension of the film. I can't tell you much more about the plot, but just think that at the expense of some situation on the verge of credibility, the film remains coherent and will entertain you without ever getting bored. Interesting is the absence of "explanations" in the film: you will discover a lot about the characters in question but it will happen gradually and without abrupt stops on the plot to tell what happened before the current events. Contrary to what happened in the past, it seems that the space hunter this time has a different purpose towards us: that it is no longer the usual hunt?
Evolution of the genus or involution?
I left the theater without knowing what had happened: in fact, I took twenty-four hours to fully analyze the film retracing the events, sometimes even backwards, comparing what I saw with the modern and past market. Although the film makes citations to previous chapters with some phrases that probably only avid fans will grasp, it is a good product even for those approaching the saga for the first time. Unlike in the past, the film is lighter in many parts, the lines that are pitted have that A-Team flavor which does not hurt but at the same time distances itself from an almost dark seriousness of the past. The eighties have definitely gone by too long and to attract young audiences you need a young formula: the success of Marvel cinecomics for example is a point from which you can see that they have taken with both hands, going to mention not superheroes, but placing jokes and sometimes resorting to tragicomic situations that wink at what the public appreciates today. I don't agree with this choice, because it undermines the identity of the brand, but we must realize that times have changed and that cinema is probably veering in a more light-hearted and commercial direction than the films of the past. If on the one hand we have the splatter component, with severed bodies, sawn heads, human entrails - and not - that come out of bodies still alive, on the other we have the lighter jokes and situations that intersect in the film: the mixture does not it is not even badly balanced, I can only say that it is something that falls within the personal taste of those who use the product, but honestly I didn't expect to laugh in a context like that of The Predator… yet it happened, it is up to you to define whether this is an evolution of the brand or an involution.
Each ending leads to a new beginning
So how did it go with The Predator? Well the fan in me has slightly turned up his nose, while the guy always ready for the news has fun. The film works, it has no particular flaws or plot holes, it is Predator and at the same time it is not. Perhaps the hybrid is the modern formula of cinema, a bit like what happens with today's cars, neither sedans, nor sports cars, but crossovers. Would I recommend The Predator? Yes definitely! But I would tell the fans from the past not to expect what they may think they see: that is, it is not a suspense film where you are a prey and an intergalactic hunter could kill you at any moment, the tension is present but not in the way you expect. ; at the same time I would say to a novice that this is a great starting point, a film that could entertain and introduce the character to both a thirteen year old boy and an adult. Sometimes I found the soundtrack unsuitable at the time we were experiencing on screen, almost a forcing in certain scenes composed of excellent photography and a wise directorial position (you will never miss an action scene and the movement will be present and not invasive), they lose something with music sometimes put there in a banal way. I expect a sequel that will take the human vs. Predator feud to a new level.
