Will The Predator Live Up to Its Pre-Launch Hype?
A murderous alien trophy-hunting expedition is about to hit planet Earth again in September 2018. The million dollar question is will the latest reboot of the iconic ‘Predator’ series prove its mettle at the box office?
The overkill of the seriously gory franchise may just have the opposite effect. Instead of hoofing it down to the cinema for a dose of hunter vs. hunted, there may just be a remote ‘rush’ to the Slots Play Casino… where a few hours in front of the screen can prove entertaining and lucrative!
What We Know About ‘The Predator’ So Far
Although 20th Century Fox is keeping a firm wrap on the brand new predator movie, we do know the long-awaited sequel is set in current day suburbia. There are no more steamy jungle scenes or extraterrestrial bouts to the death. The action is strictly urban with the usual violent twist that’s heavily weighted in favor of the alien in the slick, technically astute rubber suit.
That doesn’t mean the expansive hunting grounds are all brick and mortar environments. In addition to the reams of celluloid featuring military-type talking heads trying to figure out the best way to the bust the beast, there are plenty of fight scenes set in an eerie forest at the dead of night. Be prepared to be suitably scared folks!
The re-imagining of the ‘Predator’ series, right now in 2018, means that the vicious attack and wholesale slaughter of Dutch Schaefer’s patrol happened 30 years ago. Now, a new and invigorated predator has upgraded its murderous capabilities by splicing the DNA from other hunted species into its chromosomal soup.
That’s bad news for a team of puny humans, with an equally puny weapons arsenal, tasked with neutralizing the extraterrestrial mega-warrior… for good.
The Best of the USA Armed Forces in Attack Mode
The former bodybuilder, grunt movie star and Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger may not be the team leader in ‘The Predator’ 2018 but there’s a cunning combat team standing by to blast their way into intergalactic notoriety.
This time former members of the best combat units in the USA armed forces are the main protagonists… and in some cases, the hapless prey!
You’ve got bad-boy Quinn McKenna leading the fight-back charge, a former US Army Ranger who may appear unassuming but has the ability to kill… and kill without so much as a blink of the eye. He’s fast, ruthless and heavily invested in saving us mere mortals from what can only be termed a ‘horrific’ death.
Quinn is played by Boyd Holbrook who you’ll all remember as the inimitable DEA agent Steve Murphy in the hit Netflix TV show, ‘Narcos’.
Trevante Rhodes, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his sensational performance as Adult Chiron in the LGBT drama ‘Moonlight’, is back on the silver screen. This time he plays the beefy former Marine Nebraska Williams and McKenna’s principal side-kick when it comes to predatory bloodletting.
There’s Coyle in the form of Keegan-Michael Key and Lynch played by Alfie Allen; both former harbingers of state-sanctioned death and destruction. Last but definitely not least in terms of on-screen persona, there’s the decidedly nutty Nettles, an ex Blackhawk helicopter pilot with a figurative ax to grind.
Predator Hunters with Feminine Wiles
The lovely Olivia Munn, who shot to stardom as the telepathic body-swapping superhero Psylocke in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, is back on-screen to a rousing cheer from all hot-blooded men. Munn plays the role of Casey Bracker, a rather serious-minded biologist and science teacher who has the innate knowledge and technical expertise to take on the predator… in more ways than one.
If you’re into eye candy, you’ve got it in spades in the latest iteration of ‘The Predator’. Apart from Munn, the lovely Yvonne Strahovski is part of the cast. The blonde Australian found fame and fortune as CIA agent Sarah Walker in the hit TV show ‘Chuck’. This time around she plays the role of Emma McKenna, Quinn’s ex-wife and Rory’s mother.
OMG: The Alert
OK… we know a new supercharged hunter with an unquenchable thirst for human blood has evolved somewhere in outer space. The question is; how and why did it leave the ethos and choose Earth as its hunting grounds? Well according to the promotional stuff, a young boy with a rare form of autism accidentally sets off an alert that summons the cosmic creature.
In clips from the trailer, there are scenes of a spacecraft crashing into the ground.
The boy, Rory McKenna apparently redeems himself by playing a key role in hunting down the predator… but can he and the team save humankind from the horrid hybrid man-stalker called The Upgrade? You’ll have to wait for the mid-September launch date to see for yourselves!
Just In: More Reshoots and Rumours of a Star-Studded Return
According to recent reports, ‘The Predator’ has been sent back to the drawing board… again. A reshoot of a number of scenes has been scheduled but there appears to be no official change to the 14 September launch date.
There are, however, rumors that Schwarzenegger will make a return as an aging Dutch… but they are only rumors at this point. Will Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the franchise be enough to pull the crowds or will ‘The Predator’ fail to fizz at the box office?