The Predator

Fast, funny, and violent almost to the point of parody, this fourth entry in the popular sci-fi/action franchise is a subversive, playful twisting of the genre's cliches. And it's very likely to test fans' expectations. Consistently with all of the films in his long career as a successful screenwriter (Lethal Weapon, Last Action Hero) and his more recent efforts as a director (Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys), in The Predator, Shane Black gets inside the movie's engine and turns everything upside down. He's aware of old chestnuts like the pretty scientist, the ragtag band of misfit fighters, and the gifted child, but he uses them as if they were fresh again. They pop up when least expected.

Still, the plot is a jumble, and by the final stretch the action tends to overwhelm everything else; it can be exhausting. But it's also funny like an old-fashioned screwball comedy -- that is, laughing at a joke can make you miss the next three jokes. (There isn't just one "comic relief" character; everyone here is funny.) And the movie is well-paced. It never wears out its welcome, and the wrung-out feeling it leaves may be accompanied by happy grins. On a side note, Black had a short-lived acting role in the original Predator (1987), so being at the helm of The Predator must feel something like a monster-sized full circle for him.