The Predator / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Did the first Predator betray its species as a revenge for the genetic experiments it was subjected to, or out of genetic empathy for humans, whose DNA it received? Or both? Or, considering the longstanding canon of humans having worked with Predators in not just comics and novels, but in films (case in point, Alien vs. Predator, Predators), could this Predator see humans as potential allies to help fight the Ultimate Predators?
- Did it really intend to give the Predator-Killer supersuit to the humans so they could defend themselves from the Predators, as Traeger and McKenna speculate? Or did it just come to Earth to hide it? Keep in mind that at the beginning of the movie, the Predator kills two of Quinn's men even though it could have easily just evaded the group and gone on undetected, so it's more than likely that Traeger and McKenna are completely wrong about its noble intentions. Maybe it simply stole the suit for itself and by chance ended up on Earth after being chased by the Ultimate Predator.
- By that standard, are they also right that the Yautja were planning to invade Earth because of global warming? In other media portrayals, while they're always obsessed with the hunt, they're completely disinterested in organized warfare, and would quickly lose interest in any planet that challenged their hunting expeditions with open war. While this seems to be a huge departure from canon, it could easily be shrugged off as the humans misunderstanding the situation, since most of the exposition in the movie comes from them speculating rather than a Predator actually revealing anything about their motives.
- Were all previously seen Predators collecting DNA from their trophies to modify themselves this whole time like the movie alludes to? Or were the Fugitive Predator and the Ultimate Predator both members of a clan of "Bad Bloods", or Predators shunned by the rest of their species for abandoning their Code of Honour, similar to the Super-Predators? Due to Shane Black's remarks on the Ultimate Predator being a cheater and the Yautja previously being shown as respecting and sparing prey if they manage to slay a fellow hunter, which would be counterproductive if their objective was to collect DNA from strong specimens, many prefer to believe the latter.
Ass Pull:
- The movie decides to up and rewrite 30 years worth of film continuity by saying the Predators were never just trophy hunting, but stealing DNA to modify themselves. This is especially jarring, as previous lore showed that the Yautja were disgusted and offended by genetic modification, as it diluted bloodlines. Even setting aside sources outside the films themselves, it dramatically changes the species' motivations in prior films, and not necessarily in a more-interesting way and makes several element of the previous films nonsensical, such as skinned corpses being strung up (which obviously serves no genetic engineering purpose) and humans who defeat Predators being let go (makes sense as a matter of honour but if it's all about genetic modification why are clearly impressive specimens being left alone?).
- Even in its own continuity, the movie still screws things up with the reveal that the Fugitive Predator was actually trying to help humans. So why was it hunting down and killing Quinn's first team in traditional Yautja fashion as the first thing it did when it got to Earth, with no indication of ulterior motives?
Awesome Art: The poster that was teased◊ at SDCC 18.
Broken Base: Oh boy. To say that The Predator is the most contentious film in the franchise to date would be an understatement, but to keep it short and simple, viewers will either enjoy this movie as a fun sci-fi flick, or despise it for its weak second and third acts and rewriting the 30+ years of history surrounding the Predators, in and out of the films.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Sterling K. Brown's Agent Traeger has been called a highlight of the movie by fans and critics alike. Some people called him more charismatic than the leads, and his abrupt and anti-climactic death was a major point of criticism.
Fanon Discontinuity: While the movie is supposed to be in the same universe as the previous films, a good portion of the fanbase wants nothing to do with it. Usually they'll either ignore it out of disdain or treat it nothing more as poorly-written Alternate Continuity or a What If? related story.
Fan Nickname: The super powered-armor at the end has been nicknamed by fans as the "Iron Predator".
Fan-Disliked Explanation: The idea that the Yautja have been taking trophies all this time to steal human DNA has not gone over well with many, if not most, fans of the franchise.
Hilarious in Hindsight: Keegan-Michael Key had hoped to sneak in a shout out to Dolemite into this movie, until the producers prevented it — now Keegan has the last laugh, with a role in Dolemite Is My Name.
Memetic Mutation: Image Boards had a lot of fun with this film's portrayal of autism as a Disability Superpower, making it literal "weaponized autism".
Narm:
- Casey literally shooting herself in the foot with her tranq gun while chasing the Predator. For all her earlier talk about having prepared herself for her mission and her admittedly impressive athleticism, it all falls short by way of slapstick self-injury.
- Casey crashing on the ground because McKenna accidentally turned away from catching her just before she jumped, all in midst of the previous chase. Gags like these genuinely give the impression the film doesn't know how to place the comedy and the seriousness in their right boxes.
- The Ultimate Predator's character design is admittedly intimidating in closeups, but its hulking upper body on top of strangely slender legs and digitigrade feet makes it unintentionally ridiculous if seen whole, like a badly done mix-and-match creature or as if it had forgotten to work out on half of its body. Amusingly, none of the otherwise quite spoilerific marketing pieces clearly show the baddie's lower body, which means the producers probably realized this themselves at some point and tried to hide it until the release.
- Autism, particularly the unrealistic Idiot Savant stereotype, being considered "evolution's next step". It only avoids being offensive if you find it laughable, given how inaccurate by the standards of evolutionary science it is.
- For some reason, a bunch of stock sound effects start being used during the final fight with the Ultimate Predator when they hadn't been heard up in the movie to this point — the standard "tree falling over" sound, a cartoon cough sound as a hatch on the Predator ship opens, and the Ultimate Predator itself using two different stock roars.
Narm Charm:
- Most of the first part of the film runs on Quentin Tarantino-esque dialogue, juvenile Black Comedy, and unapologetic action film tropes from The '80s, and whether it succeeds or not with them is up to the viewer. However, for good or bad, it can be argued that this makes for a rather entertaining, even unpredictable product.
- Coyle and Baxley shooting each other. It initially seems like Baxley is going for a Mercy Kill to spare Coyle a long and painful death. Then Coyle takes out his gun, and you might wonder if it wouldn't be easier (and with smaller chances to fail) for each of them to use their own guns on themselves. However, their friendship and the solemnity of the scene still makes it a genuinely touching moment.
Older Than They Think:
- The plot point about Predators (specifically, the Super Predators) adapting themselves with DNA from their prey goes back to the script for Predators, and though explicit mentions of this were dropped, a line implying it remains in the final film, though only in relation to their tactics and gear.
- The concept of a human-Predator hybrid was brought up in the 2005 video game Predator: Concrete Jungle, though the roles are reversed this time.
The Scrappy: Rory. Long-time fans of the Predator franchise hate him for being a misplaced Adorably Precocious Child who also happens to be the catalyst for the movie's sudden Genre Shift. He's hated even more by autistic people, the community he's supposed to represent, for being a bland, unrealistic Child Prodigy, who is a thorn in the eye of many autistic people for setting harmful expectations, playing every stereotype about autistic people in media to the hilt, and generally having very little in the way of positive autism representation.
Sequelitis: While both of the previous follow-ups to the original Predator have Contested Sequel status, The Predator is considered to fall heavily short, with much criticism going to its script and the Predator species feeling extremely out of character.
Signature Scene: The Predator sparing Casey after finding her naked and unarmed in the decontamination room, which even detractors of the movie will acknowledge as being faithful to the lore of Predators not hunting humans who don't pose a challenge.
So Bad, It's Good: While few will say it's a good Predator movie, there are some who enjoy The '80s Narm schlockfest that it is and the Narm Charm that it delivers. The whole plot of Predators playing LEGO Genetics, and and assimilating genes to become stronger, as well as the rampant Artistic License – Biology adds to the unintentional comedy, and it has Gary Busey's son Jake Busey in it too.
Special Effects Failure: Possibly as a result of being hurriedly reshot due to negative test screenings, the final act of the movie has some pretty weak CGI compared to the first two acts. Special mention goes to the Ultimate Predator biting off a soldier's head in the trees.
Sweetness Aversion: The Predator-dog suddenly acting exactly like a real dog upon its Heel–Face Turn. Many fans were baffled at such a sentimental element being put into this particular franchise.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: An important complaint of the film is how out-of-character the Predator race feels in comparison with the rest of the franchise. The Predators genetically modifying themselves, taking part in Deadpool-esque comedy scenes, seeking out body parts not only as hunting trophies but as genetic samples, calling an unarmed neurodivergent child his species' "greatest warrior", shooting enemies up with energy weapons without regard for their famous standards of honor towards opponents, creating Predator-dogs out of their own species, and building super-suits are all ideas which stray so far away from known Yautja lore and culture that they seem like something out of a completely different movie, and not a good one. This all is best exemplified by the main villain, who not only has been genetically modified into barely resembling a Predator anymore, but doesn't even use any of the Yautja's signature weapons and armor in the first place.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
- Sterling K. Brown's Will Traeger featured prominently in the trailers and has been considered something of a highlight by critics, who express disappointment that he's really only in a handful of scenes. His death comes so quickly that you'd be forgiven for missing it, especially in the dark forest scenes.
- Sean Keyes. For the son of an important character from a previous film, and despite being one of the most advertised cast additions, you could easily forget he is in the movie in the first place, as he only appears near the beginning and does very little at all.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
- More like "they wasted a good joke", but the Halloween setting adds almost nothing to the film, and neither of the Predators spend much time in the suburbs. The Predator walking around on Halloween and scanning trick-or-treating kids to identify if their toy weapons are real or not, anyone?
- A common criticism is that while the movie has interesting ideas, like the Predator attacking the suburbs, PTSD vets banding together to survive, a government conspiracy, and so on, too many of these plot threads are crammed into the film's relatively short 107-minute runtime, thereby turning its story into a confusing mess and leaving these ideas underbaked.
- Possibly influenced by the aforementioned Predators, many people were expecting at least one heroic Predator to make it to the end of the movie and help the heroes against the wicked Super Predator in the final battle. In fact, judging by leaked pics of the film's production (which show not one, but two Predators helping them), this was actually the original plan for the third act before it was reshot.
Too Cool to Live: The Loonies (Nebraska, Coyle, Baxley, Lynch, and Nettles) and Will Traeger.
Vanilla Protagonist: McKenna is often considered to be the weakest protagonist of the mainline Predator movies, not helped by sharing the military gruff type with original star Dutch, or being surrounded by a colorful cast in the Loonies.

YMMV / The Predator

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