Not only did the Predator franchise finally achieve a WIN in terms of meeting and exceeding the buzz and excitement of the original film, they created a film that could take on the buzz and "hype" others in the franchise have generated, but were unable to live up to.
The cinematography, narrative, framework, story and plot were good to top-tier, the dialogue was simple but effective, the costumes and locales were great, CGI was well-done.
YES, yes, yes; granted, for it to have been a "better" film, one or two more Predator kills would have been excellent, but the absence of easy or gratuitous kills makes it a more fleshed out and almost 'adult' and realistic (if that can be said about a Predator film), movie, than if the feel-good kills had been there. Finally, the fact that the villains were French instead of American seemed like a huge cop-out to me, but all-in-all, this film is worth watching and then leaving an HONEST review and rating on. MORE SO, it is worth watching without a preconceived notion of what it should be, or what gender the hero should be. The fact that there are SO MANY non-thought-out, simply vomited-out comments for this film is truly sad. It's sad that some individuals will ALWAYS find something to complain about or not like about anything they are predisposed to not understanding.
The franchise itself is built upon the premise that NO ONE is strong enough to go against a Predator one-on-one and that it is not only in teamwork, but with BRAINS that they might be brought down. But nooooooo .... make the main protagonist a girl, and somehow that just doesn't seem right. Sadly, the point that the low-rating non-thinkers miss, is that the ONLY "female empowerment" they are describing in their mewling reviews, is actually called "THINKING". She both outthought and outplayed the Predator (she did not outpower it), and did so while being underestimated. Quite THE deadly combination. In fact, based on some of the reviews, half the reviewers would fold if they needed to match up to one of these Predators in a battle of wits. :)
In short, regardless of the negative reviews, this is a film that SHOULD garner praise precisely because it is much better than most Predator sequels. It is not as ... impressive ... as the original, however. I don't believe it was meant to be.
Lastly, the dog lives. Gotta give it to a film that knows what we love.
7.5 out of 10.
