Memory Holed: 2018’s ‘The Predator’ Is So Bad You Forgot It Existed

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Welcome to Memory Holed, a series where we take a look back at movies and TV shows that briefly captured the public’s attention before fading into obscurity. These films often featured well-known actors, generated awards buzz, were based on popular stories, or sparked debate – but for whatever reason, they’ve been largely forgotten. We’re revisiting those ‘memory-holed’ pieces of pop culture.

This weekend’s release of Predator: Badlands follows Dan Trachtenberg’s successful reboot of the Predator series, which started with the exciting 2022 prequel Prey, starring Amber Midthunder. Before Prey, Robert Rodriguez delivered a decent sequel, Predators, but Shane Black’s 2018 film, The Predator, was largely considered a misstep that most fans would prefer to forget.

Following the success of his 2016 film, The Nice Guys, Shane Black returned to the Predator universe in 2018 with a sequel to the original 1987 Predator – a film Black himself had previously appeared in and secretly helped rewrite – and the less popular 1990 film, Predator 2. While The Predator starred a large cast including Boyd Holbrook and earned nearly twice its production cost at the box office, it underperformed for 20th Century Fox, who were in the process of being bought by Disney. This led to significant changes and reshoots of the film’s ending.

The negative reaction to The Predator was so strong that it took director Shane Black seven years to get another film made – the recent, and largely unnoticed, action-comedy Play Dirty. Re-watching The Predator, which I hadn’t seen since its initial release in 2018 and had almost completely forgotten, it’s clear why it didn’t succeed. While reports about the film’s production shed light on some issues – I’d forgotten a scene was cut due to the involvement of an actor with a history of sexual offenses – they also make Black’s original vision for the movie even more puzzling.

This Is Why You Never Listen to the Fans


20th Century Studios

There’s a saying about avoiding online comments, and it applies to creative work too: filmmakers shouldn’t listen to fan demands when it comes to the actual content of their films. Shane Black gained a dedicated following as a screenwriter, known for witty dialogue and playfully self-aware scenes in movies like Last Action Hero and The Long Kiss Goodnight. He directed his first film, the darkly humorous neo-noir Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, in 2005, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, and later worked with Downey again on Iron Man 3 in 2013. Soon after, he began developing a new Predator sequel, initially pitching the idea in 2014.

After Shane Black’s success with The Nice Guys, excitement for a new Predator movie grew even stronger. Fans remembered he’d previously revamped Predator, a classic action film for many who grew up in the ’90s. Black expressed a desire to recapture the magic of the original Predator with a smaller, more mysterious film, aiming for the same sense of awe and discovery that Close Encounters of the Third Kind inspired when it was first released. His vision only heightened expectations for the sequel.

Okay, so here’s the thing with The Predator: it really relies on you already being a fan of the earlier films. It assumes you know how the Predator operates, and honestly, for a lot of the movie, that’s all it does rely on. The creature doesn’t really do much new, because the film feels like it’s more interested in referencing what happened in those older, frankly better, movies than actually building something fresh.

‘The Predator’ Is Packed With Problems – And Way Too Many Actors


20th Century Studios

One major reason people have forgotten The Predator is likely its lead actor, Boyd Holbrook, who simply didn’t make a strong impression. Like many attractive, blonde actors of his time, Holbrook seemed better suited for supporting roles than leading ones – a lesson some of his colleagues, like Jai Courtney, have taken to heart, while others, such as Charlie Hunnam and Tom Hardy, haven’t. Holbrook is a capable actor, but he lacks the charisma to carry a film as the main character, and he wasn’t particularly believable as the lead in The Predator.

Josh Holbrook stars as Quinn McKenna, an Army Ranger sniper whose mission to take down a cartel is interrupted when a Predator spaceship crashes nearby. McKenna takes some of the Predator’s technology and sends it to himself, which attracts the attention of government agent Will Traeger (Sterling K. Brown). After some initial conflict with the Predator, the story focuses on McKenna and a group of discharged soldiers who are secretly ordered to be eliminated. They embark on a dangerous mission to recover the stolen tech and return it to the Predator, hoping it will leave Earth. Joining them is evolutionary biologist Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn), who discovers the Predators have human DNA. She realizes they’re traveling the universe to collect DNA from advanced species, using it to improve their own genetics through crossbreeding.

Beyond the poor special effects, the new Predator film struggles with two main issues. First, the team of soldiers (who are portrayed as somewhat eccentric) feels repetitive. While Trevante Rhodes delivers a strong performance, the rest of the cast – including Thomas Jane (whose character has Tourette’s syndrome, a condition often joked about by his teammates), Keegan-Michael Key, Alfie Allen, and Augusto Aguilera – largely play variations of the same character, Hawkins, from the original Predator. The film doesn’t need so many characters like that; Hawkins worked well because he was unique. And speaking of too many characters, there are simply too many in this movie. To top it off, Jake Busey makes a brief appearance as the son of his father Gary Busey’s character from Predator 2.

Key offers some genuinely funny moments, but it’s obvious Allen was cast simply to draw in fans of Game of Thrones. Aguilera’s character feels unnecessary, and frankly, neither actor adds anything to the film. Holbrook, who resembles a polished version of Tim Heidecker, would be better suited playing similar roles to the ones Heidecker excels at.


20th Century Studios

Another significant issue is Jacob Tremblay’s performance. While previously known for playing remarkably smart young characters, Tremblay plays Rory, McKenna’s son with autism, in a way that feels awkward and relies on tired stereotypes. If this was your first time seeing Tremblay act, you might not realize his potential. As the movie progresses, Rory’s role becomes even more problematic. He’s not only incredibly gifted with languages – able to understand and use the alien technology – but he’s also the Predator’s target. According to a character’s explanation, the movie suggests that autism is actually the next stage of human evolution, making Rory’s DNA valuable to them.

So far, The Predator implies the aliens are hunting McKenna for his genetic code, especially since he possesses stolen technology. However, McKenna hasn’t really proven himself as a skilled fighter. He has some cloaking technology like the Predators, and his wife lists his military achievements – including 13 confirmed kills – but that’s hardly impressive considering how many enemies a Predator typically takes down. McKenna doesn’t seem like a challenging opponent for this alien hunter.

It makes logical sense that the Predators weren’t actually hunting McKenna, but their true reason – wanting Rory’s DNA – isn’t a much more satisfying explanation. The 2018 film faced criticism, including from people on the autism spectrum, for its flawed science and harmful portrayal of neurological differences. As Cassidy Ward pointed out in SyFy Wire, the movie demonstrates a misunderstanding of evolution and perpetuates common misconceptions about neurological disorders. Ultimately, the plot twist doesn’t work because the first half of the film heavily implies McKenna is the target, and changing that feels unconvincing.

“Would You Like To Meet a Predator?”


20th Century Studios

Sterling K. Brown delivers the strongest performance in The Predator as the villain, Traeger. He’s one of the few actors, alongside maybe Keegan-Michael Key, who truly feels like he’s in the movie the audience deserves. His timing and delivery are perfect – particularly the line, “Would you like to meet a Predator?” – which gains a darkly ironic layer considering the film’s release came shortly after accusations of sexual misconduct against Brett Ratner became public, involving six women including Olivia Munn.

Adding to the issues surrounding the film, before The Predator came out, Fox removed a scene with actor Steven Wilder Striegel at the request of director Shane Black. Black had cast Striegel, a friend, in a small role where his character flirted with actress Olivia Munn. After filming finished, Munn learned Striegel was a convicted sex offender – he had pleaded guilty to online communication with a 14-year-old girl – and immediately informed the studio. Munn found Black’s decision to cast Striegel without warning anyone on set “surprising and unsettling,” and said Fox reprimanded her for bringing it to their attention. Black later apologized, but only after facing public criticism.

Ultimately, the line “Would you like to meet a Predator?” is shockingly absurd, though not meant to be. It’s just one example of the darkly humorous, and sometimes inappropriate, jokes throughout the film, which reflect director Shane Black’s comedic style. However, the humor doesn’t really work in the movie as a whole, often feeling like it’s making fun of the film itself. For instance, there’s a scene where a character points out that “Predator” isn’t an accurate name and they should be called “Sports Hunters” – it feels like a response to a single, overly critical online comment.

The movie also features a prolonged comedic sequence centered around Casey being the sole woman in the group, reminiscent of a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs setup. This culminates in a character asking if the men can be trusted while Casey is unconscious. The response – a dismissive claim that they are “soldiers” and wouldn’t harm a sleeping woman – is particularly problematic. Introducing the possibility of sexual assault is already unwelcome, but to then downplay the well-documented history of sexual misconduct within the military makes the moment even more insensitive and unnecessary.

After a negative test screening, the studio reworked and refilmed the movie’s ending, but it didn’t fix the problems. The final act now feels disconnected from what came before, and includes a baffling plot twist that actually makes the earlier parts of the film seem even weaker. While fans blamed the studio, and the reshoots didn’t improve things, ultimately, The Predator doesn’t offer much that stands out.

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2025-11-07 20:50