Nov 25, 2025
There aren't any spoilers in this, don't worry.
...
Okay, I finally saw it on the big screen. If you've been on the fence, do it! The world and action is pretty epic, so a big screen is the frosting on the cake.
Elle Fanning is one of my least favorite actresses - I honestly can't stand her. And while she bothered me in this movie (x2, which you'll get if you've seen it), I still enjoyed the story and would recommend the movie.
I have loved Predator movies for years. Or, I loved Predator (with Arnold) back in the day, enjoyed Alien Vs Predator (because the predator was portrayed as the 'good guy'), but this one humanizes them even more - so much fun. All of the other movies in between are great fun, but it's a good hero story that I love - maybe it's the author in me.
It's all about morally gray characters, right? They tend to be the characters that affect us the most, because we can see both sides of the coin. And I love that this direction the franchise is going gives us depth and layers to the world and characters, and a reason to root for the Predator (or Dek, in this instance) as a hero in his own story. It's not Dek vs. humans, it's Dek vs honor and him discovering his place in the world - his world.
Is the movie silly? Yes, kind of.
Is it going to win any awards? Nah. I mean, maybe for the soundtrack, which is awesome. Or the special efforts or something.
But it's fun with an endearing story. And it was filmed in New Zealand (where I got married)! It brought back adventurous memories for me as well - fern forests and epic craggy landscapes.
So there you have it. Not that you asked for it, but that's my movie musings. The final scene in the movie left me like....I NEED TO KNOW. So, there's that too.
If you've seen it, let me know what you think!