The Predator: Ranking All Of The Alternate Endings

6. The Theatrical Ending

Shane Black's The Predator got a bit unfairly dragged through the mud by fans and critics alike upon its theatrical release. Overall, it's a fun, cheesy throwback to the '80s action-fests that made Black and his co-writer Fred Dekker household names in the first place. It sports a great cast who are more than game to chew the scenery with some of Black's wittiest dialogue, some remarkable action sequences that see Black blending white-knuckled tension with wondrous humor, and quite honestly, it's just a good time at the movies.

Sure, there are aspects and moments that feel entirely misguided or cut to ribbons by various reshoots but overall, it's solid. Except for the theatrical cut's ending, that is.

Feeling painfully tacked on, the ending of the theatrical cut sees the protagonist all gathered around the pod which the rogue Predator had brought as a form of salvation for mankind. The pod goes a bit haywire as the cameras whirl around the room and the suspense builds to a fever pitch, just as Jacob Tremblay's Rory says it calls itself "the Predator Killer". That's when a robotic armpiece shoots out, Iron Manning into a full-body Predator-shaped suit of armor for the humans to wear.

Not only does this look flat-out terrible, it feels completely at odds with everything else the movie has set-up and done. It's an incredibly dull and boring concept, one that has been done to death before. A Predator sequel in which McKenna just suits up and guns down waves of Predators is exactly the opposite of what these films are all about.