10 Reasons Why The Predator Is Better Than You Think

Shane Black brings with him is infamous use of subversions and it makes the film that much better.

These subversions are simultaneously hilarious and propel the plot forward in new and interesting ways. Take for example a scene late in the second act, where Olivia Munn's Casey is tied up to a chair and being interrogated by one of the stooges from Stargazer.

She distracts the stooge and then attempts to break her chair over his back. It's the kind of thing audiences see in movies all the time, so we have a pre-programmed expectation of it. But here, Casey's chair doesn't break. Instead, it stays fully-intact and becomes an even greater hindrance to her escape as a result.

Similarly, when Sterling K. Brown's Will Traeger is set up as the big human antagonist and begins using a Predator shoulder-cannon in the final act, it's fair to expect him to eventually turn on Casey, Quinn, and the Loonies with it. But instead, he fails to use the cannon properly during the final fight and blows his own head off.

Just like all of Shane Black's most recent material, the film is filled to the brim with moments like this. They are an electric shock to the senses that act as both pure visceral entertainment and vital pieces of narrative information. This is great craftsmanship, and no one does it quite like Shane Black.