10 Reasons Why The Predator Is Better Than You Think

Between the iffy marketing and the talk of extensive reshoots and test screenings behind the scenes, there was reason to be concerned about just how much of Shane Black would actually be in this film.

But thankfully, it becomes apparent from the word go that this film's identity is still entirely Black & Dekker, through-and-through. The jokes and one-liners fly fast and land big laughs. As Black said, he and Dekker's approach to writing the script was;

"Just stuff as much genre into one pack as we can, so you can literally unpack different facets of the movie, which is sort of a stew that represents, to us, the genre movie that we would’ve loved to see when we were coming up, when we were all young and still felt twenty-five."

And that's absolutely what it is. The film often veers wildly from one tone to the next, showing a gruesome kill in one shot, only to deliver a moment of gut-busting humor the next. Notable highlights here include Jacob Tremblay's Rory McKenna wearing a Predator mask out trick-or-treating, only for the mask to activate and destroy an entire house.

Also, there's an incredibly well-crafted joke early on that revolves around Disney's Haunted Mansion that is so great, so funny, and feels as if it was crafted especially for genre-nuts like yours truly.

So thank you so much for that, Mr. Black.