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Revamping an old franchise may seem like a good idea since you already have some loyal fans. But when the revamping turns into a mindless copycat version of a franchise that was only somewhat liked, then there is a problem. This film marks the newest attempt at reviving the Predator series.

The film follows soldier Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) who, while on mission in Mexico, runs into an alien predator that has just landed on earth. McKenna takes evidence from the ship and mails it to his home for safe keeping. But when genetically upgraded aliens come looking for their equipment, his son’s life is at risk and he has to go to great lengths to save him, and so teams up with a group of mentally disturbed convicts.

If you have seen a previous movie from the franchise you probably know what happens and don’t actually really need to watch this film.

The main audiences for this film are either old reminiscing fans who are revving their youth by watching it, or young kids who think the predators look cool since they most probably haven’t seen anything like it. The latter are most probable to be disappointed.

The film’s plot does not bring anything new to the table, or innovate on the franchise in any way. Perhaps as a way to preserve it, but the end result was not favourable.

Even the imitating was not the best as the screenplay had several lines that did not make sense at all. Like Mckenna asking the predator “what the hell are you?”, even though he already knows, and McKenna shoots the predator when it tries to answer, telling it to shut up. That makes absolutely no sense as a sequence, and neither did several others.

The action scenes and the gadgets were entertaining, with a lot of killing, flying, and running, but again it lacked any originality and was same-old same-old for anyone who has seen a Predator film before.

As for the acting, Boyd Holbrook compensated his shortage of charisma and presence with witty use of cheeky lines and a whole lot of action. Holbrook was mediocre at best, which maybe the filmmakers’ fault just as much as it is his own. Playing his son, Jacob Tremblay delivered a much better performance as an autistic kid who gets bullied, but is secretly cooler than most. Tremblay was able to capture emotion as well as remain genuine. Olivia Munn plays a fierce biologist who is just as passionate about aliens as she is spunky, and Munn nails it, even though her role is a limiting one.

If you are a fan of the franchise, this maybe an okay idea. But if you are not, there is a huge chance you shouldn’t even bother.