Strong bloody violence? Check. Foul language? You bet. Crude sexual references? It wouldn’t be a Shane Black movie without them.
Yes, as promised, 20th Century Fox is sticking to its gun and releasing The Predator with an R rating for, well, “strong bloody violence, language throughout, and crude sexual references.” All of the ingredients one would associate with a Black gig. The only thing’s that missing is a scene set at Christmastime.
Much of that violence no doubt involves Shane Black’s squad of Special Forces commandos confronting a deadly threat not of this world, but there’s also the promise of Predator-on-Predator violence. The hunt, as they say, has evolved, and one need only look to the film’s action-packed promos for a glimpse of the so-called Mega Predator, which appears to be a 10-foot killing machine perched at the tip-top of the galaxy’s food chain.
All things considered, this R rating shouldn’t come as much of a surprise – in fact, it’s more of a relief, as we can’t imagine The Predator would have nearly the same impact if Shane Black was forced to work within a PG-13 rating. In the director’s own words, “spines bleed… a lot.” Especially if they’re forcibly removed by some super-sized alien hunter that boasts invisibility and enough firepower to level an entire city – with or without a squadron of highly-skilled commandos standing in its way.
The Predator checks into theaters on September 14th, and it may well spawn a new horror-thriller franchise at 20th Century Fox. Even if it doesn’t, let’s just hope Shane Black’s reboot sticks the landing and leaves more of an impression than, say, Alien: Covenant – another retro-inspired sequel to a true film classic.