The Predator takes an easy way out by giving us exactly what we have been seeing for the past few years. It follows the same formula all Sci-Fi and Fantasy based movies have over the years. The film has only one agenda which is not the film's story.
The Predator starts with Sniper Quinn Mckenna waiting in on his target when the Predator's pod hits the grow close to their catch. When surrounded by all the alien technology McKenna does what any sane army operative would do, starts to gather evidence. Which actually becomes the main plot of the story.  He then sends the evidence back to this ex-wife and son's house y snail mail.

The makers haven't wasted any time developing the plot introducing the characters but gave them stereotypical character traits to keep the audience in the loop.

McKenna is then detained by Will Traeger a special unit agent who has been keeping tracks of all the previous predator visits to earth. Mc Kenna then meets his new unit who are a bunch of loonies being sent for therapy.  

All characters are given one thing to do which defines them and then forces the audience to see the bigger picture which does not exist. McKenna calls them his unit within minutes of them running away together which they only did for survival reasons. They have no emotional connection with each other still they decide to follow him to their death. I get the characters were supposed to be flawed and impulsive but most of their death scenes are ridiculously stupid.

Coming to another important character, Olivia Munn as Casey Bracket, a disgruntled science teacher, and biologist who joins Mc Kenna's unit. She essentially has no reason to be there, the film could have totally followed its course without her existence. The only relationship that exists in the film is between Quinna and his son Rory.  He has a form of autism and is bullied in school but becomes a key player in the fight against the Predators due to his preternatural ability to learn languages. That is the plot. That's it, everything runs around the fact that Rory is special and can read the alien tech. 

 

The movie has only one reason to exist which might actually take only 5 minutes. And if you look at the entire film, it makes no sense. The predator that landed on earth wanted to present a gift to humanity so that we would stand a chance against them when they come to invade earth. And the second one that arrives comes to kill the first one and bring back the package. If the first Predator wanted to hand the weapon to us why did he go around killing people and not just hand in the weapon?

 

The worst part- this movie is directed by the Shane Black who directed movies like Iron Man 3 and The Nice Guys.