Along with a significant and bloody body count, The Predator leaves behind a slew of unanswered questions. Shane Black's continuation of the seminal sci-fi/action franchise introduces new characters, a deadly upgraded Big Bad called the Ultimate Predator and spins the Predator narrative into an entirely new direction. However, some logic and plot holes were inevitably created by the film's freewheeling mayhem, which wasn't sufficiently addressed.

In The Predator, U.S. Army Ranger sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) must team up with a band of escaped military mental patients dubbed 'Group B', a.k.a. The Loonies, to stop the latest rampage by the armored alien hunters. With genetic scientist Casey Brackett (Olivia Munn) at their side, they race to rescue Quinn's autistic son Rory (Jacob Trembley) from both the Ultimate Predator and from the evil humans of a lab called Project Stargazer headed by Will Traeger (Sterling K. Brown). This violent chase culminates in the discovery that the Predators are planning an all-out invasion of Earth, while rogue Predators sent humanity a weapon to fight back - a Predator Killer.

Related: The Predator Reshoots Explained

Black's film was subjected to reshoots and significant editing by FOX, which could account for a number of inconsistencies. Subplots and characters (including even more Predator hybrids) were excised while the third act was altered, including the ending. The theatrical release that resulted should please fans looking for cartoonish action and Predator-fighting mayhem, but a number of aspects of The Predator just seem... weird... when you think about it.

How Did The Predator Lose His Gauntlet In The First Place?

Boyd Holbrook in The Predator

The film begins with the Predator's ship attacked by the Ultimate Predator's ship as it space warped to Earth. The "classic" Predator on board his damaged spacecraft is clearly shown attaching his gauntlet to his left arm as he boards an escape pod. The Predator's pod crashes in Mexico where Quinn McKenna is executing a sniper mission against a drug cartel, which is blown by the fiery crash landing of the alien ship.

McKenna makes first contact with the crashed pod, but the Predator is nowhere to be found. Instead, Quinn finds the Predator's mask and his left gauntlet, which contains an important control unit that becomes one of the film's MacGuffins, neatly arranged in the remains of the pod. So how did the Predator lose the gauntlet, which was clamped onto his wrist, in the crash and how did his mask end up right next to the gauntlet? If the Predator took it off after he crashed... why would he do that? And why was the Predator camouflaged in the trees attacking one of McKenna's soldiers instead of immediately reacquiring his equipment, which is vitally important to his mission?

Why Didn't The First Predator Try To Communicate?

Given what fans learn about why the classic Predator was coming to Earth by the end of the film - he's bringing a weapon to kill enemy Predators who plan to invade - his behavior makes little sense. True, he was captured by Project Stargazer and was being experimented on, but as soon as he wakes, he goes into a hack-and-slash rampage, murdering almost every human he sees. At no point does he attempt to communicate with any of the humans, and vice versa since it's later shown Traeger has translation tech that can decipher the Predator language. A lot of bloodshed could have been spared if Predator and humans made any attempt to communicate, especially since the Predator was ostensibly on Earth to help humans. Instead, the alien murdered numerous humans and behaved like a movie monster until he was sanctioned by the Ultimate Predator.

How Can The Regular Predator's Gauntlet Control The Ultimate Predator's Ship?

The Predator Blades

The logical inconsistencies of how the Predator tech works could be a result of the various reshoots and editing the film underwent, but it ends up to be rather confusing. At Project Stargazer, the classic Predator dons a different mask which was on display, which was salvaged from a previous film, presumably Alien Vs. Predator. He uses it to communicate with his missing helmet, which is in the possession of Rory McKenna. But what he really wants is the control unit inside the gauntlet, which would unlock the mysterious pod in the original Predator's ship containing the Predator Killer. The Ultimate Predator wants this same control unit, but somehow, after Rory is captured by the upgraded alien, the boy is able to use the device to control the Ultimate Predator's ship. Is Predator tech interchangeable?

Why Hasn't Predator Invisibility Improved At All?

The Predators' tech to become 'invisible' and camouflage itself is one of the coolest aspects of the franchise while also being ultimately self-defeating. Simply put, the Predators aren't truly invisible and humans have always been able to see them when they are moving. Their camo screens have been utilized in each movie since the 1987 Predator, but as of The Predator in 2018, even though they have utilized hybridization technology to upgrade their bodies, it seems like the Predators have made zero attempts to upgrade their invisibility tech. It's still remarkably easy for humans to spot camouflaged Predators and take them out. Considering how reliant they are on camouflage and their suspect success rate in hunting humans, why haven't they upgraded this vital cornerstone of their gear?

Page 2: The Predator's Third Act And Greater Themes

The Predator Third Act Changes

Where Does The Third Act Of The Movie Take Place?

The studio-mandated reshoots and editing muddied the third act, especially its geography. The first 2/3 of The Predator established very clear locations: the classic Predator's pod crash landed in Mexico, where he encountered McKenna. Back in the United States, the sniper is held for psychological evaluation at a U.S. Army Veterans facility in Tennessee; meanwhile, Casey Brackett is recruited from her home in Maryland and brought to Project Stargazer in Georgia. When Brackett joins up with Quinn and the Loonies to rescue Rory, their encounter with the regular and Ultimate Predator happen in the McKennas' Georgia hometown.

After that, the film abandons all sense of geography. Rory draws a map to the original Predator ship's crash site, but they never say where the ship is. When Project Stargazer, the Loonies, and the Ultimate Predator reach the ship, it's in a rock quarry... somewhere. The Ultimate Predator, who seemingly landed in Florida at first, then hunts and kills most of the humans in an adjacent forest before the final sequence where Quinn and the Loonies board and disable the escaping Ultimate Predator ship, which crashes in another forest. Given the mountainous terrain, it's possible the final battle took place somewhere in the Smoky Mountains, but the movie simply gave up trying to establish locations in Act 3.

Related: The Ultimate Predator Hybrid DNA And Abilities Explained

How Does A Bullet Lobotomize A Predator Dog?

The Ultimate Predator brings two redesigned hell-hounds to hunt with him, which seem to have the ability to traverse hundreds of miles on foot. When the Loonies save Rory in a baseball field from the two hounds, Quinn kills one by launching a grenade down its throat, which blows it up from the inside. The second hound... is weird. Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes), calmly walks up to the hound and shoots it in the head at point blank range. Rather than die, the hound merely stumbles around confused before it loyally begins following Casey and the Loonies around. Nettles (Augusto Aguilera) theorizes that Nebraska's bullet lobotomized it; this thematically synchs with Nebraska's own backstory where he survived his own self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Still, the lobotomized Predator hound completely turned on its original master, the Ultimate Predator, and helped Quinn and Casey kill him. Does that make him a good dog... or a bad dog?

How Does The Predator Killer Help Stop Human Extinction, And Why Only Send One?

Boyd Holbrook and the Predator Killer

The Predator dropped a bombshell that the reason the aliens rip out their victims' spines is to take their DNA and is  to genetically augment themselves to become better hunters. Furthermore, the film reveals that because of climate change on Earth, the human race is within two generations of extinction because the planet will become unlivable for humans. With their hybrid human/Predator DNA, the Predators plan to take over the Earth when humanity dies out.

Apparently, some Predators take issue with this invasion plan. The original Predator who comes to Earth at the start of The Predator was bringing a weapon for humans to use against the future invasion: a Predator Killer. But it turns out, it's merely a heavily armed form of armor for humans to wear (not unlike one of Tony Stark's Iron Man suits). It's a cool weapon to be sure, but why did they only send one? No matter how tricked out the Predator Killer might be, is one battle suit really enough to fight off an entire invasion? And how does the Predator Killer address the real issue: climate change? Somehow halting global warming would be the best deterrent to Predators wanting to live on Earth, but perhaps that kind of technological solution is not something a race of space hunters devote much research into.

Why Do The Predators Want Autism?

Jacob Tremblay in The Predator

Much like how 2017's Power Rangers introduced an autistic hero, The Predator can be applauded for doing the same by making young Rory McKenna a child on the spectrum while also turning him into arguably the most important human in the film. Once the Ultimate Predator learned of Rory's talents with language (he is easily able to decipher the Predator tech and read their writing) the upgraded alien decides Rory is his 'prize'. Casey also validates how special Rory is by calling him "the next stage of human evolution," but while it's again admirable Shane Black wanted to include an autistic main character, it's questionable how much he understands autism. If the Ultimate Predator's plan succeeded, that means Predators would turn themselves into hybrids with Rory's DNA, thereby creating a race of autistic Predators - with all the disadvantages of autism right alongside the advantages.

More: The Predator: Every Easter Egg And Movie Connection