Shane Black has birthed a “Predator” movie that is the most 1980s-esque “Predator” film it could be. For reference, the original came out in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as an army commando named Dutch. It is pretty hard to top that 80s-ness.

Black directed and co-wrote “The Predator” with the aspiration of making a “Predator” movie in theaters worthy enough to be called “an event.” Well, that is certainly an aspiration to have for one’s fourth directed feature, and one thing is true about “The Predator”: it is absolutely outrageous.

The same year Black starred in the original “Predator,” he also wrote the screenplay for “Lethal Weapon” (a quintessential 80s movie) and “The Monster Squad,” which he coincidentally wrote with Fred Dekker, the co-writer of Black’s “The Predator.” That is quite the way to make a name for yourself during the first couple years of being in the industry. Afterward, Black continued to write the second “Lethal Weapon” film, albeit his role was reduced by the fourth installment, and wrote “The Last Boy Scout,” “Last Action Hero” and “The Long Kiss Goodnight.” He was certifiably an 80s and 90s screenwriter and is a product of his times, even acting here and there in films and shows such as “Dead Heat,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “RoboCop 3,” “Dark Justice” and more.

Now, Black’s second half of his career is arguably more interesting than his first, and that kicks off with 2005’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” a stylized Hollywood crime film starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer that was bold and unique and proved Black needed to be in the writer-director chair more often. But he would not get that chance for eight more years.

2013’s “Iron Man 3” is one of the most unique and idiosyncratic out of any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and also has the most divided opinions among fans. It is as controversial as a comic book movie can be, and Black is behind it all. It is a weird movie in many aspects, but it is not necessarily a bad film. After Black’s stellar “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” this movie is almost underwhelming. Luckily, his sophomore effort was not eight years later.

“The Nice Guys” is Black’s best film, hands down. He cultivates everything he is good at perfectly and creates a hilariously offbeat crime film starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, who share an incredible chemistry. “The Nice Guys” is something Black has said he wants to come back to, and it is something that deserves to be revisited.

Black rebooting the “Predator” franchise almost feels like he has come full circle. An actor that was brutally killed by the ruthless creature in 1987 had the opportunity to write and direct an installment of his own, and, as previously stated, it is outrageous.

What made the original so great was how it blended 80s machismo, campy military aspects, brutal action and violence and a horrifying creature, all with a sense of humor. Plus, it had Schwarzenegger going toe to toe with a Predator, and it is one of best showdowns out of most in its catalog (it being an 80s movie featuring a monster).

Maybe Black did not mean to, but he replicated that with “The Predator.” It admittedly does not have the most original or nuanced story, but it is one hell of an entertaining ride. It has another macho cast consisting of Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Keegan Michael-Key, Trevante Rhodes, Thomas Jane, Sterling K. Brown, Alfie Allen, Jake Busey, Yvonne Strahovski and Jacob Tremblay. Mostly everybody is great, especially Munn. With Holbrook and his Bad News Bears of a military squad, they are abrasive, ridiculous, hilarious and facing a Predator.

The action and violence are off the walls. It is ridiculously gory and creatively violent. While sometimes it is hard to become invested in some of the moments and characters because of how the story progresses and the rate at which it does, it is simply entertaining. There is not much to it, but if a fun, bloody time seems up your alley, “The Predator” will do just fine. There are moments of cheesiness, some odd character choices and, of course, (spoiler) the stupid Predator dog that thinks it is a human dog, but when a Predator is on screen, there will not be anything to complain about.

It is hard to predict Black’s next move, as his career has been very much unpredictable, but for Black’s next project, is he going to advance his craft or go back to the 80s again?

Image from Gage Skidmore via Flickr