The Predator jumps into the plot from the very first scene, which sees Boyd Holbrook's Quinn McKenna on an assassination mission in Mexico. He's interrupted by a crashing spaceship and manages to pull a few pieces of predator memorabilia from the wreckage — specifically a helmet, an arm band, and a little ball that lets him turn invisible. Correctly assuming that the government is going to be all over him once they track him down, he swallows the ball and mails the rest of the alien contraband to his P.O. box in the U.S. Like anyone would do, really.
That plan sets the rest of the movie in motion. His son gets the package, leading the government and the new, upgraded predator to hone in on their quaint little suburban neighborhood for some good old-fashioned murder and torture. There are also some alien dogs who turn cute when they're brain damaged, and Keegan-Michael Key jokes about stuff.
As the movie progresses, it's revealed that the alien who crash-landed on top of Quinn didn't come to Earth to top off his collection of people spines — he was actually a traitor who was trying to save humanity from an invasion by the predators, and he was bringing a gift to help humans fight back. Good for him! Unfortunately, he got killed by the upgraded predator, but his mysterious gift was the key to the entire ending.
