Predator: Killer of Killers

I was skeptical about an animated Predator movie. But the animation was very good and the style lends its self very well to the subject matter.

It seems to be an anthology but its all tied together at the end and leaves things open for much more in the future.

Speaking of tying things together there are interesting references to the other films and hint at a much wider universe that we hopefully get to see.

Don't be put off that its a cartoon its much cheaper to tell a story this way than with live action so more chance of followups.

In Dan Trachtenberg it seems they have someone who can take the Predator franchise in a much better direction than it had been going prior to Prey.

The film is above average by default, simply due to its amazing visual direction and art style. The character designs are solid and truly feels in tune with the universe. The effects work and color grading is also very well throughout and suits the scenes. However, outside of that a lot of issues arise.

The main characters are beyond superhuman, which would be fine if the other characters in the universe didn't have to follow the rules of physics and durability while they ignore it. Or maybe at least give us some back story explaining their immense strength, durability and the pure luck factor of dodging everything. Things just feel disconnected and just are in many situations.

Also the predator itself is dumber than ever, hardly feeling like a threat at times. Its still worth a watch due to the visuals but don't expect much to make sense.

This movie had an interesting concept but as a full length film it disappoints. It feels like a longer episode of Love+Death+Robots and should probably have been reserved for that series instead. The plot is very rushed and considering this is supposed to be a first encounter with an alien everyone just seem to accept that they are now being hunted by monsters as if that's just the norm. There is no build up, it's just straight to the action. The characters seem interesting but just when you feel like you're getting to like them their story is over. There are also some weird sequences where you really have to suspend your disbelief, especially in a certain flight scene. Also one of the characters apparently knows how to use the Yautja tech even though he has never seen it before, almost as if he is actually a Predator fan who has seen all the movies beforehand. Considering these fighters have no prep time to deal with the very sudden Predator attacks they make Dutch from the first movie look like an amateur. The fights seem way too even between human and Predator and that makes the predators seem kinda weak despite some really cool and gory kills on their part. I don't know how much Trachtenberg was involved with this film but it has me slightly worried for the next installment Predator: Badlands.

I genuinely didn't know what to expect from this, turning a live action property into animation doesn't always work. That being said, this was absolutely amazing. I loved the animation style, the sound design, especially for the predator was excellent, the different settings, the voice acting was on point, the action absolutely top notch, as to be expected. Of course the storylines of the 3 vignettes were a bit lacking, some better than others, but who comes into a predator movie for the riveting story telling? This really was a legitimate predator movie, and did the titilur character justice. Very gory, great pacing, I highly recommend this.

From the animation, cinematography, choreography, score, messaging, and overall themes this movie does it all by sticking to a familiar formula and character tropes in a flawless way that makes for what unironically might be the best predator movie. The pacing is also very good for Its 80 minute run time. The film is so good at conveying what it's trying to be that for a quarter of the runtime there is little to no dialogue and yet you understand everything. Whether you're a fan of the predator franchise, wanting to get into it, or just want to turn on a gory, fun animated flick this film has it all!