Prey

Set in 1719 in The Great Northern Plains, Naru (Amber Midthunder) is a young Comanche woman who while trained as a healer has aspirations of being a hunter like her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers). When Naru sees what she thinks is the "thunderbird" in the sky, she takes this as a sign she is ready to prove herself a hunter. As she joins a group lead by her brother set on taking down a mountain lion, they soon come across a creature more dangerous than they've encountered before.

Prey marks the first Predator movie made and released since Disney bought Fox and the first entry in the series since the underperformance of 2018's The Predator. The film began development under the working title of Skulls when director Dan Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison approached series producer John Davis with the initial concept that would become Prey. Trachtenberg hasn't directed a feature film his breakout hit in 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane with a number of projects he's been attached to either moving on without him or getting cancelled with Trachtenberg's largely being on TV. Prey marks both a welcome return for Trachtenberg as well as the Predator franchise as it's probably the best entry we've had since the first one.

Much like prior films Predator and Predator 2 which took established film staples such as commando and cop movies and turned them on their head with the inclusion of an alien trophy hunter, Prey takes a set of characters in its Comanche natives who could've easily sustained their own movie independent of The Predator and make for an engaging mashup with the established monster much as they did with the characters in the first and second films. Amber Midthunder is our lead Naru and she's really good in the film as she's capable in the fight scenes but also is very green which helps sell the rougher edge to the fight scenes which include some of the clumsiness you'd expect from such skirmishes. The other actors are solid performers and lend themselves to some entertaining and very brutal sequences in the film, including a sequence in the third act which had a nice nod to the ending of Predator 2. The Predator design is really unique featuring a cruder version of the helmet that more resembles a skull than the one we're used to and it works in context. We also get a solid dog character in Sarii who's pretty much a co-lead in the film and they're every bit the character you'd expect from a human actor.

Prey is solid genre fare in its own right, but it also brings the Predator series back on track after getting derailed with the mess of 2018's The Predator. Amber Midthunder is a great lead as Naru and the action and spectacle delivers. The third act runs a bit long and maybe could've been streamlined, but aside from that this is great enetertainment.

Confession: I'm the guy who watched the original Predator way too many times thanks to the magic of VHS...but then never watched a single sequel afterwards. As far as I'm concerned "Predator" = jungles and body butter. So I fully admit that I have limited context here. That said, this movie kicked butt. I cared way more about Naru and her brother (not to mention her dog) than I did about anybody in the original. I found the cinematagrophy breathtaking, I found the characters compelling, and I'm kind of all in on seeing what happens when we transport modern franchises into different historical/cultural contexts. Plus, the callbacks were delightful. Nobody's going to give this movie an Oscar, but I'd rather watch a story like this than most movies with capes and poorly staged action sequences. I was sucked in from moment one, and Amber Midthunder completely captivated me for the whole runtime. It's nice to know that movies like this can still surprise me, not to mention make me stand up and cheer.

This felt more like a Disney toned-down for family version. Too much nonsense with the tribal dynamics and Naru's empowerment issues. The first half of the 99 min runtime was just dragged out with a lot of dull filler and too much gender correctness. Only the last half got a little exciting but got ridiculous at the end to see a little girl with an axe do better than the Terminator did against an advanced alien with high-tech gadgets. I just wasn't buying what the script was selling.

Although casting and performances were decent, the all-young cast seemed like they were missing uploading their Instagram stories instead of hunting. They just weren't convincing enough, except for the brother and, well, the Predator. I'm not sure if it was poor cast direction or part of the script or both, but either way, I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters at all and had trouble taking them serious. However, the cinematography and score were decent. This film is not what I expected, or wanted, but still an ok one-time watch if you're a fan of the franchise. Just don't go in thinking this will be a revelation of an origin story, because it's far from that.

Had to start a 30-day trial on Hulu just to watch it but It was pretty boss, so I'm not mad. The story was basic and took us back to the roots of the Predator franchise with its pre-America setting.

Like the new predator deign but far more impressed by how the new predator moved and reacted. Whoever they got in the costume was really doing some acting, making himself look like the baddest hunter on the block. It does not stand out any better than any of the other Predator movies in my book but as far as being the first one by 20th Century Studios done under the Disney Banner it was violent and gory enough for my taste.

Worth possibly getting Hulu for.

As a lifelong fan of this franchise I am admittedly biased. Since the revolutionary classic first film, Fox/hollywood have made 4 sequels all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed/ still critiqued. A perfect sequel hasn't been made imo and may never be, but I can say this new film has the closest effective wilderness ambience/suspense to the first film and that warrants great praise.

I was skeptical with a few things judging by the trailer but seeing the final product I can say that no matter the logic holes in the mismatch of Pred vs prey , the film is executed quite well. The settings are phenomenal and amplify the overall product. Dan Trachtenberg has a keen eye for detail as seen in 10 cloverfield lane and shows it once again. The costume design captures a completely different timeframe awesomely as well as shows a new more prehistoric predator that might be the coolest visually yet. Music and sound is crisp and powerful and adds so much. The acting is bare bones but for the story it has to be as far as context.

It's a shame that this had to be only streaming as it should have been in theater. The scenery is fantastic. But regardless it's a surprising return to roots as far as the back to basics setting and suspense aspects. It's another welcome sequel and should be seen by any predator fan or action fan.