A skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport, fighting against wilderness, dangerous colonisers and this mysterious creature to keep her people safe.
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, Stormee Kipp, Julian Black Antelope, Dane DiLiegro
Release Date: August 5, 2022
Genre: Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated R for strong bloody violence.
Runtime: 1h 39m
Review:
The Predator franchise has been a difficult nut to crack in terms of delivering satisfying follow up after the second Danny Glover entry from the 90s. Dan Trachtenberg's prequel takes a back to basic approach which results in a lean and efficient film paired with a strong script that makes us care about the central character's arch. Trachtenberg avoids the pitfalls of recent entries by keeping it simple and smartly focusing on establishing the central character before unleashing the carnage everyone knows is coming. Amber Midthunder carries the film with a believable focused performance as Naru. The script smartly sets her up as a somebody that's still trying to find her place as opposed to introducing her as fully formed warrior. This measured approach allows the audience to connect with the character and makes her journey more believable once the film reaches it's final faceoff. Trachtenberg takes advantage of this to set up some tense moments while still delivering the kind of bloody violence you'd expect from this franchise. The supporting characters are more thinly written with most coming off as fodder for the fray. Some surprisingly shoddy animal CGI detracts from some of the Predator action in the first act which is a shame because the cinematography takes full advantage of the Canadian landscape. Small issues aside, Prey is the Predator sequel a lot of fans have been waiting for which makes the streaming only release even more confounding.
B+
