The Predator franchise has been a disappointing one for me. Everything they came up with since the original Predator (1987) has been average at best, even though it was the same story. They had great people attached; trailers looked awesome, and then the film came out and mostly disappointed all fans. Whether it’s Predators (2010) or The Predator (2018), they are alright movies when you watch them but so forgettable you might forget that you have even seen them. And this isn’t a joke, I literally forgot The Predator, and it came out in 2018! And then, Prey comes along and gets almost universal praise from most film fans and no theatrical release. I know it must have been part of some sort of “post-COVID” deal where the studio gets some films straight onto the streaming platform. But it is a shame for this film because we finally get a Predator film that can go toe-to-toe against the original, and we can’t even enjoy it on the big screen.

Let’s get one thing straight – the original Predator is an untouchable staple of the action 80s cinema. It’s hardly a flawless movie, but it’s so enjoyable and straight-to-point, no-nonsense film it captured fans all over the world. And this is where the filmmakers behind Prey learned the lesson, making this film simpler. Don’t overcomplicate stuff, don’t try to build a franchise; just go back to the roots of having this alien creature who haunts for sport and make your protagonist smart and kick-ass enough to go toe-to-toe with him. And you can’t get much more simplistic than go back to the 17th century. Yes, for the first time ever, we see Predator go up against someone with no modern weapons or technology. It’s also the first time our protagonist is a woman. Both are excellent choices.

Let’s talk more about the setting of the film. Not only are we in the 17th century, but we also spend the vast majority of the movie with a Comanche tribe. I was in from the first minute, finally something we don’t see all the time. Because of that, it becomes clear you are about to watch something that is either extremely smart or extremely dumb as for them to defeat Predator without any modern weapons; it really is one of those options. But as soon as you start to get familiar with Naru (a brilliant performance by Amber Midthunder!), you realise you are in good hands, and it will not get extremely dumb.

The main thing I admired about Prey was her character and Amber’s performance as she shines. She shined because her character struggled for most of the film. I know what you are saying: “Wait, what?” Let me explain. It became such a tedious storytelling device to have a flawless and strong character because… reasons. In many movies nowadays, we often watch our protagonists who kick ass and rarely stumble. But in Prey, it’s more realistic. We can tell Naru is capable enough, but when we meet her for the first time, she isn’t “there” yet to lead or to fight. We see her train, and most importantly, we see her think and learn from her mistakes or situations she ended up in by no fault of her own. It seems like such a tiny detail, but it mattered to me as when she goes for the “final fight” against Predator, we see her as the warrior she became in front of our eyes. We saw her journey, progress and most importantly, her ingenuity and how smart she was. Had she been “the ultimate warrior” from the beginning, we wouldn’t have been as invested. I must compliment the script and Amber’s performance; I honestly hope she will blow up and get more acting opportunities.

The only nitpick regarding this film has to do with the setting. But to discuss this freely, I need to go into spoilers; even though it’s not exactly a spoiler, it might ruin your experience as I wasn’t expecting it.

Beware, SPOILERS are coming!

I understand that historically this might have been accurate, and it gave us probably the coolest scene in the film (yes, the fight in the fog/mist), but I wish we would have stayed with the tribe rather than introducing “The French” two-thirds into the film. I don’t think the movie needed them, definitely not in the capacity they used them (read: too much). It’s almost like the writers thought Naru would have had such an easy journey battling Predator they had to throw one more opponent her way, The French! And look, I wouldn’t mind them being part of this film, but maybe at the very end? Think about it; how awesome would it be when she defeats the Predator using her brain and his weapons against him if she were to stumble upon them while returning to her tribe? Now, due to what she’s been through, she avoids them and rushes to her tribe to warn them. That’s right, the ending of this film wouldn’t change at all; she would have still returned victoriously as a leader and told her tribe they needed to move as soon as possible.

Another reason this French storyline bothered me was that I was already invested in the tribe and Naru; by the time they showed up. Her character is almost at the point where she understands the danger Predator represents, and she is already thinking about how to kill him. So this french connection feels more to pad a runtime because, without it, the movie would have been 20 minutes shorter. But for me, it would have been flawless then. Remove them, focus on the tribe and the obstacles Naru has to go through to not only become a leader of the tribe but to defeat Predator; make it 80 minutes, and you have a flawless movie in my eyes.

But as stated prior, this is only a tiny gripe. The french storyline doesn’t “destroy” the film by any means, mainly because they all die quickly, which (again) might be the coolest scene in the movie. Other than that, Prey is an outstanding film that proves a few things – simple is always better, Amber rules and Dan Trachtenberg should be given more movies to make. He was also behind 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), and honestly? Dan should be part of the discussion regarding the best “new” directors because he’s done two films so far, and both are excellent in my book. I will watch anything he makes next.

Overall, Prey is almost a flawless movie experience and easily the best thing in the Predator franchise since the original movie in 1987. Going back in time helped this film to do something new with Predator; focusing on the Comanche tribe almost exclusively also worked, and casting Amber Midthunder was a jackpot. Even if you aren’t the biggest horror fan, I would still recommend Prey because it is more of an action/thriller film rather than anything else. No unnecessary jump scares, just good old-fashioned character build-up where you see our protagonist evolve into a kick-ass leader who can take down Predator with nothing but her brain. Had the film only focused on the tribe versus Predator thing, it would have been perfect, but even that is just a tiny gripe. Please see it as soon as you can.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke