Prey Movie Review – A New Frontier for the Predator Franchise

The origin story of the Predator in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Naru, a skilled female warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth.

Spoilers Below!!

Overview

I think when Prey was announced, many fans were not ecstatic by the announcement as 2018 The Predator movie isn’t one that is highly loved by fans of the Predator franchise and it’s understandable, while I actually really like the 2018 movie, I would have preferred the original script movie of where Predators were helping the humans. You can find pictures of behind the scene looks at a tank being operated by humans and having a couple of Yautja on top in army gear.

I absolutely love the Predator franchise, the lore behind these apex predators, and the overall design of the Yautja. I think the concept and lore are truly fantastic so when this movie was announced I was excited. I’ve always said that I would like a different time period revolving around the Predators because everything we’ve seen has mainly been modern-day weaponry. I wanted it to be stripped back and bare bones. This delivered and more.

This time period for this movie was perfect. Everything I have asked for. Bows, arrows, hatchets, spears, and just survival. I wanted to see how it would do against the Predator’s technology and it gave it a fair fight in my opinion. The Predator itself was truly done incredibly. The way that it wasn’t a fully equipped Predator, the Predator mask didn’t have the full range of senses was great. I loved that this Yautja kept it simple yet effective with its own abilities. Less technology, less armor, and more agile and strong. You can truly notice the difference between this Predator and the Predators we’ve seen in previous movies.

I want to speak about the Comanche Nation. While I’m not the most in-depth know-it-all person about the Comanche Nation, this movie opened my mind to learning more about it. It felt like they did the right thing by bringing in people who have connections and are a part of the Comanche Nation.

While some might watch this movie and take away connections to the original Predator movie, what caught my attention was the connection to Predator 2 with this movie introducing Raphael Aolini. A pirate whose gun was given to LAPD officer Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) as a reward for killing the city hunter Predator.

Story

Firstly, as mentioned previously, this is a story that I’ve asked for. Not actually this time period but the overall basis of bare bones, back-to-the-wall, survival movie. This delivers. Majorly. From the moment it began I was invested.

The story not only began by showing you the world, the people, and the culture of the Comanche Nation but it also delivered a perfectly timed introduction to the Predator. What I mean by this is that it didn’t show you the Predator landing, and immediately begin killing. It teased everything. It teased the Predator’s ability to hunt and blend into the environment.

The story spent a good portion of the movie exploring the character of Naru (Amber Midthunder) and how she wanted to be more for her camp and her people rather than just a female. She wanted to join the hunts her brother and other Comanche Members go on. Throughout the story we see Naru learn, adapt, and overcome obstacles in her way.

How she was able to hunt, learn new tactics of survival, and the love and protection she has for her brother. The story also dived into the notion of how women were treated by many males not only in this story but overall in general by the male population in history.

The story focused on Naru becoming this incredible, badass, warrior and hunter and you felt that throughout the movie as she immediately noticed and believed that it was her time to fight this legend. Another thing the story did well was to show the belief, the heart, the passion, and the will for Naru to become this fierce hunter.

Characters

Honestly, I think this could be the best cast we’ve had for a Predator movie. This cast was amazing. Naru played by Amber Midthunder was amazing, she delivered and more. She was fantastic and I hope she returns for a sequel. Dakota Beavers who portrays Taabe was incredible, he had a few standout moments and one badass fight and death scene with the Predator. He was a fantastic opponent to the Predator.

Dane DiLiegro as the Predator, what a casting. While obviously he is in make-up and doesn’t speak, you felt the presence. He brought that ferocity, the brutalness, the raw bloodiness that a Predator brings. My favorite Predator was Wolf from Alien vs. Predator 2 but I now think Dane as this new Predator is my favorite.

As a movie that was focused on the Comanche Nation, this cast assembly was amazing. Even the side of the cast for the pirates was done incredibly well and unexpectedly introduced for me. (I stayed away from all trailers and information).

For the full cast list, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.

Hype

The hype surrounding this movie is justified. This is the BEST Predator movie to date. I think whatever comes next will need to bring everything it has to beat this movie. While this might be a controversial opinion, I much prefer this movie to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 Predator movie.

I mean, Prey is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 91% and an 84% audience score. That is amazing.

Favorite Moments

1. The Predator’s introduction to the movie. This was done incredibly well. Compared to previous introductions to the Yautja’s, this one was great. The Predator didn’t come in immediately and begin killing the humans. It landed and began to hunt. That’s all. The Predator stood and watched a rattlesnake eat a mouse and then go to bite the Predator. It used the snake as bait.

2. The Predator in hand-to-hand combat with a grizzly bear. We got to see Naru’s reaction to the sheer relentlessness, the determination, and the ability to use his agility and strength to fight the bear by the Predator. From the POV of Naru, we saw the grizzly bear get the best of the Predator before the Predator stands up, punches the bear clean, and begins to slice it open while holding a fully grown bear over his head while using the invisibility technology and being covered in blood.

3. Naru and Taabe’s standoff against the Predator. This camp scene was amazing. It felt like Naru was going to die as she didn’t load the pirates gun properly, resulting in the Predator about to kill her when Taabe rides in and goes against the Predator getting in some hits but ultimately telling Naru that this is “the furthest he goes” before being impaled by the Predator. The Predator then turns to Naru but in his last breath, Taabe stabs the Predator allowing Naru to escape and get composure.

4. Naru uses Big Beard as bait to lure in the Predator so she can shoot the Predator in the back of the head causing his mask to fall off so she can steal it and eventually use it to kill the Predator in the final battle. One of Naru’s strengths is the ability to learn and adapt to the “hunt”. This is what she does against the Predator as she learns that it can not see her properly.

5. The final battle between Naru and the Predator was easily an equal match in the terms of the Predator using his agility and strength while Naru uses her ability to hunt and survive, as well as her smarts. She takes the fight to the Predator, stabbing it, and slicing off an arm. She then baits the Predator into using his weapon to fire an arrow at her but ultimately it backfires and follows the mask aiming system which is pointed at the Predator’s head.

Dislikes

Nothing to dislike in this movie. I found it perfect.

Recommend?

1000% yes. If you are a fan of the Predator franchise, you will obviously be watching this. For anything casual fan looking for a movie to watch, pick this. You will not be disappointed.

Verdict

Overall a new direction and story in the Predator franchise and one that came into live-action with a bang. This is the perfect Predator movie. This is also an impactful and staple for the Comanche Nation and anyone who has a connection to the Comanche Nation. This is up there with the original Predator movie and any Predator or Alien fan will enjoy this.

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Rating: 10/10

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Prey is available on Disney+ on Hulu. You can visit here for more information on Prey.