Prey

A straightforward intimate period survival "from the mud to the puddle and back to the mud again" that would stand on its own, especially when it is functionally, and not just for show, set in the Predator universe. It's not without many "buts" (the atmosphere should have been thicker, it could have done with even more reliance on practical effects instead of digital, at times it feels like an adaptation of a rebooted Tomb Raider, and the English language didn't need to be so overused), but who cares when it works so well. (06/08/2022)

Finally a sequel to Predator that is very similar to the legendary first film. It doesn't trump it in the depressing, sometimes even horror atmosphere, and of course not in the originality of the initial creative idea either, but Prey certainly doesn't put it to shame. The plot is relatively coherent (similar to the scheme of the first one), the hunter himself has plenty of space and a couple of scenes are really delicious. There’s the bear scene, already mentioned here, which is OK, but too digital. Paradoxically, the best scene IMHO is not led by the Predator, but by young Amber Midthunder, who at one point dispatches a couple of smirking sleazebags, and she does it nicely without a single cut, in a perfectly clear manner and with the right amount of explicit violence. Overall, the creators are not afraid of brutality, on the contrary. It's still a B movie, but it's ambitious, suspenseful, and for once even the average viewer can enjoy it. (08/08/2022)

Prey is a high-octane adventure with pleasant Indian poetics and the spectacular return of the second-best movie monster ever. The screenplay flows and contains nice details and surprises, and the action is beautifully fluid and kinetic. The woman-power element is natural and believable, while the attractive “savage versus savage in the wilderness” motif is put to excellent use. The actors and costumes are respectable, and the unknown Amber Midthunder puts in ten times more effort than the Oscar-winning Adrien Brody (in Nimród Antal’s otherwise solid Predators). There are a few minor things in the film that could be open to criticism; for example, the final fight could have been better thought out and less rushed, but these are just details in relation to the general level of viewer satisfaction. No film franchise is ever dead; it’s just waiting for the right guy to come along. Within this one, Dan Trachtenberg went the farthest in choosing his own path, put his heart into it and achieved the greatest success. This is a film by a talented filmmaker and movie fan, made for movie fans. (10/08/2022)

A bit of a better made-for-TV movie. The few panoramic shots try to give the impression of visual richness and grandeur à la National Geographic, but for the vast majority of the time it's just a visually poorer film that doesn't belong in the cinema and the streaming format suits it. It doesn't lack a few neatly severed heads, what it lacks the oppressive atmosphere of the first one, which is on a completely different level. The Indians lack believability, and when I compare it to the likes of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, which literally worked wonders with a comparable budget in terms of period authenticity and visual gore, I almost want to cry. A female protagonist in a predator franchise is an interesting idea, unfortunately in a film where only the bear scene stands out from the average. And no, the heroine's final fight, which turns the Predator into an incompetent moron, I really didn't buy that one. Arnold could beat such a naive slob with just his farts. (06/08/2022)

Just my sort of Disney movie. No need to make a live action version of Pocahontas... Trachtenberg slowly but effectively builds the atmosphere in the style of the original Predator and carefully calculates where to pull out the trumps just at the right moment in the story. The camerawork, production design and the overall atmosphere swallows you up and doesn’t let you go for an instant in the second half. Midthunder is completely convincing as the young Indian girl and carries the entire movie effortlessly on her shoulders. Although the message that technique and details are much more important for killing than strength is rendered invalid with the pistol handed over at the end, which indicates what then had to happen in the epilog, but maybe the filmmakers are just preparing the ground for a sequel, who knows? (05/08/2022)