Prey

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)

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)

I will go against the flow. The Predator saga needed a return to the sources and uncomplicated simplicity, but this concept was completely at odds with my idea of effective filmmaking. Unlike the original, which is a textbook thriller where everything works perfectly, Prey doesn't work dramaturgically at all and mires the viewer in uninteresting dialogue, zero tension, absent character development and continuous action, but it becomes so routine in the first few minutes that it quickly gets boring. Moreover, the abundance of digital animals and CGI effects in places where they are not needed, makes it unbelievable. This was supposed to be the most natural Predator, instead it's the most artificial of them all. It’s not there. (10/08/2022)

Dan Trachtenberg has revived the Predator brand and even though no one believed in the film after the first trailers, it is a success and I am happy with it too. I appreciate that Prey is set during the Comanche era, it has an Apocalypto feel to it and we don't get many gritty films with Indians, much less in the horror subgenre, so I applaud the period and the setting. I liked that the first half is like survival flick where we watch a bunch of animals hunting each other (cougar, bear, wolf, snake, rabbit). I could easily imagine a whole movie where a bunch of CGI animals eat each other in the jungle accompanied by a dense R-rated action, it would probably drive me crazy (so hopefully I'll get to see it one day). The Predator slowly gets acquainted with a new planet and a lot of time is spent hunting, which I enjoyed. The second half turns into a decent action inferno where the Predator attacks the French colonizers and that is one of the best scenes of the film, the final duel is also good. There are some impressive deaths, though the gore could have been more nutritious, but it's sufficient. Amber Midthunder is likeable and surprisingly skilled in combat, so I had no problem believing her. The music and atmosphere were also good. The only minor issue I have is with the Predator's invisible camouflage, which didn't make a good impression on me, but once the hunk showed up in full glory I was satisfied. For the new generation that probably won't put on the original Predator anymore, I think Prey is a cool notch in the franchise. Story 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8/10 (08/08/2022)