Prey (2022) – 7.5/10 – Decent standalone prequel to Predator
Overall
PREY is a standalone action thriller prequel to PREDATOR (1987) – link to my review of the first. Much like the original Predator, an alien lands on Earth and must be hunted. This one takes place in 1719 near a Native American Comanche tribe in the Great Plains. The visuals reminded me of THE REVENANT, though they have little in common. It’s entertaining, with plenty to admire but also several flaws. The original remains the best of the series, but this lived up to it. There are homages to the original, including the famous, badass quote: “If it bleeds, we can kill it.” Hell yeah! And similar technology, looks, and behavior of the alien. I wouldn’t mind this series exploring other eras, locations, and settings to mix things up. My rating is 7.5/10.
Plot
In 1719, Naru, a determined young woman of the Comanche tribe, is training to become a healer and a tracker. She aspires to follow in her older brother Taabe’s footsteps to become a skilled hunter and prove the tribe wrong. An alien hunter lands in the American Great Plains, drawn for reasons only he knows. It’s not here for joy or to study, but to hunt. Naru faces challenges while helping the tribe save a member, and in her travels, she suspects a grave threat is on the loose in the nearby forest. She sets out with her hunting dog, Sarii, in search of whatever’s out there.
Technicals
PREY featured stunning cinematography, photography, visuals, lighting, music/sound, direction, and other technical elements. I thought the lead actress gave a decent performance, and the supporting cast was satisfactory. The main characters are likable, even if they are not badass like Arnold, Carl Weathers, and the muscled strongmen from the original PREDATOR. I appreciated the setting and atmosphere the filmmakers crafted to feel immersive and fresh. They depicted the era in which it takes place well. I mostly liked the action scenes, but the movie is not without flaws (more below). Comanche activists rewrote the script for an authentic depiction of Comanche culture.
Issues?
The character development didn’t please me. The female lead and her brother get some depth, but the other characters lack development. A couple of plot points were cringeworthy. Unfortunately, I can’t go into detail without spoiling those illogical moments. All I can say is they were a convenient means of saving the characters. In the original PREDATOR, these aliens were intelligent killers. It took an elite special forces team to defeat, after most of them died. It’s unrealistic to expect someone from the Comanche tribe to take on such an alien. With bows and arrows, too. I found the premise shaky and a bridge too far for me to buy. It’s akin to an intelligent Tusken Raider from Tatooine taking on an angry Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars to prevent the massacre. Last, better pacing could make the end appear less rushed.
Would I recommend this?
It’s not a must-watch, but it’s watchable. If you enjoyed the original PREDATOR, this is worth checking out. There are logic flaws in the writing, but overall, it’s decent compared to the rest of the series. I watched PREDATOR 2 in the past and despised it. Only ones with decent ratings are PREDATOR, PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS, and this one. The rest of the series doesn’t deserve your time.
*Obtained trivia facts from IMDb’s trivia page and plot/basic history/names information from Wiki
