Being born in the 1980s, I am a fan of the Predator character. I remember looking forward to watching this original movie as a child on that channel that had everything at a 5-minute offset (TBS/TNT – can’t remember). It was edited, of course, but still fun to watch. I also remember going to Myrtle Beach one year as a kid and playing laser tag for the first time. This venue allowed you to rent a Predator costume to play in. I was terrified I was going to run into a Predator in this maze and I knew I wasn’t Dutch. With this fandom in mind, I must admit that I was excited about Prey (2022). I did have reservations though and, it was everything I expected it to be. Unfortunately, I didn’t have high expectations. Beware spoilers are ahead.
The first of two things that I enjoyed in Prey (2022) was the choice of filming locations. It was what I expect Montana to look like – it was beautiful. I have always wondered what the earth looked like during the times before we started building subdivisions and Walmart every 10 feet. Anyway, wherever they filmed this is where I want to live. The view into a Native American culture was very interesting to see played out on screen too. I’m no historian but, I feel like it was close to accurate. I have always admired these cultures and, I love to see their way of life presented cinematically.
Moving on, the second of two things I enjoyed was the Predator character itself. There was hyper violence and decent gore in this film. I’ll say it like this, when Predator showed up, he showed out. This film allows you to see more action from this hunter alien than some of the others. Of course, a lot of it is with his camouflage running but, there is a lot of action where this alien is fully visible too. His armor in this film, that was set in the 1700s, isn’t yet evolved to the 80s level. This made sense and I liked it. It’s the “make sense” that leads me to the core of my issues with this film. I realize that we are talking about an 8’ tall alien that hunts hunters so, “making sense” is a stretch.
First, I have never met a human that could outrun a deer. I don’t know these fellows from Kenya that run 3-minute miles but, I still think the deer would win a foot race. Our main character seemed to be able to do just this. If not outrun a deer, she certainly could keep up. On that subject and a side note, the CGI in Prey (2022) was not what I expected to come from a group like this. With a HULU budget, I was expecting much better effects. I also couldn’t understand why they chose to speak a Native American dialect in spurts, then translate to English. Just pick one or the other. I would have rather it been in full spoken Comanche with subtitles.
Some things that I’m not buying about our main character plague me too. First, she can’t completely defeat one of her fellow tribesmen in hand-to-hand combat but wipes the floor with a group of settlers. Not to mention, in the end, she kills a predator. Her inability to notice and easily escape quicksand is something else that puzzles me. If she was “a good tracker” as her brother states, you would think that quicksand would never surprise her. Not to mention, I would expect that Native American children learned what this was and how to escape it at an early age.
Finally, this is my biggest problem with this film and the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for me. Where has creativity and originality gone? I imagine that Hulu, like Disney, has the money to hire the most creative people in the country for these projects so, I don’t get it. The premise that a Predator visits earth early is a great one but, the story falls short of achieving it’s potential. This movie so lacks creativity that lines from Predator (1987) were even repeated. Yes, one of the main characters says word for word, “If it bleeds, we can kill it.” When I heard this, I laughed in disbelief.
I’m not sure how this movie is getting the high ratings that it is on movie sites right now – it baffles me. It was an enjoyable film in some regards but, for fans of Arnold’s work against this space alien it was a letdown. I think that Arnold and the Predator from the 1987 movie are a matchup that will never be topped. Prey is just an instalment in the Predator franchise. If you are a fan of action films with space aliens or of the Predator franchise in general, watch this Prey (2022). If you are a fan of the classic Predator featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, and “Ol’ Painless”, don’t waste your time. In fact, here’s a better idea – take those 2 hours and watch Predator from 1987 again. It never hurts to watch this 80’s action classic another time.
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