So starting off with the positives, the best thing about this film is its pretty much a back to basics Predator film and what I mean that is there's no overreliance on technology, there's no world ending stakes, there's no expanded convoluted mythology, its just a self contained easy to watch Predator film.
It also helps that that this is a really well paced film. It's only 1h and 40mins, there's never a dull moment, it gets straight to the point and there's plenty of moment's to keep you entertained.
I also really liked the time period for this film. First I just liked seeing the Predator with all this futuristic technology going against these 1700 Comanche tribe warriors but like I said before, setting it in the 1700s helps feel like it's going back to its roots.
Moving onto the characters, I really liked the lead character. She's someone who you can connect with, very likable and charismatic and she's the sort of character who uses her survivalist techniques to take on the Predator. It's an example of lead characters who don't need to be professional fighters, who don't need to be massively buffed up and just need to use their mind to take on the threat.
The Predator itself is utilised very well as well. It actually feels like a character in this film because we spend time with it, see it adapt to its new environment and you root for it at times when it's attacked by other wildlife threats. It also helps that it just has an intimidating presence that keeps its original design but also has a couple of updates which really work.
The action is pretty great in this film. The action is shot really well and brilliantly choreographed. Limbs are cut off, blood is splattered, spines are ripped out and it is glorious to watch. There's one sequence in particular with the Predator that had me in awe at how well it was staged.
And finally I just appreciate we have gotten a great mid budget action thriller film. Blockbusters nowadays are always like $100-$200 million projects that sometimes feels unnecessary to be that overblown and here, we just have a film that is less than $100 million, has great practical effects, filmed on location and I would love to see more of these films in the future. Not everything has to be overblown.
Moving onto the mixed aspects and this isn't really good or bad, these are things you should know going in. First it states that it's a prequel to the original Predator but I would say you can watch this film on your own terms though I do recommend watching the original Predator.
Second as much as I enjoyed Prey and how great I thought it was, I wish I got to see it in the cinema on the big screen. Releasing it to streaming just didn't feel right for this sort of film and I think it would have easily made back its budget if released in cinemas.
Lastly, there's a good use of practical effects and CGI throughout the film but some of the CGI is very noticeable and at times feels unnecessary. It's not bad CGI but for what you get, you could easily achieve what you want practically.
Now moving onto the negatives and I don't have many at all. First and this is an odd one but the use of dialogue felt very strange. First I don't think this film even needed dialogue and could have worked better as a non speaking film but most importantly it felt weird having this 18th century comanche tribe speaking English throughout the film especially when they start using modern dialogue.
And my final negative and without going too far into negatives, I would have liked a more darker and ambiguous ending. I think this film could have benefited very well from that.
But overall this was a very refreshing great film that I would love to see a follow up to and I like and can have fun with most of the other Predator films, this feels like a truly great follow up to the original Predator.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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