Prey 2022 reviews12/31/2023 ![]() When the Predator arrives and begins killing the creatures of the land, including humans, Naru is the only one to suspect it to be the work of something they haven't seen before, which sets her on the path to discover and destroy it. Naru's brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers), believes in his sister, even as he doubts her resolve to become a warrior. Naru is a Comanche who feels the call to being a hunter within her tribe, but is hindered by the traditional role she's meant to take. These details definitely remind you that you’re watching a Predator prequel.Starring Amber Midthunder as Naru, the Prey setting places the characters in 1719 North America, in a story that may well be the first-ever expedition of the Predator race on Earth. ![]() Its invisibility isn’t as pristine, it’s easily broken and exposed by spears and animal bites. If you’re a fan of the franchise then you can tell that what we’re looking at is an earlier, less-sophisticated hunter than the one we first saw in 1987. The Predator looks wonderful, probably the most original take on the design since Predators. To make things worse, the French voyagers Naru encounters speak French and the one among them that can speak Comanche, speaks English.Īpparently the film was shot in English and Comanche but as far as I know the English version is the only one that’s been released, along with a Comanche dub. Hence when the characters open their mouths and modern American English comes out, the verisimilitude of the film breaks a bit. Their costumes and props are really authentic, you feel like you’re watching a Comanche tribe in 1719. While our Comanche cast does use terminology from their native language, for the majority of the film they speak English, which is distracting. The presentation of these elements however, particularly in relation to the setting, is not perfect. Prey’s characters, plot and setting are great. It doesn’t follow the rigid formula that made the majority of the Predator sequels so mediocre. There’re times when you forget you’re watching a film that features a big-name franchise monster like the Predator, which is what in part makes Prey so great. Naru (Amber Midthunder) claws her away out of quicksand And as if our hero has enough to worry about, she also has to contend with French voyageurs. Naru has to free herself from quicksand, flee from a grizzly bear, all the while learning of the Predator’s ability to blend in with its natural environment. The tests and enemies she encounters include not only the Predator but the elements. Naru seeing a Predator ship glow in the sky is her call to adventure, her leaving her tribe to follow the Predator is her crossing of the threshold. Seeing the Hero’s Journey incorporated into Prey, a much smaller scale historical action film with some sprinkles of sci-fi and horror, is really refreshing. Whenever I bring up the Hero’s Journey, the story template conceived by Joseph Campbell, it’s typically in relation to a franchise epic, usually in the sci-fi, superhero or fantasy genre. When local wildlife are found dead and dismembered, Naru ventures out into the country, determined to prove herself as a warrior and to capture the mysterious predator she knows is approaching her home. A young Comanche warrior known as Naru (Amber Midthunder) sees a strange vessel in the clouds, not far from where her tribe resides. ![]() ![]() Prey takes place on the Great Plains of North America in 1719. I have some nit-picks, unsurprisingly, but I believe that Prey is the best instalment in the Predator franchise since Predator 2, which came out over 30 years ago! That’s not a small feat. It takes a tired, worn-out formula, places it in an entirely new context while at the same time adjusting the formula so it still feels new and original. As a prequel and a reboot, Prey is a wonderfully rare kind of beast. ![]()
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