![]() There’s even room to expand the thematic scope of the Predator universe a little, as the alien hunter’s sport is contrasted with the still-vital food chains of the American wilderness, and with the technologically powered, brutal exploitation of another kind of alien invader: the white man. There’s no exposition, because there’s really no plot to expose something is out there, killing, and it must be stopped. Its cleanly shot, sharply edited action scenes are matched by the clearly described beats of Naru’s quest to prove herself a hunter, and interpolated with contemplative traveling shots taking in a beautiful wilderness. Prey breathes with the space so many of its modern sci-fi and action peers lack. Add in the fact that Predator lore is hardly overdeveloped in the first place, and you have a film that is free to be itself, unencumbered by the need to reckon with, or fill out, any backstory. The stroke of genius of Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison is to make Prey a prequel, but one set at such a remove from the original Predator - 268 years before - that it effectively gives them a blank slate. Photo: 20th Century Studiosīy contrast, Prey is the image of its inspiration: a taut, 100-minute genre film that takes a simple concept and executes it sparingly, but with relentless purpose. It is often hard, when watching these bloated productions, to remember that most of these series began as straightforward, escapist romps. With all these pressures and considerations to accommodate, the fate of many franchise films, from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, has been convoluted storytelling, disorganized production, sober self-mythologizing, and overlong running times. It does not have to squeeze in crossover cameos at the behest of universe-building executives. It does not have to find a home for itself within lore that has built up over decades, like layers of silt. Unlike, say, Jurassic World Dominion, Prey does not have to bear the burdens that come with an enormous budget, a globe-trotting shoot, a sprawling cast that includes all the lead characters from two distinct sub-series, or a need to consistently raise the stakes from one set-piece to the next. The result is that Trachtenberg got to make a film that stands in stark and refreshing contrast to the majority of current franchise fare. ![]() But it must also have significantly lessened the pressure on the film, at a moment when Hollywood bosses are notably obsessed with wringing every last drop of potential from every franchise on their books. ![]() Ambivalence at new franchise owner Disney about how popular Predator really is may be one reason behind Prey’s streaming debut. Perhaps those low expectations were key - not just on the audience’s part, but on the studio’s, too. ![]() What went right this time? Photo: David Bukach/20th Century Studios Most Predator sequels have been content to wallow in their trashy niche, while the biggest swing, 2018’s The Predator, was also the biggest miss. This is surprising for a film series that, while remaining reliably entertaining, has struggled to recapture the popular imagination after the phenomenal Predator broke out in 1987. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics rank it the best film the Predator franchise, and audiences the second best. ![]() According to Disney, the film scored the biggest viewership of any film or TV premiere on Hulu. Prey really seems to have struck a chord. All over social media, film fans were expressing surprise at just how good the film was, and frustration that they hadn’t been able to see it on the big screen. The fight choreography was “impeccable.” The film’s themes might be “a visceral genre excavation of manifest destiny.” Jenkins signed off: if you “like visceral, awesome ass films you REALLY should watch PREY, certified hype.” The craft is on POINT,” tweeted Jenkins, who knows what he’s talking about. “This is a lean, mean, impressive bit of filmmaking. “I mean she beat him DOWN - girl is TUFF,” he enthused after one fight scene featuring the heroine, Comanche hunter Naru (Amber Midthunder). Reviews were positive, but this was still a mid-budget, pared-down franchise update that was going straight to streaming on Hulu while all the Hollywood traffic, inspired by a resurgent box office, was going the other way.Īnd yet, here was revered arthouse filmmaker Barry Jenkins, spending his Saturday night breathlessly live-tweeting his way through watching the new film, heaping praise on it and its director Dan Trachtenberg. Prior to its release a few days ago, few would have predicted that the new Predator movie, Prey, was likely to capture the zeitgeist, never mind the hearts of Film Twitter. ![]()
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