The Mosley Review: Prey
In the sci fi action and horror genres, there are 3 characters that have crossed into both realms and are the most iconic creations in cinema history. The Alien, the Terminator and the Predator are all 3 defining pillars of the genres and over the years they've all fallen from the thrown of excellence they all once sat upon. They've all had great sequels that have stopped being great after their second entries and have forgotten their roots. The number 1 reason why those 3 worked is not because of the action or technology, but the well crafted and tense story of humans facing an unpredictable and intelligent creature that took away almost every chance of surviving. Taking the franchises back to basics is what has been needed for the longest and finally this film has done it correctly. Predators was a good step in the right direction in expanding the lore, but felt more like a soft refresh and retread of the original. Now comes this film and I have to say that I was genuinely surprised how much I loved this return to form. It features some absolutely brutal action sequences, but they're in service of the story and the characters. It was a welcomed smaller scaled film that featured so many great parallels that are drawn across the lead character the Predator itself and it was handled so gracefully.
Amber Midthunder was fantastic as Naru and she earned her place in the franchise. I really liked that her determination to become more useful in the tribe and that she was one of the best trackers. She held her own in some impressive fight scenes and I'm so glad her character wasn't overly preaching about feminine strength over the masculinity of men. I do wish she took alot more damage during the final battle of the film to increase the drama of her possibly not surviving. Dakota Beavers was great as her brother Taabe and I really liked the chemistry between them. There were times where he sort of undercooked the amount of tension in a number of scenes. He was brave and quick witted in a great brother and sister rivalry scene that was the last bit of levity in the film. I really liked Michelle Thrush as Naru and Taabe 's mother, Aruka. She brought the emotional connection to the characters to life. The wisdom she imparts on Naru was great and you get the sense that she secretly wants Naru to succeed more than Taabe. Dane DiLiegro was badass as the Predator. He brought back the classic physicality and intimidation level to the new species of the character that has been missing. I loved that he embodied the characters' hunter spirit and strength and I liked a very small bit of comedic brutality he delivered in one particular moment.
The score by Sarah Schachner was excellent and tense. I loved the subtle builds of emotion in the quieter scenes and the last 30 minutes of the film where the score is the most inventive and fun. Visually the film was stunning to look at and I loved not only the scenes where the Predator was present, but the locations where he and Naru would find themselves in. The action is probably the best I've seen in a long time in a Predator film. Its brutal, cunning, inventive and shot perfectly. The main problems I had were the sometimes bland dialogue that felt too modern. I really wish that the tension was ramped up higher during the climatic fight in the end of the film. Not to compare to the past films, but she really doesn’t take any damage from the Predator at all vs the others that nearly died. I watched the Comanche dubbed version of the film and it elevated it so much more than the English version. For a franchise that possible blew itself up in the previous installment, its about time someone actually did their homework and saved it from the pile of crap it was buried under. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
