Prey

I will go against the flow. The Predator saga needed a return to the sources and uncomplicated simplicity, but this concept was completely at odds with my idea of effective filmmaking. Unlike the original, which is a textbook thriller where everything works perfectly, Prey doesn't work dramaturgically at all and mires the viewer in uninteresting dialogue, zero tension, absent character development and continuous action, but it becomes so routine in the first few minutes that it quickly gets boring. Moreover, the abundance of digital animals and CGI effects in places where they are not needed, makes it unbelievable. This was supposed to be the most natural Predator, instead it's the most artificial of them all. It’s not there. (08/10/2022)

Prey is a high-octane adventure with pleasant Indian poetics and the spectacular return of the second-best movie monster ever. The screenplay flows and contains nice details and surprises, and the action is beautifully fluid and kinetic. The woman-power element is natural and believable, while the attractive “savage versus savage in the wilderness” motif is put to excellent use. The actors and costumes are respectable, and the unknown Amber Midthunder puts in ten times more effort than the Oscar-winning Adrien Brody (in Nimród Antal’s otherwise solid Predators). There are a few minor things in the film that could be open to criticism; for example, the final fight could have been better thought out and less rushed, but these are just details in relation to the general level of viewer satisfaction. No film franchise is ever dead; it’s just waiting for the right guy to come along. Within this one, Dan Trachtenberg went the farthest in choosing his own path, put his heart into it and achieved the greatest success. This is a film by a talented filmmaker and movie fan, made for movie fans. (08/10/2022)

I’m thrilled! Thiis is exactly the kind of story Predator needed. As much as I love Black's last foray, the western concept is a hit, and there are plenty of beautiful parallels between the alien hunter's quest and the lives of the Comanche heroes. The film doesn't rush anywhere and I liked how mysterious and suspenseful it is even for the viewer who knows what's going on, who landed in those woods and what they're after. Everything makes sense (the Predator gradually raises the bar by what he hunts and how he hunts, the protagonist also gains abilities, and she's not alone, although the trailers made it seem so), it's fun, clever, original, imaginative, action-packed and mysterious... It easily keeps up with the original and the second one. And I want the second part, because it's definitely on the cards and the end credits hinted at it. PS: I would like to single out Sarah Schachner's music, which easily made do without the Silvestri theme. (08/06/2022)

Dan Trachtenberg gave me a similar pleasure as he did with 10 Cloverfield Lane. Predator: Prey is a confidently made adventure horror film that isn't afraid to go its own way, and at the same time, I dare say it will please fans of Predator more than anything that came after the second film. And like 10 Cloverfield Lane, the trailers are pretty deceptive and the film ends up having a slightly different feel and pace than you might expect. Still, I think I enjoyed the first half more, where there's no rush to get anywhere and the Comanche setting is unadorned and quite attractive. And while there's no Arnold, these tough guys from the American plains aren't wimps either. The main character is also very easy to root for. What I enjoyed most, however, was the way Trachtenberg treats the Predator itself in the first half. It gets an unexpected amount of space here, and for the first time we get to see it properly as a hunter, and a very fierce and cruel one at that. The new Predator won't rewrite the history of the genre or the brand, but it's a well made and above all cleverly conceived film. The former is what we hoped for, the latter is what I personally didn't expect, and I'm all the more pleased about it. It was a success. (08/05/2022)

A straightforward intimate period survival "from the mud to the puddle and back to the mud again" that would stand on its own, especially when it is functionally, and not just for show, set in the Predator universe. It's not without many "buts" (the atmosphere should have been thicker, it could have done with even more reliance on practical effects instead of digital, at times it feels like an adaptation of a rebooted Tomb Raider, and the English language didn't need to be so overused), but who cares when it works so well. (08/06/2022)