Every piece of the script works towards the same goal, and the culmination of it all is immensely satisfying. They both gave excellent performances as well, and their roles are the support that Naru needs to grow and soar above other heroes in the Predator franchise. It’d be unfair to end the review without underlining the importance of Dakota Beavers’ Taabe and Naru’s dog companion, Sarii ( beautifully played by Coco). She’s the perfect adversary for a highly aggressive Predator, and it’s a joy to witness the hunter-prey dynamics shift over the course of the story. Yes, the writing is great, and her struggle is relatable and told in a concise way, but Midthunder sells the entire part - Naru is as vulnerable as anyone on screen, but she finds great strength in being a quiet observer and effective planner. And that’s Prey’s biggest achievement: giving us a heroine who can proudly stand beside Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, or Furiosa. While the film takes its time setting up the story and themes, and getting us to care about Naru and Taabe, it doesn’t slow down once the Predator starts hunting down humans.Īmber Midthunder’s Naru may be the franchise’s most interesting main character (sorry, Arnold). Trachtenberg has mentioned the goal was to tell a story through action, much like what George Miller did with 2015’s excellent Mad Max: Fury Road, and it shows. That was the secret sauce of the first two Predator films the (solo) franchise never really asked for a massive expansion of the core premise, and both Predators (2010) and The Predator (2018) struggled with the balancing act of bringing new ingredients to the table while keeping things simple.Ĭlocking in at around 100 minutes (including credits), Prey is lean and mean.
That principle is tied to the idea of leaving fluff out of short stories, something screenwriter Patrick Aison took to heart while crafting the impressive script.Įvery blockbuster doesn’t need to be bloated with subplots, redundant characters, or convoluted mythology elements. Prey is filled with Chekhov’s guns - elements that appear to be unimportant at first but completely define how key scenes play out later. And of course, man is the most enticing prey. We simply see a Predator arriving on Earth and learning about the most dangerous animals he can hunt. The first 40 minutes largely play out like a straightforward survival, coming-of-age film.
When a Predator visits Earth for the first time, a vicious game of cat and mouse begins between the two and plays over the course of an impressive monster feature that harnesses the spark of the first two films and then does its own thing both narratively and formally.Įven though Prey’s script is one of the sharpest and tightest for an action-adventure film in a while, Naru shares a fair amount of screentime with other members of her tribe, including her brother Taabe, played by newcomer Dakota Beavers, and mother Aruka (Michelle Thrush). Set in the Great Plains of North America in 1719, the film follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche woman trying to prove herself as a worthy warrior and hunter. Related: Exclusive: The hunter becomes the hunted in Marvel Comics 'Predator #1' relaunch Unsurprisingly, the cat got out of the bag before shooting even began, but that didn’t make its premise any less interesting for fans. In fact, the original plan was to market the film (temporarily titled Skulls) as an original story up to a certain point close to its release - a strategy also followed by Prey director Dan Trachtenberg’s previous film, 10 Cloverfield Lane.
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