Movie Review: Prey (2022)

[Dave Gray]

Prey (2022)

Premise: An alien hunter visits the American Great Plains in 1719, where he encounters French trappers and Comanche warriors.

Rating: An excellent return to simple action/adventure/horror, with occassionally spotty CG effects.

There is so much to like about this movie.  I have followed this director, Dan Trachtenberg, since before he was a director.  He was on a review video podcast called The Totally Rad show and they talked about movies/TV, comics, and video games from a nerd perspective.  He was a good reviewer because he seemed to speak from the heart, rather than to go along with everyone else and he was very positive.  Even when he gave negative critiques, it was never snarky or with malice.

I feel that he has a lot of integrity.

This movie is probably the best Predator movie.  Most people will hold the first up over this, but that's mostly because of nostalgia.  This is probably the better actual film.  The movie looks great, the story is tight and short.  It does a great job of showing without telling.  The character speak through their action sequences.

The one gripe I have is that it involves wild animals a lot (racoons, bears, etc)...and they are clearly CG creatures. Because of what the creatures are asked to do, they kind of have to be.  But the CG isn't up to par in some of the shots.  Nothing is downright terrible, but contrasted with how good the rest of the cinematography and landscapes are, you notice it.

I love that the movie is relatively short.  It just tells its story and it's done.  It doesn't have a complicated, convoluted story where there's an entire act after what feels like the conclusion, like so many other franchise films.

This is a regular movie, but was released on Hulu.  ...not because of quality.  It has to do with the contract Disney has with FOX.  FOX made this movie and had a deal to release any theatrical films to HBO Max.  If Disney showed the movie in theaters, they'd have to put it on HBO Max, their biggest competitor.  So, instead, they put it directly to Hulu.

I definitely recommend watching it, whether you're an established fan of the Predator franchise or not.

[Sunstroke]

Can't believe I never saw this thread.  I saw this movie about a week ago, and absolutely loved it. Not sure if it is the best of the Predator franchise, but it is up there with the best...