Prey – Movie Review
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Writer: Patrick Aison (Screenplay)
Writer: Patrick Aison, Dan Trachtenberg (Story)
Cast
- Amber Midthunder (The Ice Road)
- Dakota Beavers
- Dane DiLiegro
- Stormee Kipp
- Michelle Thrush (Pathfinder)
Plot: The origin story of the Predator in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Naru, a skilled female warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly evolved Predators to land on Earth.
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Prey starts as we meet Naur (Midthunder) a young warrior in a Comanche tribe. When one of the tribe goes missing, the men go in search of them, believing a predator could be lurking in the woods. Taabe (Beavers) talks to the men to allow Naru to join them, and she believes they are up against something more than a lion.
Naru returns to the woods alone, in search of the creature, leading to her meeting the real predator. One that has been hunting on Earth for different trophies and has now got a taste for hunting humans. This leaves Naru to fight for her people against the deadliest predator they have ever come up against.
Verdict on Prey
Characters
Naru is a female tracker in a Comanche Tribe, she wants to become a hunter, but tradition forbids it. She won’t back down because of her talent for tracking, constantly learning to improve. Being the first to suspect a new predator in the woods, something they have never faced before. She must use all her skills to battle against the predator.
Taabe is Naru’s brother, he is the best hunter in the tribe and will encourage his sister to find her place in the tribe. He is happy to let her learn but doesn’t want to force her until she is ready.
The Predator has arrived on Earth, it slowly starts running through the predators in the area. It studies them to see which are the biggest threat before hunting them down. It looks like it is still learning and not having as futuristic weapons as we have seen in other predators’ movies.
Performances
Amber Midthunder is wonderful in the leading role, giving a breakout-level performance within the action world. She is the star of the show, getting the most out of the intense physical performance. The supporting cast is strong with their limited time around with Dakota Beavers being the best of the rest.
Story
The story follows a young female warrior that believes her tribe is in danger from a new predator, unlike anything they have seen before. This sees her going further than anyone has before to fight to save her tribe.
When it comes to Predator movies, the story has always worked well as being simple. A Predator versus a different warrior/soldier, in a fight, to see who can outsmart the other. This does that too, which helps keep the story trimmed and easy to follow because we are just waiting for the showdown between the pair.
Themes
Prey is an action sci-fi movie that will bring the Predator story back to the 1700s for a different fight. This sees different time-appropriate weapons in play and most interestingly, the Predator learning about different natural predators. It shows us that the Predator we meet hasn’t been in the fight here before and does get challenged by different creatures along the way. The action is hard-hitting, even if a lot of the biggest gore moments are off camera.
Where to Watch: Prey is available on Disney Plus
Final Thoughts – Prey is a brutal return to form for the Predator franchise.