Another film in the Predator series is emerging from the mist, with guns blazing. Prey, which releases this week, seeks to re-imagine the series on the heels of the disappointing 2018 reboot. And so far, the reviews for the latest film have been surprisingly positive.
The Predator series does not often evoke confidence in viewers. While the original 1987 film is seen as a classic, all of its five sequels have debuted to responses that were lukewarm at best. But it appears that the newest entry, Prey, might change that. Although the film is not yet out, as of today it has a 94% rating on RottenTomatoes, which aggregated this score from the 83 major film reviews published so far.
Prey, based on the trailer, takes the tired premise of the Predator franchise and molds it into something that feels surprisingly new. The Predator now finds itself hunting in the Comanche Nation of 1719, and its prey, Naru (Amber Midthunder) must fight the monster off without guns or modern technology of any kind. The cast is comprised of Native American actors, an extreme rarity in the entire history of Hollywood, and it is directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane).
In stark contrast to its predecessor, which received a rating of 33% on RottenTomatoes, the reviewers sampled on the fruit-based aggregator give Prey around 4 out of 5 stars on average. Consistently, critics praise the performance of Midthunder, the casting of Native American actors, and the originality of the premise. Linda Marric from the prominent London newspaper The Jewish Chronicle, for example, gives the film a 4/5 and writes that it is “one of the strongest, most original and most welcome prequels of any franchise out there.”
James Dyer at Empire magazine also gave Prey a 4/5 and praised Midthunder as well as screenwriter Patrick Aison’s “economical” script. He writes that the film “strips out the absurdity” of the 1980’s action premise “and neatly realigns the original with more modern sensibilities.” He goes on to say that it “neatly [sidesteps]” the troubled history of the series’ sequels to create something new “by turning back the clock 300 years to America’s colonial past.”
Kate Erbland from IndieWire writes: “Turns out, even the most wrung-out IP. . . can still tap into truly smart new ideas.” She also praises the film’s gorgeous cinematography and its action, writing “once Prey kicks into high gear, it does not let up,” giving it a B overall.
Not all reviews are uniformly positive, of course. Owen Gleiberman at Variety is a bit more critical, writing that the film is good, but not anything groundbreaking. He describes it as “competent and well-paced, though with little in the way of surprise,” concluding that it is overall “a slight improvement in a derivative franchise.” The critical consensus is that Prey might not be a masterpiece—and it certainly won’t win any Oscars—but that it is a very solid, well made, and entertaining action movie. And that’s something the Predator series hasn’t had in decades.
Prey begins streaming on Hulu on August 5.
Source: RottenTomatoes