Prey - No Masterpiece, But Surprisingly Good

Review Summary

The Critical Drinker gives Prey a more favorable verdict than he expected. It is not a masterpiece or a match for the 1987 original, but he considers it a solid, entertaining entry in a struggling franchise.

Plot

Set in the 18th century, the film follows a young Comanche woman determined to become a hunter. After a mountain lion attack, she suspects a more dangerous creature is stalking the wilderness and discovers a Predator. Her attempts to warn her people go unheeded. Later, French trappers capture her, setting up a bloody showdown in which she must face the alien hunter herself.

What Works

The reviewer praises the film’s striking landscapes, gory action, stripped-down survival-story plot, and serious tone. He also likes how the finale pays off earlier details about hazards, weapons, and the Predator’s weaknesses.

He jokes that the quiet stretches are welcome because the dialogue can be “dumb as” anything, and that some of the early-18th-century characters sound like modern-day college students.

Criticisms

The reviewer’s biggest complaint is the thin characterization. He finds the supporting cast hard to care about and the heroine’s personality too narrowly defined by her ambition to hunt. Although the film shows her training, making mistakes, and learning, he argues that she rarely seems genuinely endangered, undergoes little personal change, and can feel overly capable in the climactic fights.

He also criticizes the French trappers as cartoonishly filthy villains and objects to conspicuous franchise callbacks. The famous “If it bleeds, we can kill it” line feels shoehorned in, while the Predator 2 pistol’s appearance raises an awkward question about what happens to the village after the credits.

Verdict

The Critical Drinker calls Prey a competent “midlister”: a welcome improvement over the previous film, with flashes of something special, but not the classic some fans claim it is. He recommends watching it with reasonable expectations.

Personalities Featured or Discussed

The Critical Drinker (reviewer), the young Comanche hunter, her brother, her mentor, the French trappers, and the Predator.