Movies: Prey (Predator prequel)

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Well 4/10 from me and comments in the main movie thread.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

No complaints from me. I watched it thinking I'd be entertained and I certainly was. Great action and cinematography. Would not mind more Predator movies set in specific time periods tbh, was pretty awesome to see.

Spoiler

especially happy the dog didnt die i was waiting for that to come but he turned out to be the MVP

Take your pick of time periods. The Yautja have used Earth as a training and hunting ground long before humanity became civilized. Based on their level of technology, I would wager they started coming to Earth hundreds of thousands of years ago.

 

[fin8]

It was ok. 7/10

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Pretty average, 5/10. The EXTREMELY slow start hurt it.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

Pretty good overall. But a really good addition to the franchise. Easily the best since Predator 2 (My favorite. Prove me wrong). Movie had incredible pacing, to which is something that is a bit of a lost art these days in action movies.

Every single one of the cast members nailed their performances. I hope that Hollywood takes notice of their talent and begins throwing them roles.

The Yautja design was really good, same for it's development as the big bad. It was a neat trick Trachtenberg did by having both Naru and the Yautja's individual battles scale in difficulty. Watching the Yautja fight the bear was something I've always wanted to see, and it was nice to see it get absolutely dunked by the grizzly.

And some of the critism that's being thrown at the movie simply because the MC is a female. Give me a break, and give your heads a shake.

Spoiler

"A 140lbs woman can't overpower or outrun a 700lbs Yautja!!!!!!!!!! REEEEEEEE"

Not once in the entire movie does any human, including Naru, overpower, outrun the Yautja. She ends up defeating it through being clever and learning certain aspects about it that no one else does.

8.5/10

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Pretty good overall. But a really good addition to the franchise. Easily the best since Predator 2 (My favorite. Prove me wrong). Movie had incredible pacing, to which is something that is a bit of a lost art these days in action movies.

Every single one of the cast members nailed their performances. I hope that Hollywood takes notice of their talent and begins throwing them roles.

The Yautja design was really good, same for it's development as the big bad. It was a neat trick Trachtenberg did by having both Naru and the Yautja's individual battles scale in difficulty. Watching the Yautja fight the bear was something I've always wanted to see, and it was nice to see it get absolutely dunked by the grizzly.

And some of the critism that's being thrown at the movie simply because the MC is a female. Give me a break, and give your heads a shake.

Spoiler

"A 140lbs woman can't overpower or outrun a 700lbs Yautja!!!!!!!!!! REEEEEEEE"

Not once in the entire movie does any human, including Naru, overpower, outrun the Yautja. She ends up defeating it through being clever and learning certain aspects about it that no one else does.

8.5/10

There was basically just one character in it lol. Two if you count the dog.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

I really enjoyed it

 

[Talik Sanis]

Not absolutely terrible, but yet another testimony to the simple fact that this franchise should have never become such, starting and ending with the first film. Every addition is, in fact, a subtraction that undercuts the original work, the only exceptions being the first two Alien vs Predator video games (not the films, oh no).

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...yes, it was extremely slow in the start, but an entertaining movie and a much better than that 2018 movie or the AvP movies were...

 

[eXile3]

Loved it. I had to get over native Americans speaking English w/o even so much of an accent but other than that great movie. Not sure why people are saying it had a slow start. I guess if it’s not a marvel movie action scene to start the movie it’s “slow”?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Loved it. I had to get over native Americans speaking English w/o even so much of an accent but other than that great movie. Not sure why people are saying it had a slow start. I guess if it’s not a marvel movie action scene to start the movie it’s “slow”?

No, we are saying it was slow because..it was slow lmao. Not sure why that would be difficult to understand.

 

[Petey But Really Jim]

GET TO DA CHOPPA

I'm there in a f***ing minute and I'm getting blasted beforehand.

You may enjoy it more if you retain all of your faculties.

 

[Osprey]

And some of the critism that's being thrown at the movie simply because the MC is a female. Give me a break, and give your heads a shake.

Spoiler

"A 140lbs woman can't overpower or outrun a 700lbs Yautja!!!!!!!!!! REEEEEEEE"

Not once in the entire movie does any human, including Naru, overpower, outrun the Yautja. She ends up defeating it through being clever and learning certain aspects about it that no one else does.

The Predator and Alien franchises practically share a fan base and no one complains about Ripley being a female, so I don't think that the conclusion that you're jumping to is at all accurate. It seems pretty clear that the criticism that you're pointing to is that the main character is grossly undersized, which she is compared to a fighter that's 2ft taller and can lift 10x her weight. Being clever and agile can certainly compensate, but finding it hard to believe that it would to the degree shown doesn't amount to criticism that she's female.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Every single one of the cast members nailed their performances.

Ouch. Just be glad you don't speak French.

No, we are saying it was slow because..it was slow lmao. Not sure why that would be difficult to understand.

Well, actually, you read it as slow because your horizon of expectations is limited to the small scope of films you've seen and you are not used to slower paced movies. If you think that's difficult to understand, I suggest Hans Robert Jauss.

 

[MadDevil]

Loved it. I had to get over native Americans speaking English w/o even so much of an accent but other than that great movie. Not sure why people are saying it had a slow start. I guess if it’s not a marvel movie action scene to start the movie it’s “slow”?

There is a version of the film dubbed in Comanche you might be interested in.

I liked it. It's the closest any Predator movie has gotten to the same feel as the original. Although I have to admit Predators is a guilty pleasure movie of mine. Adrien Brody is entirely out of place in his role, but there's enough dumb turn your brain off action stuff in it for me to enjoy it.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Ouch. Just be glad you don't speak French.


Well, actually, you read it as slow because your horizon of expectations is limited to the small scope of films you've seen and you are not used to slower paced movies. If you think that's difficult to understand, I suggest Hans Robert Jauss.

Oh ok...so you are saying it was in fact...slow. Thank you.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Oh ok...so you are saying it was in fact...slow. Thank you.

Not at all what I was saying, so I guess it was indeed hard to understand.

You think this is slow because you haven't seen slower paced movies - because your knowledge of cinema is limited. Don't act like you're winning arguments when you have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

I didn’t mind the slow start. It was the limp across the finish that made this a disappointment for me.

 

[The Macho King]

Loved it. I had to get over native Americans speaking English w/o even so much of an accent but other than that great movie. Not sure why people are saying it had a slow start. I guess if it’s not a marvel movie action scene to start the movie it’s “slow”?

Yeah I don't get the slow criticism. It's a 90 minute film that eases you into the tension. It would be like calling Alien slow.

Might be my main observation. It almost feels like it borrows more from Alien than Predator in its structure. More of a horror than action movie, I guess?

I really liked it. Very solid 7/10 for me.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Not at all what I was saying, so I guess it was indeed hard to understand.

You think this is slow because you haven't seen slower paced movies - because your knowledge of cinema is limited. Don't act like you're winning arguments when you have no idea what you're talking about.

So you admit it was a slower paced movie. Thank you, not sure what you’re even trying to argue when you are agreeing with people who said it has a slow start

 

[The Macho King]

Well, in a sense the structure was trying to emulate the original Predator movie, which goes from an action movie to a sci-fi/creature one in a few seconds break (which is, even I will admit, very interestingly done). This one goes from a coming-of-age tale to a sci-fi/creature movie, but it just doesn't work like the original did, because they felt the need to insert the creature doing whatever stuff beforehand - maybe because some of the audience wouldn't have been able to follow through without it. I think it weakens the movie a lot, but it is what it is.

I think not seeing the creature would have helped a lot, but this is where the movie is somewhat constrained by the franchise.

There were a lot of nods to the original, and they were done in a way that wasn't quippy a la an MCU reference.

You mentioned the quality of the French. I thought I read that was deliberate.

Anyway some of the "girl beats giant" critiques border on stupid to me. She doesn't rely on physical prowess to defeat him. She gets one sneak attack in and other than that it was leading him into traps and hanging on for dear life. Anytime it came to close combat she was getting rocked.

 

[eXile3]

People really take differences in opinion personally. It’s a movie.

 

[The Macho King]

People really take differences in opinion personally. It’s a movie.

It's pacing is probably its biggest strength in an era where every sequel or franchise film seems to be upping the stakes to absurd levels (be it destruction of a city, country, world, universe, or indeed multiverse).* This story was about one person surviving. It establishes how she uses her skills and knowledge and abilities to defeat a more fearsome foe. For every "slow moment", it is something that is later paid off. Without getting into spoilers I can't think of a single frame of this movie that doesn't directly serve the overall story - from her knowledge of herbs to her knowledge of her landscape to how she solves problems (in a way that is at odds with how most of her tribe views them). And that f***ing rocks.

*side note: Maybe my favorite thing about EEAAO is how it turns this expectation on its head by appearing at first to be about something with insanely high stakes but was actually about the relationship of a mother and daughter

 

[tacogeoff]

Great movie. Did not find the beginning slow at all, if anything i found it interesting. Predator 2 was the last of the series i had watched. I tried to get into the AvsP series but it wasn't for me.

The only thing that annoyed me was when Naru told her brother that she wasn't attacked by the Yautja bc she was stuck in a trap and not a threat.......but the Yautja proceeds to kill the injured french guy with one leg on the ground that was playing dead lol.

besides that little nit pick it was a very fun popcorn movie to watch. 8/10 easily. Went in expecting not much but was pleasantly surprised.

 

[The Macho King]

Great movie. Did not find the beginning slow at all, if anything i found it interesting. Predator 2 was the last of the series i had watched. I tried to get into the AvsP series but it wasn't for me.

The only thing that annoyed me was when Naru told her brother that she wasn't attacked by the Yautja bc she was stuck in a trap and not a threat.......but the Yautja proceeds to kill the injured french guy with one leg on the ground that was playing dead lol.

besides that little nit pick it was a very fun popcorn movie to watch. 8/10 easily. Went in expecting not much but was pleasantly surprised.

How was it established in Predator? It was basically "are they holding a weapon" right?

I'm wondering if a) the Predator was startled, or b) the act of having convincing camo from his sensors is enough of a factor to make him a threat?

But yeah - the scene is used to show us the efficacy of the herb on his heat vision, but I think it leaves if not a plot hole at least an unexplained narrative thread.