Following up and improving upon the spectacularly disappointing and anger inducing last installment of the Predator franchise was an easy task.
The true challenge is to actually make a good Predator movie.
'Prey' succeeds in all accounts. It is arguably the second best in the series. The original is among the greatest action movies ever made. Predator 2 was OK, but it had enough flaws to make it forgettable. One could argue it killed the franchise considering that it took 14 years for the next predator to make its next screen appearance on the 2004 spin-off 'AVP'. It's direct sequel, 'AVPR', missed the mark completely. 'Predators' was a step in the right direction but, again, not entirely satisfying. 'The Predator' was pure excrement.
'Prey' shines where all other aforementioned sequels in the series have fallen short and, more often than not, failed spectacularly. Finally we have the formidable Predator, with all its cool weapons and gadgets, be confronted by a human characters we van actually care about. The slow burn first act balances well with the explosive action sequences that occur later in the film.
More of this, I say. The moribund Predator franchise has been resuscitated and back on the hunt.
The true challenge is to actually make a good Predator movie.
'Prey' succeeds in all accounts. It is arguably the second best in the series. The original is among the greatest action movies ever made. Predator 2 was OK, but it had enough flaws to make it forgettable. One could argue it killed the franchise considering that it took 14 years for the next predator to make its next screen appearance on the 2004 spin-off 'AVP'. It's direct sequel, 'AVPR', missed the mark completely. 'Predators' was a step in the right direction but, again, not entirely satisfying. 'The Predator' was pure excrement.
'Prey' shines where all other aforementioned sequels in the series have fallen short and, more often than not, failed spectacularly. Finally we have the formidable Predator, with all its cool weapons and gadgets, be confronted by a human characters we van actually care about. The slow burn first act balances well with the explosive action sequences that occur later in the film.
More of this, I say. The moribund Predator franchise has been resuscitated and back on the hunt.