Prey is understandably low key next to its Predator predecessors since it takes place three hundred years before Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked extraterrestrial ass. Still, it’s lacking a certain quality that makes the franchise so much fun. (AVP: Requiem notwithstanding.) The most noticeable missing ingredient is the camaraderie between a ragtag group that fights the monster. Here, we just get a Comanche woman named Naru (Amber Midthunder) trying to prove to her tribe she can be as good of a hunter as the men. While she gives a strong performance, the supporting characters lack substance and pale in comparison to the rogues’ gallery typically found in the series.
While the last entry, The Predator had definite peaks and valleys, it was at the very least a memorable (if a tad goofy) effort. This one is more or less “not bad” all the way through. On one hand, that’s a good thing when you’re watching it as you’re never really bored. However, I can’t say I’ll be thinking about this one all that much in the near future. I mean, no one will ever put Predators at the top of their Predator franchise ranking, but it at least had that badass samurai duel. Prey, on the other hand, is relatively enjoyable. It's just that it’s sorely lacking a big set piece like that one to put it over the top.
It doesn’t help that the Predator design is piss-poor. I’m not sure who came up with the idea to have his face look like an asshole, but it’s not intimidating or scary in the least. Another debit is some of the shoddy CGI, especially for the animals. There’s a scene where the Predator fights a bear that should’ve been a real crowd-pleaser, but it feels rushed and is hampered by crummy computer effects that make the bear look cheesy. Give me the Lou Ferrigno/bear fight from Hercules any day.
Still, as a stripped-down, three-chords, down-n’-dirty Predator flick, it almost, but not quite, gets the job done. A lot of the stuff you’ve come to expect from the franchise is here (minus the machine guns, obviously) and done competently enough. Midthunder carries the movie admirably and she clearly has what it takes to become a bona fide action star. Maybe next time they can build a better movie around her.
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