That's pretty cool actually. You could watch the movie in period language and just read the subtitles. That was one of the cooler parts of Apocalypto for me.
Yeah, you can confidently not watch The Predator ever.
It’s rare I poop on anything as I do tend to be pretty easily pleased. But I really wish I hadn’t bothered watching it. Possibly more than I wish I hadn’t bothered watching Justice Leage - either cut.
Predators is mostly a par for the course Predator film. Thats the game preserve one. The new predators are neat and super mean. The Hell Hounds were pretty great.
The Predator is just.... baffling in execution and story.
Ok yeah, Predators I thought was alright and generally good fun. As a generic action film The Predator was decent, but the story bits they try to add into the franchise were just stupid.
I rather enjoyed Predators. Double points awarded for at least trying something new (being off-world game reserve) and Danny Trejo.
You ALWAYS get points for Danny Trejo. Always, it’s the law.
I'm happy if Predators has its fans. Not every film in a series is going to reach everyone and it just happened to be that one film in the series I couldn't get on with. If the planet and its fauna and flora had been more interesting, and the characters likewise, I'd probably watch it beyond the obligatory Predator marathon.
Lance845 wrote: Predators is mostly a par for the course Predator film. Thats the game preserve one. The new predators are neat and super mean. The Hell Hounds were pretty great.
The Predator is just.... baffling in execution and story.
The funniest part of The Predator is figuring out which scenes/plot points were from which version of the script and how many rewrites there were, because that much suck can only be produced by multiple-rewrites and post-production edits struggling to decide which of the scripts was the final version.
warhead01 wrote: Not feeling very excited about Prey after seeing the recent trailer. I hope Predator takes them all, no survivors.
Any reason why?
That's a fill-in-the-blank we don't need expanded on. I'm just surprised it took so many posts before someone went there.
You're not too wrong it defiantly could be.
What I do like it the setting. Over the years I tend to root for the monsters or killers in shows or movies over the cast of victims and heroes. Which has been easier in more recent years where the cast of non baddies have all been , in some movies or shows, personalities that I find abrasive or just dislike. I think the setting would be legitimately reasonable for a Predator movie.
I'll keep what I don't care for to myself because we all have our opinions on such topics, which is completely fair.
It is not. You simply haven't seen enough truly bad movies apparently. Wich I guess is a good thing??
Depends if they made it onto Mystery Science Theatre 3000...
Certainly some have. Rollergator comes to mind....
If you haven't taken enough psychic damage after that one? Find a copy of Robo-Vampire. Then seek out the (un-licensed) Turkish Spiderman movie Three Dev Adem.
Do NOT blame me for any brain damage that may occur from watching this crap though. I've warned you, these are bad. Much worse than any entry in the Predator series.
Is this thread trying to imply that autism isn't the next stage of human evolution and that aliens aren't gong to try and kidnap autistic children to increase their own evolutionary prowess?
Ahtman wrote: Is this thread trying to imply that autism isn't the next stage of human evolution and that aliens aren't gong to try and kidnap autistic children to increase their own evolutionary prowess?
This was the single most bizarre plot twist I've ever seen in a film and I've seen that M. Night Shamalama film where aliens lethally allergic to water invade a planet that is 76% water.
Flinty wrote: Then there is Zombie Lake. It is poor.
I’ll see your Zombie Lake and raised you Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things.
Children shouldn’t play with dead things gets a rating over 5 on IMDB and is described as a cult classic. Zombie Lake is a terrible Spanish-French 1981 crap horror film that manages to get 14 on rotten tomatoes amd is described as
“Zombie Lake holds a distinctive position in the annals of execrable movie trash ... Is this enough to transform Zombie Lake from merely bad to so-bad-it's-good? No, but it is so bad that it must be seen to be believed.“
Unfortunately that then entices the unknowing to watch it to see if it is in fact that bad. It is worse. If you do defined to try it, have the fast forward control close to hand.
lord_blackfang wrote: Well. I was going to say the premise of a Predator fighting a basically unarmed native girl is a bit of a stretch.
Then I saw the cancer pit of youtube comments fuelled by stealth misogyny channels ala The Critical Drinker, so now I have to defend it.
I was going to mention the same problem. It'll be interesting to see if they justify how this hunt is in any way honourable for the Predator in question.
But then I also saw similar comments that weren't even stealthy in their racism and misogyny so yeah, feth those guys, and I hope this is as awesome as the trailer made it look.
Lance845 wrote: Predators is mostly a par for the course Predator film. Thats the game preserve one. The new predators are neat and super mean.
What made the original (and hopefully new) predator more threatening was that it could be hurt and knew it could be hurt, making it a battle of wits on a very uneven playing field - it would plan and adapt and abuse every advantage it had.
The super predators just kind of stumbled through life until they ran out of hitpoints, never showing any indication that they could outwit a used tea bag[/reddwarf].
With luck prey won't go the same way, with the predator buzz-sawing its way through everyone without a scratch for the whole film before eating a contrived (or magic tribal 'sense the wind' nonsense) arrow to the eye in the final act.
I may be getting this wrong but wasn't it the case that the Predator as a species evolves through hunting prey, which is why they hunt the best fighters etc?
So, if Prey is set a couple of hundred or so years in the past could the Predator in this movie be different to ones we have seen set in modern times?
I guess it depends on how fast their evolution is, but might make the fight a bit fairer if this Predator is generationally weaker than the ones we have seen so far?
The Predators care only for the thrill of the hunt, so if you are fighting a low tech alien they similarly lower their technology to make the fight more interesting for them.
Although importantly, they don't lower the tech enough to be on the level, simply to give the prey the suggestion of a fighting chance.
StraightSilver wrote: I may be getting this wrong but wasn't it the case that the Predator as a species evolves through hunting prey, which is why they hunt the best fighters etc?
So, if Prey is set a couple of hundred or so years in the past could the Predator in this movie be different to ones we have seen set in modern times?
I guess it depends on how fast their evolution is, but might make the fight a bit fairer if this Predator is generationally weaker than the ones we have seen so far?
That evolution bs is from The Predator and there is no way anyone considers that movie canon.
Traditionally Pred society is a meritocracy based on trophy collection and personal challenge. You are either a bad ass or you're dead. They hunt for prowess and social standing.
I was always under the impression that the male predators were going out hunting to impress the naturally bigger, nastier females? Was that from the comics, maybe?
The Predators care only for the thrill of the hunt, so if you are fighting a low tech alien they similarly lower their technology to make the fight more interesting for them.
Although importantly, they don't lower the tech enough to be on the level, simply to give the prey the suggestion of a fighting chance.
Lance845 wrote: Predators is mostly a par for the course Predator film. Thats the game preserve one. The new predators are neat and super mean.
What made the original (and hopefully new) predator more threatening was that it could be hurt and knew it could be hurt, making it a battle of wits on a very uneven playing field - it would plan and adapt and abuse every advantage it had.
The super predators just kind of stumbled through life until they ran out of hitpoints, never showing any indication that they could outwit a used tea bag[/reddwarf].
With luck prey won't go the same way, with the predator buzz-sawing its way through everyone without a scratch for the whole film before eating a contrived (or magic tribal 'sense the wind' nonsense) arrow to the eye in the final act.
I am also hoping for a sensible battle of wits. If they are making a Comanche language version of the film, I hope that means there will be enough pushback to magical “sense of the wind” nonsense to keep it out of the film.
It would amuse me if she won by figuring out what the Predator likes to eat and then poisoning him.
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StraightSilver wrote: I may be getting this wrong but wasn't it the case that the Predator as a species evolves through hunting prey, which is why they hunt the best fighters etc?
So, if Prey is set a couple of hundred or so years in the past could the Predator in this movie be different to ones we have seen set in modern times?
I guess it depends on how fast their evolution is, but might make the fight a bit fairer if this Predator is generationally weaker than the ones we have seen so far?
Where does this idea come from? That is some serious Planet of Hats nonsense.
I prefer the idea that the Predators we see are just a bunch of Don Jr hunting bros who like to gear up all tacticool and go slaughtering unsuspecting sapients because it makes them feel less inadequate all butch.
The Predators care only for the thrill of the hunt, so if you are fighting a low tech alien they similarly lower their technology to make the fight more interesting for them.
Although importantly, they don't lower the tech enough to be on the level, simply to give the prey the suggestion of a fighting chance.
We see it use the shoulder cannon, right?
Yeah but the sound effect after that sounds more like a metallic bolt thrower noise.
Lance845 wrote: Predators is mostly a par for the course Predator film. Thats the game preserve one. The new predators are neat and super mean.
What made the original (and hopefully new) predator more threatening was that it could be hurt and knew it could be hurt, making it a battle of wits on a very uneven playing field - it would plan and adapt and abuse every advantage it had.
The super predators just kind of stumbled through life until they ran out of hitpoints, never showing any indication that they could outwit a used tea bag[/reddwarf].
With luck prey won't go the same way, with the predator buzz-sawing its way through everyone without a scratch for the whole film before eating a contrived (or magic tribal 'sense the wind' nonsense) arrow to the eye in the final act.
Thats... not really true.
The Pred in the original movie isn't putting himself in any real danger for the most part. He can turn all but invisible, has an, as far as we know, infinite ammo instant kill weapon and the ability to track us in any light or conditions by our body temperature.
The pred in the first movie (Jungle Hunter) is an older Pred who is purposfully not bringing all of his toys to make a bigger challenge for himself for more prestige. But it's not about a battle of wits for it. But that is how Dutch wins. Wits.
Pred 2 is a younger pred who is going for quantity over quality. The basic rules apply, (like don't use a gun if they don't have a gun) but he brings a bunch of toys and doesn't give a gak. Harrigan doesn't outwit this Pred. (the government tries to and fails).He wins through grit and determination.
The super Preds are not on this planet to hunt prey for prestige. They are killing everything being dropped off by regular preds for fun. This is literally a game to them. It's a mockery of the regular Preds that they capture and tie up to humiliate it. Royce DOES outwit these Predators by turning the hunt on them and using fire to blind it. But again, these Preds are not here for that. And I think it's interesting to see Preds with different motives. If it was just the original movie over and over it would get stale and formulaic fast.
AvP-R we see the Wolf. A Pred who isn't here to hunt or for fun. He is a cleaner on a mission. It's a VERY different motive that results in some absolutely brutal handling of situations. The humans are just in it's way.
Prey looks like the first time since the original movie that we are back to 1. A seasoned Pred on a hunt for trophies worth having. The shield thing looks fun and I am pumped to see what other variations and tricks it brings to whatever we find out it's doing there.
No Pred in any of these movies was ever trying to outwit anyone. You don't go big game hunting to outwit your prey. You go big game hunting to put a trophy on your wall. Their underestimating us is what allowed us to outwit them.
Note: AvP and The Predator are not mentioned because those movies and their Predators are not worth mentioning. They don't fit in with anything.
Let's be real and say that barely anything about Predator society is set in stone. The EU materials are all over the place. The films tell us barely anything and are also all over the place. There hasn't been much, or any honestly, consistency since the franchise arguably peaked in the mid-90s with the Dark Horse comics run. I think people are probably more familiar with the Predators as depicted in the AvP franchise than anywhere else and those too are wildly inconsistent.
I think that trying to pick and choose which details are 'canon' and which aren't is probably the most pointless argument there is where this franchise is concerned.
I do find people having internet arguments over Predator honor odd though. They definitely have a code of some kind, but it ain't consistent and it's pretty much however they want it to go.
The idea that sports hunters with plasma cannons and cloaking devices are actually out to have a 'fair' fight is pretty laughable. Almost as laughable as millionaires who go to Africa, gun down a lion some local guide led them to by the nose, and now want to mount on their wall like it was some great feat of skill. In the words of someone way cooler than me, any drunk hillbilly could do that with a shotgun at the zoo. Predator's honor is more of a character tic that helps keep things interesting, not some hard and fast rule of morality.
About the only truly consistent thing about Predator lore is that if you’re unarmed, or as per Predator 2 when it spares Vasquez? They won’t deliberately harm you.
No weapons? No fun to hunt.(Predator)
Going fully hand to hand? It’ll do the same. (Predator and Predators)
Kill one fair and square, one on one? It’s mates won’t murder you to death or sucker punch you. (Predator 2).
Hell, even the title Predator doesn’t really describe the beasty properly. A Predator has no sense of honour or a fair fight. I’d even argue that by human standards it’s not even a Big Game Hunter (oh, you took down a Heffalump from half a mile away whilst it was just sort of scratching its arse? How indescribably manly and hard you are
If I had to crappy pigeonhole it? It’s an Honourable Warrior.
In fact so far as I can recall, about the only example of one, in the movies, not being particularly fair is it’s first Named Character Kill in Predator?
Hawkins isn’t looking for it specifically. But…..he was, from a certain angle of view, pointing his weapon (which the Predator knows is deadly, having clearly observed them kicking names at the rebel camp thing much earlier), so I suppose the argument could be made it was preventing harm to a tied and bound, unarmed person?
Oooooohhhhh….that might’ve been the very pea rattling around in my head when I first saw the trailer for Prey.
Predators are more than happy to ambush and kill someone who wasn't prepared for them. They seem to treat the 'can the prey fight back' standard in purely hypothetical terms. Attacks from cover that someone isn't expecting seem to be completely fair game. They do it repeatedly. The idea they look for a standup fight is some nonsense I don't know where it comes from.
Yeah. That's what I mean by 'hypothetical terms.' If they got into a scrape, could the prey resist? If yes = good hunt. Whether or not the fight is fair, on anything close to even terms, or honorable in some knightly sense is irrelevant to them. They'll stab you in the back just fine so long as the hypothetical can be answered in the affirmative.
The idea that sports hunters with plasma cannons and cloaking devices are actually out to have a 'fair' fight is pretty laughable. Almost as laughable as millionaires who go to Africa, gun down a lion some local guide led them to by the nose, and now want to mount on their wall like it was some great feat of skill. In the words of someone way cooler than me, any drunk hillbilly could do that with a shotgun at the zoo. Predator's honor is more of a character tic that helps keep things interesting, not some hard and fast rule of morality.
I always figured the critique of big game hunting was part of the point of the original. 'How would it feel if you were the prey?'
It didn't seem all that subtle.
The idea that sports hunters with plasma cannons and cloaking devices are actually out to have a 'fair' fight is pretty laughable. Almost as laughable as millionaires who go to Africa, gun down a lion some local guide led them to by the nose, and now want to mount on their wall like it was some great feat of skill. In the words of someone way cooler than me, any drunk hillbilly could do that with a shotgun at the zoo. Predator's honor is more of a character tic that helps keep things interesting, not some hard and fast rule of morality.
I always figured the critique of big game hunting was part of the point of the original. 'How would it feel if you were the prey?'
It didn't seem all that subtle.
I've definitely seen that take.
My preferred take though has always been 'Commando from the POV of the cannon fodder.' Predator is like an action hero, but if you put the audience in the shoes of the hapless soldiers the action hero kills left and right, then the action hero is more of a monster than a hero.
Alternately: Predator is what you get when you make a Halo game but the players are a team of Grunts trying to survive Master Chief.
but wary, ever wary of what a 'new' predator show or movie will actually be like
I cannot wait to see the newest Ultimate GIGA Predator.
Sometimes things just need to die off and be left as they were. Predator and Aliens are prime examples of this.
Have you watched the trailer? Because I’m not getting even a hint of your concerns from it?
Don’t get me wrong. What you said absolutely was the problem with The Predator (and this time, it’s as big as four cats, has a magnetic tail, a retractable leg so it can leap up at you better, is luminous in the dark has a pair of backup ears some of which are inside it’s head, claws the size of cups, a terrible fear of stamps, and instead of a mouth, it has four arses). But the trailer for Prey really isn’t showing a hint of that.
Honestly, if this were another franchise we'd all probably see that trailer and be really pumped. It's a pretty good trailer with all the hints of, if nothing else, a good popcorn flick with a seemingly capable cast possibly inspired by one of the better Dark Horse comics (there is a comic that has a similar plot to this and it was pretty good).
The only reason we're cautious is because The Predator happened and holy feth was The Predator awful.
I always figured the critique of big game hunting was part of the point of the original. 'How would it feel if you were the prey?'
It didn't seem all that subtle.
Hollywood usually chucks out a new spin on The Most Dangerous Game once in a while. Its even found in cartoon shows such as Thundercats and Galaxy Rangers.
My personal favourite is the 1932 RKO classic with Leslie Banks, which was a sister production with King Kong.
LordofHats wrote: Predators are more than happy to ambush and kill someone who wasn't prepared for them. They seem to treat the 'can the prey fight back' standard in purely hypothetical terms. Attacks from cover that someone isn't expecting seem to be completely fair game. They do it repeatedly. The idea they look for a standup fight is some nonsense I don't know where it comes from.
It does kinda depend on the scenario. If someone (that they deem worthy) makes a blatant 1v1 challenge as if it was a 6-7th edition 40k game they tend to drop the camouflage.
Moreover the kind of weapons they bring are kinda limited to the prey. Prey's predator actually doesn't seem to have a plasmacaster but instead has a spear gun, and IIRC the one in the second movie also didn't had a plasmacaster.
They also throw themselves into actively dangerous zones like warzones or gang infested cities, so while they are not necessarily looking for a standup fight, they are looking for a degree of real danger. After all they are not immune to guns and without their camouflage and stealth tactics they would quickly end dead.
But on the other hand honor codes are inherently dependent on both culture and the individual, so yeah it also is going to vary from Predator to Predator.
In Predator 2, the cannon is used by the City Hunter and is most likely used at the beginning of the film in the Columbian hideout. The first time we actually see it in use is in the meat locker when the Predator fires at Agent Keyes. A bit later, Harrigan shoots at the Predator, damaging the cannon in the process and forcing him to remove it.
Behind-The-Scenes: They re-designed the cannon with a bit of samurai influence to give the Predator a bit more personality. It was all radio controlled so it could track and follow and hit marks.
I think it's less about honour with the Predators but more about " a sporting chance". Yes I will hunt and kill you and take your bits and bobs for trophies, but if you are unarmed and cowering it's hardly good fun.
I think clearly the message in this particular film is about when you need to hunt an animal for survival and subsistence versus hunting for sport and enjoying the kill.
AduroT wrote: One of the AvP novels I read had a female Pred as one of the main protagonists out during a hunt to train some young’ns.
There was also the Dark Horse comics storyline of the human survivor Machiko Naguchi ‘becoming’ a Predator Huntress, which was pretty cool. I always think it was such a shame they didn’t run with that storyline from the original DH comics.
AduroT wrote: One of the AvP novels I read had a female Pred as one of the main protagonists out during a hunt to train some young’ns.
There was also the Dark Horse comics storyline of the human survivor Machiko Naguchi ‘becoming’ a Predator Huntress, which was pretty cool. I always think it was such a shame they didn’t run with that storyline from the original DH comics.
A lot of the AvP stories have the Preds end up adopting some human. The same one I mentioned there’s one human who helped out the Pred and at the end gets marked as a member of her clan.
LordofHats wrote: My preferred take though has always been 'Commando from the POV of the cannon fodder.' Predator is like an action hero, but if you put the audience in the shoes of the hapless soldiers the action hero kills left and right, then the action hero is more of a monster than a hero.
This is a good take, although there's also a certain element of the whole 'There's always a bigger fish' scenario going on. The team in the original are a comically overdone stereotype of alpha males with elite skills and all the guns, and the Predator wades through them without a care in the world until Arnie's character chooses to rely on his wits instead of his weapons.
That's also why Prey is viable as a concept. The protagonist doesn't need to be able to best the predator physically, and it would stretch credibility if she could. She just needs to be able to survive long enough to outwit it.
LordofHats wrote: My preferred take though has always been 'Commando from the POV of the cannon fodder.' Predator is like an action hero, but if you put the audience in the shoes of the hapless soldiers the action hero kills left and right, then the action hero is more of a monster than a hero.
This is a good take, although there's also a certain element of the whole 'There's always a bigger fish' scenario going on. The team in the original are a comically overdone stereotype of alpha males with elite skills and all the guns, and the Predator wades through them without a care in the world until Arnie's character chooses to rely on his wits instead of his weapons.
That's also why Prey is viable as a concept. The protagonist doesn't need to be able to best the predator physically, and it would stretch credibility if she could. She just needs to be able to survive long enough to outwit it.
That was always my take on how to do Darth Vader and we finally got to see it a bit at the end of Rogue One as well as Fallen Order. He isn't something you can defeat he is something you have to try and survive.
I was all pumped for this, then I saw it had Europeans/colonists in it. Would much prefer to see how a pre-European contact Native tribe would handle a Predator hunt, with the Europeans around it means that gunpowder weapons are going to be available.
EDIT: I'm aware this post is old but it just came to my mind on a reread of the thread and I'm curious.
stonehorse wrote: I was all pumped for this, then I saw it had Europeans/colonists in it. Would much prefer to see how a pre-European contact Native tribe would handle a Predator hunt, with the Europeans around it means that gunpowder weapons are going to be available.
IDK. I kind of like the concept but it depends how it plays out. The idea that the Predator is hunting the Comanche is solid, but how do the Europeans get involved? Does the heroine pursue the Predator at some point? Do they come in because the Comanche want help? Are they taking advantage of the situation?
They're not Americans (as in US of A). I'm no expert so I could be wrong but the uniforms look like Scots Guards? That's a tad odd because the Comanche would be in the American Southwest, pretty far from where I'd ever expect them to cross paths with British troops. Not sure if that's going to be a piece of historical inaccuracy (to be fair, the vistas in the trailer are NOT commiserate with the Comanche's historical range and the movie seems to throw together a few different tribal styles under the name) or if it'll involve something like the heroine chasing the Predator at some point northward where it/she/they encounter those guys.
IDK.
Is there anyone knowledgable about uniforms who can identify these guys;
It certainly looks like an attempt to depict a specific uniform, but I could also be wrong. It's possible they're just settlers in furs, but the move is set in 1719. I'm not sure non-Spanish colonists had made it to Comanche territory by that point in time but these guys don't look Spanish. They look rather distinctly British/Scottish.
I’m genuinely wondering if the Colonists are something of a Red Herring. They may not factor in heavily at all, instead being something the Heroine uses against the Predator (run into their camp with Predator following, let their shooters do some work). Or indeed, the true killers of her village, and so she pacts up with the Predator for some good ol’ Rewenge.
It's possible they're not even part of the main plot. Just an intro/extro bit. Hard to tell. Despite being set in the Comanche Nation, the films seems to have a very American Northeast/West look to it, and the Comanche wouldn't be in those parts of America. That could just be 'who cares about historical accuracy' tho so *shrug*
LordofHats wrote:Is there anyone knowledgable about uniforms who can identify these guys;
It certainly looks like an attempt to depict a specific uniform, but I could also be wrong. It's possible they're just settlers in furs, but the move is set in 1719. I'm not sure non-Spanish colonists had made it to Comanche territory by that point in time but these guys don't look Spanish. They look rather distinctly British/Scottish.
Seeing it in motion I think that pattern on his hat is actually a set of teeth that's been woven in, plus the guys behind him on the line are all dressed differently. The guy immediately before that, running towards the camera in silhouette has multiple small fur bundles dangling from his coat waist.
My first guess from just looking at them would be North American fur traders (AKA proto-Canadians, eh?) but they'd be way way out of region too if the natives here are Comanche. They could just as easily be frontiersmen, hunters, free trappers or the like, I'm sure there was some industry of that nature in the mid south too, right?
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:And whilst not necessarily a Deal Maker? Confirmed to be R rated, so hopefully we’ll get some decent kills!
Thats good news. They were initially saying it was shot for R, but they were considering a PG-13 rating. Fingers crossed.
This is pretty much looks loosely like a movie version of the novelization of the AvP comic if I'm not mistaken. I read the novel trilogy right as it came out in the 90s -- I think the first novel is even called "Prey".
They were excellent books (which shouldn't be surprising, since I heard the comics were outstanding but I haven't read them).
I'm guessing this will be more of a thing where it's just the predator, and maybe they'll make a tie in with Xenomorphs at the very end or something. Keep the plot a little more streamlined for movie form that way, while leaving room (and hype!) for a sequel if it's not total trash.
Something to take a note of is that while the fur traders may be "out of region" for the Comanche angle...nothing saying that the Comanche characters stay in their home region!
Only Wikipedia so far as I can be bothered to check
The film began development during the production of the prior Predator film, titled The Predator (2018), when producer John Davis was approached by Dan Trachtenberg and a writer, with a concept that they had been conceptualizing since 2016.[8] Former 20th Century Studios Production president Emma Watts fast tracked the development of the film prior to her resignation in January 2020.[9] It was conceived as an R-rated film
Apologies if this has been mentioned, but do you think the inspiration is the short comic story when the Pred fights an African at some point in the middle ages?
The_Real_Chris wrote: Apologies if this has been mentioned, but do you think the inspiration is the short comic story when the Pred fights an African at some point in the middle ages?
There's a Dark Horse comic way back when of a Predator fighting pirates and chasing the pirate captain into the American frontier because it really wanted to hunt that captain.
Some of the plot points in this movie look similar, except the pirate captain has been replaced by a Comanche hunter.
I mean, there’s a lot of Predator comics and books, and only So Many ways they can really be shown hunting a person, so I’m sure anything they did could have comparisons drawn to some work or another. A Simpsons Did It First sort of deal.
Anyone interested in arranging a loose Watch Party?
Not the Disney+ online service thing as such, but perhaps agreeing a time slot where the participants can tune in as a group, and offer thoughts more or less at the same time after?
Not the Disney+ online service thing as such, but perhaps agreeing a time slot where the participants can tune in as a group, and offer thoughts more or less at the same time after?
Depends on the time and depends on the means, but yeah, I'd be down.
So, in the U.K. we get it 5 August 2022 on Disney+, via the STAR sub channel (from which much of my D+ value is derived), but I’m not sure exactly what time.
Stuff normally goes up 8am, which I guess reflects Central US midnight? Or maybe west coast, I dunno, I suck with time zones.
8am actually suits me, as I’ll be working from home, so can stick it on whilst finding something productive to make it at least look like I was focussing on work :p
I think I’m going to watch it in Comanche rather than English. It’s something a bit different, but then again it’s likely to involve sub-titles, unless they’ve gone really brave, and are going to rely on physical queues as to what’s being conveyed? If it is subtitles, the Comanche version is one for after work!
I have seen two reviews, and they both say the same things: the first half is slow, but it sets up a lot of great action in the second half. Both reviewers found this to be the best Predator sequel (not as good as the original film). Dan Murrell goes into a bit of a rant to address concerns that the main character is a Mary Sue or overpowers a Predator physically because womyn—she apparently learns from her failures and uses her wits. He also said the second half is a “cascade of carnage”.
Both reviews also praised true actor who played the Predator for giving him more character than most sequel Predators.
Ever since Hall (the original Pred actor (also Harry in Harry and the Hendersons)) passed away the guys they have had in the suits have never quite given the Preds the same unique movements and character. He was the Pred in 1 and 2.
Very good! I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. First half is indeed a Little slow, but tons of set up for the Incredible second half. I only have two complaints;
1.) Sausage fingers. There’s one scene where the Pred is doing their first aid thing and their hands just looks swollen. My brain just immediately went to Everything Everywhere’s hot dog fingers universe.
2.) Cloaking isn’t perfect until it is. It’s got that standard distortion effect we’re used to, probably more so than previous movies, until one scene where it goes from fully there to completely gone in an instant a mere few feet in front of people staring directly at it and is just gone. For something that large and heavy to just ninja vanish was dumb. It doesn’t even smoke bomb first!
Well, just finished it and yeah, its up there vying for 2nd best predator movie.
Didn't hold back on the brutality and actually managed to portray both protagonists and antagonist as cunning, thinking fighters with different strengths.
Colour me impressed.
Gonna have some good conversations about this one, once more peeps have seen it!!
No outright spoilers ahead, but read at your own risk anyway!
Well that was an excellent movie (for the most part). Couple of eye roll bits for me, but easy enough to breeze right past in face of the rest of the film.
Excellent bits.
-The Predator. Not so much the predator itself, but rather the character. To me it seemed different then previous preds in that while others where out to prove themselves the best hunters, this one was just out to collect as many skulls as he could. The predator equivalent of a fun Friday night out on the town. Honestly, he came off as a bit of a prick. Wasn't concerned about honourable kills as such, just wanted the overall kill-count. And a gakky opponent too when things stop going all his way. The scene in the dell where he fights the trappers, they get a few reasonable licks in and he cracks the gaks with them and sets off his jumping jack mines rather then continue to fight them in hand-to-hand. Was also nice to see a predator that could be surprised by something he didn't expect (the french guy Naru helped) and react accordingly. Sure, they can be ambushed and taken by surprise, but I don't think we've seen one actually surprised by something.
Just overall an excellent iteration of the Predator character.
-Naru. If more writers used Naru as an example of how to construct a strong female character it'd be no bad thing. She's cunning and crafty, she'd determined and out to prove herself, and not just against the boys, but against anything be they tribemates, bears or even interstellar big game hunters. At no point does she revert to the helpless damsel figure in need of rescuing by the male lead that so many strong females characters get temporarily afflicted with in movies like this. I mean sure she is helpless in some scenes, but with bloody good reason, and yet she powers on and get the job done. Even at the expense of her male co-stars. (Poor Itsee ).
-The Bear Fight. Someone went through a lot of footage of bears fighting things to get that scene right. And it fething paid off too! Easily top 3 scenes in the movie. Was nice to see the pred get a bit a too cocky and slapped around for his troubles.
Good bits.
-The Fight Scenes. Really well done fights. The Comanche acted like the seasoned warriors you'd expect them to be. The predator felt like the quarter ton bulldozer you'd expect him to be. And the trappers were the hapless chaff that they deserved to be! The predator really felt like he had some weight behind him when he fought. Even his arboreal acrobatics were on point. He didn't feel like a CGI figure floating from tree to tree, it was a BIG dude landing on branches and shaking trunks as he kicked off them.
-The Locations. Hats off to the location scouts! Bloody gorgeous scenery from start to finish.
-Nods to the Predator. Couple of fun call backs to the first movie. What from the "If it bleeds" line to the trick she pulled with the flowers (which i'm pleased to say called early on in the movie! ). They were some of the aforementioned eye-roll moments, but in the case of the flowers, had a pretty good pay off, so are easily overlooked.
Not so great bits.
-Sausage fingers as mentioned by AduroT. Did he get stung on the hand by a bee or something!?
-Predator's Face. Just looked a bit off in some scenes. Not bad CGI per-se. But noticeably CGI in comparison to what are clearly prosthetics in previous movies. This might have been a bit more obvious to me though as i'd spent the rest of the day watching the other predator movies in anticipation of this.
The questions left unanswered.
-What happened to Paaka? He gets dragged out of the tree and then what? He's never mentioned again. I need to know dammit!
The questions left unanswered.
-What happened to Paaka? He gets dragged out of the tree and then what? He's never mentioned again. I need to know dammit!
Yeah, that part was either a weak point of the movie or ... nobody in his tribe cares
Couldn't resist, had to watch it right away this morning.
Quick observations now, maybe more in-depth stuff later.
Spoiler:
The 'Northern Great Plains' location card makes this hard to place, in addition to the Great Plains being a massive geographical feature, they could also be using the modern terminology that differentiates the northern part of it on the Canadian side of the border as 'the pairies' meaning the film could be set anywhere from southern Alberta to Nebraska - but based on the references to both buffalo and beaver (and the french fur traders) I think we're somewhere in the Daktotas.
I didn't expect to be right about those guys being Canadian fur traders, but that's actually a pretty smart choice for the filmmakers - its actually the more likely option given the degree to which the french fur trade extended into the interior along the lakes, and allows them to maintain a language barrier between them and Naru without confusing the audience.
As someone who doesn't know enough at all about the Comanche or how far they or the other plains people travelled, I really don't know if it makes sense for them to be out that far, but I think the dialogue was suggesting they were outside their traditional territory, and by the end wanted to flee to somewhere safer.
I got the impression that the feral pred had two 'modes' during his hunting trip. There were cases where he was clearly testing himself against the local wildlife, ramping things up starting with the wolves and the mountain lion before moving on to the bear, preferring to fight them hand to hand. I get the feeling this is what he came here to do: hunt with his bare hands and ramp up the challenge until he found the big trophy he could take back showing exactly where his limits were.
The other mode is less about being a hunter and more of a 'gloves come off' donkey-cave type. We first see it, I think, when he kills the guys who came after Naru - specifically the first one, (I think his name was Wasape?) who he observes fighting Naru, gets roughed up, then has his friend back him up. I get the feeling the predator initially saw the humans as fellow hunters, albeit too primitive to be worth his notice, but decided to deliberately go all out on Wasape (and importantly, destroy his skull) after watching him resort to cheap tricks to capture Naru. We see the same switch happen again during the fight with the fur traders, when he's initially making a point of picking people off their horses while their backup is unawares, but when his life is in danger and he needs to bug out he starts throwing the body obliterating nets and such.
The combistick is the weirdest 'famous weapon' ever. I always forget the Predator's are somehow, some way, associated with it. I know it doesn't appear in Predator 1, when did it first show up?
He ran a guy through with the blunt end of his combistick! That thing was wider than a friggin mace! Ow!
Also, I don't really see the 'sausage fingers' thing - looks exactly like the fingers caressing Billy's skull in Predator which are also beefy because it's a dude in a costume, yo.
The questions left unanswered.
-What happened to Paaka? He gets dragged out of the tree and then what? He's never mentioned again. I need to know dammit!
Yeah, that part was either a weak point of the movie or ... nobody in his tribe cares
Spoiler:
That was the guy in the tree with Naru, right? I think the implication is he either died right there because of the lion, or because Naru was knocked out he couldn't be treated and died shortly thereafter, or he died there because her brother could only realistically carry one of them back?
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh, also.
I don't think the movie is neccesarily 'slowly paced' in the first half, but I do think they show too much. If they had kept it the same length while leaving a little more mystery (I mean, come on. This is someone's first Predator movie) I think it would feel more tense.
I don’t think it’s so much the Pred being an arse as
Spoiler:
limiting themself somewhat to what they were challenged by. They hand to hand all the animals because that’s all the animals have got. They shoot the first person to point a ranged weapon at them. The net they deploy immediately after someone threw a net on them. Someone else commented on quantity over quality and I think it’s a bit that. According to marketing this is the first Pred hunt on earth, so it could be a case of checking everything out and see what the local fauna is capable of and taking samples.
Also, I assume that’s the gun from the end of Pred 2? I’d be curious to see how they get ahold of that.
Entirely theory crafting based on context: this is a predator scout/biologist/cataloger of sorts?
Spoiler:
He isn't here for his own trophies per se. He is here to catalog the local life forms to decide if this is a worthwhile hunting ground for the rest of the preds.
You see on his vision read out that each time he finds a new thing he catalogs it on the right side of his hud. He adds entries as he finds humans using higher levels of technology.
This doesn't look as much like a big game hunter so much as one collecting samples and rating the potential game. Very interesting to see new aspects of the preds.
Really very incredibly impressed. Style and panache!
Importantly?
Spoiler:
It Didn’t Try To Reinvent The Predator.
Yes we see new and interesting toys it’s clearly competent with. But even then, they’re not “what you saw before, but day-glo and nuclear for extra rad wooooo”. They’re era appropriate, which reinforces their preference for giving their prey a fairish chance - with the Predator needing to be skilled in the use of their tools.
I do think the finale and in particular the kill is a wee bit contrived (I mean, surely the Predator would know how it’s Seeker Dart things work), but because it’s all put together so well it’s earned that wee bit of handwavium.
It’s overall really quite minimalist, without coming across as cheap. And example would the constricting net being used to mulch that dude. We see it thrown, we see it start to constrict and cut into the guy. Pan down, focus on the device, and imply, imply, imply.
That may seem odd in the post-Saw and other torture prawn movies, with their copious amounts of explicit, ridiculous, sometimes inventiv, gore. But here it doesn’t feel cheap or wussing out. Rather it came across to me as Deliberate Restraint. A director confident enough in the atmosphere they crafted to carry the message, and not needing to bludgeon their audience senseless to get their point across.
As an experienced gore hound, I think I’d like to have seen a bit more delicious, explicit violence. But then, if we think back to the first Predator film? Whilst absolutely violent? The gore was the same sort of low key feel. Sure there is blood, stumps and ruptures etc - but more a consequence of the story, than Being The Story.
Not sure I’m explaining this right, but hopefully you can see what I’m trying to get at. It doesn’t shy away from the mutilation, but it doesn’t focus on it for the sake of focussing on it.
More please! From the same creative team please. Not necessarily a direct sequel, though I wouldn’t say no. Just….more. This film is most definitely a confident recruit to The Church Of Latter Day Sequels That Don’t Suck And Aren’t Just Lazy Cash Ins.
It Didn’t Try To Reinvent The Predator. I do think the finale and in particular the kill is a wee bit contrived (I mean, surely the Predator would know how it’s Seeker Dart things work), but because it’s all put together so well it’s earned that wee bit of handwavium.
Spoiler:
The Predator may know how its weapons works, but it wasn't aware that its mask was weaponized against it until literally the last moment.
It's not exactly a high bar to make it into the top 3 Predator films given that every film since the second has been either 'okay at best' or 'god awful' so it's impressive this movie is maybe just as good if not better than Predator 2 IMO.
My only real complaints I have with this movie are
2) No ones gonna just make a run for it? No one? I mean it's cool that everyone doesn't just freak out and die achieving nothing. It's cool many characters even when they're losing manage to be kind of badass while they're losing, but you'd think something in this movie would have a reaction that isn't 'oh hey there's something there lets murder it.'
1) that the fight choreography was overdone in some parts. There were times in this movie where people were knife fighting like Jedis and I think it was a bit silly for how grounded the rest of the movie tended to be.
But yeah great movie. I really liked this more primitive/savage hunter Predator who was different from previous incarnations but not in a stupid or eye-rolling way.
The supporting cast of this movie (admitting mostly the brother) was also a much better one than I think it needed to be. Everyone, even the bit actors, did their characters right.
Also the dog lived and that's instant kudos XD
Also fun fact;
Spoiler:
The pistol at the end of the movie is the same one at the end of Predator 2, so are we getting a sequel about how the Predators got that pistol back :/
Of the four, and only four, movies made I would say for me the order goes like this:
Predator > Prey > Predator 2 > Predators
Predator 2 has a lot of nice moments but it just never gelled with me as well as the original, nor Prey at this point. Still both are worthy follow ups.
I wasn't really impressed by this one, it only seems kinda good cause the last couple were so bad. It wasn't horrid or anything, I guess like the orignal it's a solid B movie popcorn film. And I guess that's why people must like it, it's not complicated or convoluted, it just is what it is, back to it's roots.
The important thing is? It made the Predator scary again. And because by now the vast majority of the audience knows what the beastie is, it gets some pretty impressive screen time
And you know what? For the first time a long time, I’m feeling the need to rest my Dark Horse Predator comics, because I’m enthused about Predators once again.
Everything The Predator isn’t? Prey is
I’m genuinely wonder though how much of my enthusiasm was not knowing this film was coming until the relatively last minute. It didn’t receive a great deal of hype overall. No big push. Just….trailers on the Tubes of You, maybe some posters.
As someone who loved their video rentals, and considered The Trailers something to be enjoyed, it’s been a long arsed time since Just A Trailer got me aware and wanting to watch a movie. That it’s objectively good is just a bonus!
The important thing is? It made the Predator scary again. And because by now the vast majority of the audience knows what the beastie is, it gets some pretty impressive screen time
And you know what? For the first time a long time, I’m feeling the need to rest my Dark Horse Predator comics, because I’m enthused about Predators once again.
Everything The Predator isn’t? Prey is
I’m genuinely wonder though how much of my enthusiasm was not knowing this film was coming until the relatively last minute. It didn’t receive a great deal of hype overall. No big push. Just….trailers on the Tubes of You, maybe some posters.
As someone who loved their video rentals, and considered The Trailers something to be enjoyed, it’s been a long arsed time since Just A Trailer got me aware and wanting to watch a movie. That it’s objectively good is just a bonus!
Apparently it was supposed to be kept secret that the movie was a Predator movie at all - the idea being audiences would go in with no knowledge this was a Predator movie and only find out later in the movie.
The film's working title was "Bones" but it seems they had a change of heart at the last minute and started promoting it as a Predator movie.
I think that's a shame, I would have liked to go in blind and then be super surprised at the reveal.
I seem to remember that the fact it was a Predator-related film got leaked, and that caused the marketing pivot - a plan based on hidden information doesn't work well if the information makes it out into the wild first.
Would certainly have been interesting to see that pan out. But, interwebs being interwebs, you’re only ever a single clickbait scumbag’s review away from the secret being out before anyones really had a chance to find out for themselves.
Consider Star Trek Into Darkness. Some tosser on my FB went to the midnight screening, and just posted “KHAAAAAAAN”. Surprise (and to be fair it wasn’t that good a surprise) ruined.
Think I might watch it in Comanche later.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ninja’d (sort of) by Dysartes.
Mind you, looking at my thread title….maybe I was the clickbait scumbag here, because the trailer kept the secret for the first bit, and then sent me hype.
In that regard I think we’re thoroughly spoiled in the U.K., as it’s all just a single service, for a single price. And for a literal fraction of what Netflix charges.
This movie is absolutely terrible. Not once did the Predator try to hunt any Super-Autism! Did they makers of this not even see the last one?
All joking aside, that was fan-frickin'-tastic, and easily the best Predator movie since the original. Great action, great main character, earned call-backs to the first two films, a nice look at a more "primitive" Predator that has a magnetic-accelerator cannon rather than a plasma-caster. Simple premise, great execution, good music, wonderful visuals, and just a complete story told very well. I echo Bob Chipman's sentiment: What the hell took 'em so long?
My only negative is that the trappers were French, rather than English. I really wanted a 1700's version of "You're one ugly mother fether!". I wanted something like "You are one ghastly son-of-a-whore!".
Yeah. Watch this. It's great!
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Consider Star Trek Into Darkness. Some tosser on my FB went to the midnight screening, and just posted “KHAAAAAAAN”. Surprise (and to be fair it wasn’t that good a surprise) ruined.
That was a surprise in that film? That was obvious from the trailers! It was the worst kept secret in any of the three JJ Trek movies.
The pistol at the end of the movie is the same one at the end of Predator 2, so are we getting a sequel about how the Predators got that pistol back :/
If you watch the first element of the credits with the cave art style backgrounds, the final one shows three Predator ships descending on the tribe, so maybe?
Just saw Prey. It was much better than I had expected, which is nice.
A few things seemed weird to us, the topography of the area being the main thing.
The French seemed maybe out of place given what was shown but I don't really know for sure. I just thought they operated around the Grate Lakes area and up north but I can't remember very well now. School was like a billion years ago.
I wont nit pick too much as it was much better than I had expected. I think the first trailer didn't really tell it right.
If Amber Midthunder can make a career out of action movies then more power to her. I'd only seen her in Legion before this.
I didn't recognize her in the first trailer either.
The pred seemed to be a cataloger who was determining if earth was a worthy hunting ground. A dead cataloger is basically the highest rating you could get and would draw in the big game hunters to claim some trophies. "Dead cataloger. 5*. Would hunt here again."
I wouldn't go so far as to say that Prey is flat out better than Predator 2, but it's definitely better than every other sequel.
The only big negatives to me were the following.
-Predator face CGI should have been prosthetics, it looked bad. I liked the "primitive" helmet however.
-Some of the dialogue/delivery in English was really bland or fell flat.
Everything else was acceptable to good. I wouldn't directly compare it to the first Predator. That was a horror/thriller masquerading as an action movie. Prey is more of a pure action film with thriller elements.
I am disappointed with the Comanche version. Its just the English version with dubs. I realize that they didn't want to invest a ton of money into this, but the tech does exist to replace actors mouth movements for different languages and it would have been cool if they looked like they were actually speaking Comanche.
I also doubt i would be able to tell what is happening without subs. I realize that is a very high bar for a movie about an alien big game hunter franchise that started in the 80s, but there it is. Movie is still awesome and the Comanche dub is still a nice move on their part.
IDK if anyone talked about this.
But, anyone notice how lanky the predator was?
And how the main characters where teens/YA?
Do you guys think this predator was a teen on his first hunt??
hotsauceman1 wrote: IDK if anyone talked about this.
But, anyone notice how lanky the predator was?
And how the main characters where teens/YA?
Do you guys think this predator was a teen on his first hunt??
It wouldn't have been his first hunt as he was already blooded (non blooded Predators are not allowed to hunt on their own) but, it was probably his first time hunting on Earth.
However, this was a Predator from the Southern hemisphere of their planet, which is a different species we haven't seen before.
hotsauceman1 wrote: IDK if anyone talked about this.
But, anyone notice how lanky the predator was?
And how the main characters where teens/YA?
Do you guys think this predator was a teen on his first hunt??
No. I mentioned a couple times that he seems to be a scout. Every time you see his vision there is a little target thing that pops up for every new animal and every weapon. He is cataloging stuff to see if this is a good planet for hunting on or not.
Based on at least one of the books the males are just smaller than the females so they could just be a smaller male Pred vs previous movies’ ladies. But yeah, it’s the first hunt on Earth so not a big game Hunter but a nerd scouting it out and taking notes.
1) Fantastic. Easily the best predator movie since the original and honestly....I might like it more than the original. Mostly because the Uber machismo doesn't age super well.
2) For everyone confused about the location this is set pre-breakaway from the Shoshone. Commanches were a sub tribe that broke away once they got horses. Before the breakaway they lived in at the northern end of the Platte River. This would also explain the French fur traders.
3) Love love loved the way they handled the lead and the tribe in general. It's been said but the lead never felt like a damsel. And her scene with the trapper leader was amazing.
1) Fantastic. Easily the best predator movie since the original and honestly....I might like it more than the original. Mostly because the Uber machismo doesn't age super well.
The biggest flaw relative to the original is specifically the lack of machismo and charisma. Naru was just competent, she didn't have much of a personality. All of the crew in Predator had character specific traits that deepened the film.
I would be VERY hesitant to say any of the characters in Predator besides Dutch had character that deepened anything.
One guy made jokes. Billy was a native american characiture muscle man. One had a big gun. One was friend of big gun guy. One was cia dill weed. And then there was "the girl". Oh yeah, and guy that died first.
And btw, Dutch's character was "we are a rescue team. My men are not expendable. We don't do this kind of work."
Naru has strained lived in relationships with her entire tribe. From her brother, the rest of the hunters, her mother, and even the look her mother gives the cheif when handing him the warchief stick at the end. There is a depth to her entire tribe and her place in it that is completely absent in Predator.
Which is fine. predator is a very different kind of movie being a horror hidden in a 80s action romp. Just is what it is.
I think if there was one thing Predator had that Prey doesn't, it's basically my two complaints.
I feel like the fights were over-choreographed in Prey when less really would have been more. They lacked the visceral nature of the Predator in the first film. Simplicity would have been better than all the spinning, throwing weapons in the air to grab them with the other hand, and such.
Secondly, in Predator characters tried to outthink the Predator repeatedly and the Predator thinks back. In Prey everyone and everything in sight has basically 1 mode (charge in and kill) until near the end of the movie. Everyone in Prey is a bit too nakedly aggressive to have the sort of calculation that helped string Predator along.
Except for Naru, and generally, I think Naru was helped that her cleverness was her core strength. She wasn't the best hunter. She wasn't the best survivalist. She wasn't the best fighter (ignoring how over-choreographed everything is) but she was quick-witted and thought on her feet constantly in the movie.
The Predator kind of lacked that this time around. The Predator this time was, like everything in the movie not named Naru, in constant brainless full aggro murder mode. Which is a minor gripe I have overall with the film. Too minor to really spoil anything. But if I had to say what Predator had that Prey lacked, that would be it.
I disagree on the fight choreography. I felt it captured a Warrior culture of WARRIORS. Naru's fights weren't, they were brutal and lacking in that fluidity which actually reflects that culture as well. The fight scenes with the trappers weren't choreographed crazy either.
I'd also point out that the predator wasn't really full aggro. He retreated when injured and when things went sideways. He doesn't charge into the marsh like he should chasing her, he has to essentially be thrown in, etc. Also, he one punched a bear. After that humans feel kinda meh.
They also didn’t just agro into the trapper’s trap, they snuck up and picked them off from behind while the trappers lied in wait. They did get caught by the second stage of their trap however from the guys hiding underground. The snipers just had no way to know they literally glow in their vision.
I actually like that Bonemask is basically a blood knight. They are far more aggressive and violent that the other Predators, although also somewhat dumber.
They a memorable character in their own right, which is something more recent Predators have been lacking.
Lance845 wrote: I would be VERY hesitant to say any of the characters in Predator besides Dutch had character that deepened anything.
One guy made jokes. Billy was a native american characiture muscle man. One had a big gun. One was friend of big gun guy. One was cia dill weed. And then there was "the girl". Oh yeah, and guy that died first.
And btw, Dutch's character was "we are a rescue team. My men are not expendable. We don't do this kind of work."
You're being intentionally reductionist. Predator is an excellent example of "show, don't tell" when it comes to characterizations.
Predator works because it starts out exactly as Big Dumb 80’s Action Films should. Massive hunks of muscle slaughtering commies with ridiculous guns and cheesy one-liners…..then completely inverts it by making the baddie the invincible one.
And it is a classic.
Prey however feels a bit more personal. Where Dutch was just trying to get his team extracted? Naru is protecting her home from a threat.
Pretty much everyone else that tangoes with that Predator just tries to apply their usual hunting tactics, because they are all hunters first, warriors second. They’re just not used to something that can outthink and out hunt them.
Naru uses her wits. And you know what, my comment about “outthink and out hunt”? That can be applied to the Predator as well. None of the other humans it’s encountered on-screen showed Nauru’s level of adaptation. So it may have felt it had our species pegged. What kills it is a pretty simple trap (and of course a dose of narrativium)…and we’d seen it sort of fall for traps before. That’s not to say it’s therefore thick, just….overconfident. Arrogant rather than incompetent.
Best of all, we see it being worn down throughout the movie. No one character kills it to be honest. It gets shot, stabbed, stitched up, stabbed again, hacked at, shot in the bonce, loses an arm, nearly drowned, bitten and mauled by a bear. Yet it keeps going. Which in its own way adds to the tension, and I think it’s the most punishment we’ve seen a Predator take. And so when it’s finally slain, it feels earned.
I was initially skeptical about the kill, but have come round to respecting it. It feels earned. The Predator was hurt, possibly tired, likely angry.
The other thing I really, really like is that rather than new physical characteristics, it’s New Toys. Yes the toys feel comparatively low tech - until we see the dart gun used the second time. But overall, all the new toys could’ve been used in the original films to some degree of success, as each requires some level of skill to use.
And man…..that constriction net. What an excellent scene that is. We see it doing it’s thing…..and the pan down leaves it finishing it’s thing to our tender imaginations. We have of course seen it used before in Predator 2 and the excellent Dark Horse comics (where I think it was first invented?) but only really portrayed as a hurty net for restraining, rather than a killing device. Mmmm. Mulch!
Lance845 wrote: I would be VERY hesitant to say any of the characters in Predator besides Dutch had character that deepened anything.
One guy made jokes. Billy was a native american characiture muscle man. One had a big gun. One was friend of big gun guy. One was cia dill weed. And then there was "the girl". Oh yeah, and guy that died first.
And btw, Dutch's character was "we are a rescue team. My men are not expendable. We don't do this kind of work."
You're being intentionally reductionist. Predator is an excellent example of "show, don't tell" when it comes to characterizations.
I really don't think I am being reductionist at all. This is a Arnold led movie from the 80s. I have watched every special feature there is on the film. The characters in the movie are exactly as flat as they appear to be. Yes, they do show don't tell. Mostly because there is nothing to tell and then we the audience fill in the blanks inherently. Linking to a fan theory on reddit of how each character is killed through (admitted by the author) very tenuous links doesn't give any of those characters any actual depth. It gives the predator a 4th wall breaking sense of irony.
My only issue with the kill is the way they stop and watch the arrow fly around the clearing. They didn’t bother to watch the rogue arrows in the previous scene, why did they stop to watch this one instead of firing more.
Lance845 wrote: I really don't think I am being reductionist at all. This is a Arnold led movie from the 80s. I have watched every special feature there is on the film. The characters in the movie are exactly as flat as they appear to be.
If you want character I guess a fair test to apply to both old and new films would be how did each key individual at the start of the film compare their last scenes (if they weren't killed off early).
That's the story of the character. Doesn't have to be complex, just has to go somewhere - Macs gradual breakdown, Dillons heel-face turn, etc. If a characters gets to the end of a film no different from how they started save for their kill count that is what makes them flat IMHO.
If you don’t know where the mask is don’t live fire an arrow in the middle of combat. In the middle of combat don’t turn your back on the creature that’s actively trying to kill you to see where the mask ended up. When it fired the arrow and it flies off they shouldn’t gone oh right, this is probably a trap, and just Moved.
Like I like the Idea of it. It should have fired the arrow, then stayed facing and fighting her maybe firing off more, and then been shanked in the back of the head without even seeing it coming. Would be a good turn about to all the times a Pred shanks someone without them even realizing what just killed them.
Lance845 wrote: I really don't think I am being reductionist at all. This is a Arnold led movie from the 80s. I have watched every special feature there is on the film. The characters in the movie are exactly as flat as they appear to be.
If you want character I guess a fair test to apply to both old and new films would be how did each key individual at the start of the film compare their last scenes (if they weren't killed off early).
That's the story of the character. Doesn't have to be complex, just has to go somewhere - Macs gradual breakdown, Dillons heel-face turn, etc. If a characters gets to the end of a film no different from how they started save for their kill count that is what makes them flat IMHO.
Sure. So Dutch, exactly the same guy he started off as. Trying to protect his team and complete the mission. Dillon, exactly the duplicitous jerk he was at the beginning. Both when he was first introduced and lied to Dutch about the mission, then got to the paperwork he wanted to collect, etc etc...His only change is a want for revenge. Then you have Billy Blaine and Anna, who didn't change at all. Mac, whos arc was going crazy after his friend died.
On the other hand, you see respect for Nalu grow in their acceptance of her skill from her brother, her mother, and her tribe from the beginning of the movie to the end. You also see her confidence turn into experience as she proves herself right. The character at the beginning who wishes she had a chance is different from the character at the end who isn't asking, she is telling, that they need to move to higher better protected ground.
And hey, again, I love Predator. It's a great movie. But it does not have depth from it's characters. That is not the kind of movie it is.
AduroT wrote: If you don’t know where the mask is don’t live fire an arrow in the middle of combat. In the middle of combat don’t turn your back on the creature that’s actively trying to kill you to see where the mask ended up. When it fired the arrow and it flies off they shouldn’t gone oh right, this is probably a trap, and just Moved.
Like I like the Idea of it. It should have fired the arrow, then stayed facing and fighting her maybe firing off more, and then been shanked in the back of the head without even seeing it coming. Would be a good turn about to all the times a Pred shanks someone without them even realizing what just killed them.
My assumption is the arrow things can be shot without the mask, and won’t track.
And to be honest, Mr Predator was at the end of a very long, very tiring day, with seemingly no chance for a nice bit sit down and whatever their equivalent of a cup of tea and a sandwich might be.
Oh, and they’d been shot in the head. I suspect both together, but mostly the being shot in the head thing, would effect judgement calls.
Shot in the head italicised as it’s something I myself forgot when I first saw the kill on the screen.
Also moving wasn't easy for him. He was still stuck in a sinkhole/quicksand. He might be big enough to stand on the bottom but that's doesn't mean he could suddenly jump out of it/dodge.
I thought it worked decently inverse. You see Naru all movie learning, assessing, adjusting. So the trap makes sense. Even her sprint to the trap is designed to tire out and exhaust the predator. Everything she does in that last scene is designed to sap at the creatures strength. And the arrow thing seemed to be a back up plan. Primary plan was probably for it to drown. How was she supposed to know the damn thing was to tall to drown.
Dutch begins the film lighting up a cigar with all the confidence of a Lion, as his pride of fellow males disembark the helicopter ready for the "hunt". He greets the General and Dillion as former associates that he feels comfortable with( although he says he doesn't trust anybody... ). He is the leader of a unit of soliders that can hold their heads up high, and make it clear that they are a rescue team.
At the end of the film Dutch is aboard another helicopter( in the air ) having lost his entire team, with about as much confidence as a Zebra having outwitted its Lion. He rescued no hostages but instead took a prisoner. He was not only stitched up by the CIA into performing a dirty operation, but also by the two men he thought he knew and trusted. If he didn't believe in little green men before, then he sure as hell knows for a fact now that he faced a hunter not of this world and will never forget the stalking of a life time.
Anna and Dutch start off as operatives on two sides of a conflict. They clearly don't trust each other, but from the moment Hawkins is "taken by the jungle" Anna is traumatised and this gradually leads to a relationship of trust with Dutch, on a very human level. By the end of the film, she is waiting for a fellow survivor of a tragic but incredible event. She is now a prisoner but also now knows that the "demon" she spoke of earlier in the film is a very real monster...
Prey, 2022
Dunno. Ain't seen it. Could be a masterpiece of filmmaking or a steaming hot turd. No idea.
I like the idea of Prey because when I was a teenager - walking home from school, in the mid-90s - I day dreamed about an African tribe stalked by a Predator, and thought it would make a good film. We enjoyed a bit of Zulu and Predator back then!
Finally watched it just now. Absolutely fantastic. I don't quite see what people are complaining about in terms of a "slow start". It's not exactly slow in comparison to some movies I could name. I think they did a good job in terms of symbolism of the "Hunt", not just the Predator but in nature.
I loved the bear skull as a helmet for the Predator, like that's just straight up bad ass.
One thing I will say is this is clearly the winning formula and it's a surprise it has taken this long. You can stick a Predator in a random part of history and it will make a good film. Do one with a Roman centurion on the Rhine limes or do some Samurai or as SamusDrake says, some Zulu fighting the Predator.
There’s a Dark Horse comic featuring a Predator vs an African Hunter. I don’t want to say Zulu, as I’m one for being accurate, and as it’s wordless I can’t say for sure.
But it’s pretty cool, and rather reminiscent of Prey.
Seems the creative team are having talks about doing more.
Whilst I’m far from convinced the franchise could stand up to a frenetic release schedule, I’d be good with one every few years, provided they’ve got some good ideas for them.
Wonder if the House of Mouse might green light these dudes having another stab at Alien vs Predator. That franchise within a franchise absolutely has legs (I’ll refer again to Dark Horse Comics), they just need to marry narrative balls to the top of those legs. Do it as a latter day sequel/reboot by all means. Not Very Good as the original two were they had their early 2000’s charms, and I really liked tying it into Wayland Utani. And you know…you know what….I’m gonna say it. I’m gonna say it and you can’t stop me…..
The two AvP films are still better, more interesting and more coherent prequels to Alien than Prometheus and Alien Covenant
True, but the two AvP films are still more interesting origin stories of how The Company became aware of the Xenomorph, and why they wanted some pet ones.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And I’ll never get over the scientists in Prometheus doing the equivalent of this, with similar results.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Can we also acknowledge some of the clever wrong footing and Chekhov’s gunning we see in Prey?
First there’s the game trap. I was expecting that to feature in the Big Takedown. But it Chekhov’s Guns us in a different way.
Then there’s the mud pit. I’m sure we all saw how that was going, right? Wrong!
The healing herbs? I was half expecting some kind of Fern Gully type eco stuff from them, such as Naru helping the Predator to turn it loose on the voyageur (thanks, wiki, for giving me that term!)…but…..nope! And it’s quite late on in the runtime we learn how they aid healing (well, mostly Not Dying) and see it start to come together.
Take them tropes, and do a polite rug pull, with none of them being a Gotcha as such. They played us, but didn’t take us for idiots.
SamusDrake wrote: I like the idea of Prey because when I was a teenager - walking home from school, in the mid-90s - I day dreamed about an African tribe stalked by a Predator, and thought it would make a good film. We enjoyed a bit of Zulu and Predator back then!
I gak you not I'm pretty sure there's a comic for this.
I'd call the Darkhorse comics run in the late 80s through the 90s the highwater mark of the Predator franchise. It was all downhill from there (until Prey came along and managed to not be a steaming turd, seriously challenge apparently). Many of these comics are great and a lot of them present interesting scenarios.
Just finished it. While I didn't like it as much as the internet did, I also didn't think it was bad. I'd give it a solid 7. Hard agree on the over-choreographed fights, whoever mentioned that. Naru was a great character I cheered for throughout the whole movie. Definitely the best Predator since the original, but I think the OG is still the superior film.
Anyone who is a Predator fan should definitely give it a shot.
Having digested the movie a little more since first watching it, I think that although I love the original Predator movie, I reckon I prefer Comanche kicking ass to Jungle Dudes. By a hairs breadth. Two very different movies of course but I enjoy the premise that bit more. The comparative scenes where Naru and the Predator are mirrored were a great narrative thread. The overarching story, where Naru completes her Kuhtaamia and battles to be the Hunter rather than the Hunted was a unique way of "humanising" the alien Predator society. Similar aspects presented throughout the film in a different light. It's just that Predators are a little more spectacular
If this had been the first Predator movie I would have been blown away by it. Would this film have been made at the time? Probably not and certainly not in this style. The themes of Hunter and Hunted, survival and sport certainly would have. There are a lot of moments in Prey that rely on you having seen the others to keep you following visual cues and story progression. The mud and the herbs and the traps, as MDG points out, throw you for a loop.
For a franchise that has had a very few ups and a lot of downs, I think this deserves the top spot.
For the record the first time we saw the mud I knew where that was going. I identified it more as the quicksand than a cover. Also when they were carrying the wounded dude she’d herbed and talked about how cold he was I figured that was our camo.
I will say I didn’t quite care for her just standing in the open and the Pred walking right past her. Arnie had the good sense to push up against trees and stuff to blend in. Pred had already seen one cold body come alive, you think they’d pay slight attention to the one standing up by itself.
I know I’m nitpicking, but I did super enjoy the movie still. It just makes me see the small wrinkles and want to iron them out.
AduroT wrote: For the record the first time we saw the mud I knew where that was going. I identified it more as the quicksand than a cover. Also when they were carrying the wounded dude she’d herbed and talked about how cold he was I figured that was our camo.
I will say I didn’t quite care for her just standing in the open and the Pred walking right past her. Arnie had the good sense to push up against trees and stuff to blend in. Pred had already seen one cold body come alive, you think they’d pay slight attention to the one standing up by itself.
I know I’m nitpicking, but I did super enjoy the movie still. It just makes me see the small wrinkles and want to iron them out.
This is kind of the thing with movies that don't suck.
When the movie doesn't suck, you cut it some slack for the little shortcuts it takes because you're having fun and you don't care that a few things kind of irk you. This movie did a great job in that it's opening is also really strong, building suspense slowly and intelligently rather than rushing to the parts everyone is there for. The movie sets itself up by convincing you it's doing its best before it dares to suggest you take your pants off.
Prey is a night out with dinner and a movie. Yeah it's got some character ticks, but you had a good time so you're willing to let some eccentricities go to keep having a good time.
Compare to, let's say <insert the sequel trilogy> which is just a musty hotel room that reeks of nostalgia and complacency expecting the audience to do all the work. It's a cheap date, and to top it off you're the bad guy for having standards the date didn't even try to meet. The movie insulted you, so you instantly become more critical of the things you don't like.
I liked that the bog she got stuck in isn't how she won. They set it up as "This is how she gets covered in mud and avoids the heat vision", except she doesn't do that, cleans the mud off in the next scene, and whilst they go back there she doesn't take a dunk in it for the final fight.
Don’t have a lot to add about this very good movie than what others have said, but if they did do a “Predator vs x” series of films, then stick him in the Teutoburg forest vs the Romans as the reason they lost their legions
I want a Predator film that takes place on their homeworld like in an office setting, maybe an accounting firm, where we see them compete for attention with their manager to get picked to go on the next big hunt with him.
It was not a lazy story just to get it on screen. As mentioned, lots of misdirects and occurrences that I did not expect. It had a lot more depth than I was expecting, so kudos to the writers and to the director for not mucking it up. Sure, you had to suspend belief in a few places, but in what fantasy movie do you not?
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: TThe two AvP films are still better, more interesting and more coherent prequels to Alien than Prometheus and Alien Covenant
Mad Doc Grotsnik, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Spoiler:
In case you don't know the reference.
I don't care if someone holds a really silly, nonsensical opinion.
It isn't so much that one set is bad so the other must be good but that all of them were bad, but in different ways. I would definitely say Prometheus/Covenant were far more disappointing films. There weren't a lot of expectations for the AvP films (first was "eh, ok" and the second just awful) but the other two movies had massive amounts of talent/money behind them and came so close to being something great that screwing them up in such easily fixable ways was just a huge waste. Prometheus is such a beautifully shot film, with a good base idea, and well implemented fx but in the end it doesn't matter if you have a professional spelunker get lost in a mapped cave or a biologist playing around with unknown species like it is a Disney animal.
I didn't like Covenant that much when I saw it but, and I believe it was Manchu, pointed out it was essentially an old Mad Scientist film. People go to a deserted island and find a mad scientist doing some diabolical stuff. It does make a bit more sense in that context but still has to many issues of "person does pants on head dumb thing" and other bits that just torpedoed it. Looking at the original Alien and Aliens peoples actions made a lot more sense, even if they screwed up or it didn't work out.
Finally got to see it, and I think this is the best Predator film, even better than the Original.
It gave us a strong female lead, who didn't resort to being strong in a male way, but rather she used her wits and observation to her advantage. Very much in the same way Ripley stands out as a strong female character.
The film used people's knowledge of the previous films to do some truly brilliant misdirection. That was nice to see, the film wasn't treating the audience like idiots.
It has just the right amount of head nodds to the rest of the franchise, this is something modern sequels over do... and it is annoying as feck.
The lack of Bathos is also refreshing, that sadly seems to becoming an all too common occurrence in modern 'Geek' films.
The few minor points are the sausage fingers moment, which I think is to do with the lighting. The Predators face looked off, not quite right...but if we Humans have different faces, I can only imagine the Predators do to. So it can be rationalised.
Really hope this does well enough to be noticed. As it shows how to do a good film, and a good expansion of a franchise.
Yeah. The rug pulls were solid misdirection, and not in a subverting expectations for the sake of looking cleverer than the audience way.
Seems the makers are keen to do more, and I myself am keen for them to do more!
Wikipedia, yes I know wrote: Prior to the film's release, Trachtenberg stated in June that there are discussions for additional installments to be developed after the release of Prey, saying their intent was to "do things that have not been done before" in the franchise.[63] In August, Bennett Taylor expressed interest in reprising his role as Raphael Adolini as "the pirate he is" in a potential prequel to Prey, serving as a loose adaptation of the 1996 comic book Predator: 1718 in which Adolini was introduced, reading it as research before shooting Prey, having aimed to "bring as much of [Raphael] into Prey that made sense".[64]
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Yeah. The rug pulls were solid misdirection, and not in a subverting expectations for the sake of looking cleverer than the audience way.
Seems the makers are keen to do more, and I myself am keen for them to do more!
Wikipedia, yes I know wrote: Prior to the film's release, Trachtenberg stated in June that there are discussions for additional installments to be developed after the release of Prey, saying their intent was to "do things that have not been done before" in the franchise.[63] In August, Bennett Taylor expressed interest in reprising his role as Raphael Adolini as "the pirate he is" in a potential prequel to Prey, serving as a loose adaptation of the 1996 comic book Predator: 1718 in which Adolini was introduced, reading it as research before shooting Prey, having aimed to "bring as much of [Raphael] into Prey that made sense".[64]
Would be well up for some more Predator films that have this level of skill. My big worry would ne how they may over do a good thing and we endup seeing the franchise end up eating itself again.
They need to extract what worked in this film, without just repeating it again and again. The concept of a Predator film is very bare bones: Predator shows up to hunt, Humans work out how to beat Predator, roll credits. What makes a good Predator film is how that is shown, and the world that is happens in. It sounds simple, but due to the bare bones nature it means it is a fine balance between getting it right, and getting it wrong.
Still, exciting times for an old (now I feel old) iconic 80's alien, that might be able to regain some credit... if only the Xenomorph could do the same.
AduroT wrote: How do you do a prequel to Prey? This movie is already tagged as the Predators’ first hunt on Earth.
Space!
But also, I would just ignore that. There can be plenty of Preds hunting on earth throughout all time. Love to see a stone age or dino hunt predator.
feth... just image a dialog-less movie from the predators point of view hunting dinosaurs. fething just a hour and a half of trekking through the woods and killing big lizards.
AduroT wrote: How do you do a prequel to Prey? This movie is already tagged as the Predators’ first hunt on Earth.
It can not be the Predators‘ first hunt on Earth if you consider previous canon such as in the Predator vs. Alien movies. Early Mesoamerica & South America I believe is referenced there if I remember correctly.
AduroT wrote: How do you do a prequel to Prey? This movie is already tagged as the Predators’ first hunt on Earth.
Space!
But also, I would just ignore that. There can be plenty of Preds hunting on earth throughout all time. Love to see a stone age or dino hunt predator.
feth... just image a dialog-less movie from the predators point of view hunting dinosaurs. fething just a hour and a half of trekking through the woods and killing big lizards.
Yes, a thousand times Yes. That would be very entertaining... and I'm usually a fan of more dialogue less action in films.
AduroT wrote: How do you do a prequel to Prey? This movie is already tagged as the Predators’ first hunt on Earth.
Space!
But also, I would just ignore that. There can be plenty of Preds hunting on earth throughout all time. Love to see a stone age or dino hunt predator.
feth... just image a dialog-less movie from the predators point of view hunting dinosaurs. fething just a hour and a half of trekking through the woods and killing big lizards.
Yes, a thousand times Yes. That would be very entertaining... and I'm usually a fan of more dialogue less action in films.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: One thing we as a movie audience don’t know is when a Predator would normally call a hunt ‘done’, as we’ve always seen them defeated and slain.
Yet, as we can see from Predator 2’s final scene? That’s not always the case, because trophy cabinets.
And another WW2 Predator fanfilm, European Theater this time, I just stumbled across…. and this one is hokey, but considering we were talking about Predator plot premises….
Marvel’s current Predator comic is pretty good so far. Set in the future in space. Predators take out a science expedition. Lone child survivor. Bit later she’s grown up and hunting them, looking for the one that killed her mother.
No outright spoilers ahead, but read at your own risk anyway! 
