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Ten or fifteen minutes into the film I went for my notepad. The rest of the scene confirmed the first impression. The beginning of the first scene where we meet Naru had me shaking my head. Or just really annoying for some reason outside its perceived goodness or badness. If I sit down to watch a movie or TV show, but while watching it am moved to start taking notes, either it’s really good or really bad. Decent word-of-mouth vibe, interesting concept, couple beers onboard, batter up! Let the ride continue. I figured the fun would continue with Prey. The movie starts that way but then surprised me by immediately (literally) changing course. Which is one reason I didn’t expect much. An adequate entry in the canon.Ī last note: based on the premise, and the end of the first movie, I thought this one took place in space Predators battling Xenomorphs. But definitely because, as amusement park rides go, as Predator or AvP movies go, it was okay. Possibly in part because it was Saturday evening, and the beer light was on. Possibly in part because I was dog-sitting my pal Bentley, which always puts me in a good mood. So, I enjoyed it more than I expected to. Few (if any) movies are perfect, Sci-Fi action thrillers especially, but this was on par with others of its ilk. No big complaints about the story, and I thought it even had little flourishes indicating intelligence behind the camera and keyboard. This one was no worse and quite watchable. Other than the first one, which is wonderful, the sequel Predator movies are just amusement park rides. And the original movie wasn’t much to write home (or anywhere else) about. For one thing, it’s recent enough (2007) to be part of the major decline in storytelling. I thought AvP:Requiem wasn’t going to amount to much. (Constantly inserting THE MESSAGE into storytelling risks turning supporters against it.) As with all spam, at some point it turns into noise we ignore and dismiss. If only they had let that speak for itself and just told a ripping good yarn within that context. A good premise for a new-but-old action-thriller that - bonus! - is organically woman-centric, POC-centric, and historic native Americana. It felt mostly reasonable to me, for whatever that’s worth. I know almost nothing about the lives of plains Indians, so I have no idea how accurate their depiction is. And I understand they strived for authenticity. The film even has a Comanche dub soundtrack, although most of it was filmed in English. So-called “primitive” but trained and experienced warriors against a trained and experienced Predator with high technology. (All the harder having just watched an AvP movie.)Īlso on the plus side, I thought Prey has a great general premise, Comanche in 1719 versus Predators. I actually had to remind myself it was not an AvP movie. It does have Kelly O’Brien ( Reiko Aylesworth) as a soldier home on leave, but she wasn’t central to the action. AvP:Requiem did not follow the tradition set by Lathan but was more a traditional Predator movie. In contrast, the Predator franchise, also following tradition set in the first entries (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover), has been generally male-centric. And the female lead, Naru ( Amber Midthunder), follows the tradition started by Ellen Ripley ( Sigourney Weaver) and rebooted by Alexa Woods ( Sanaa Lathan) in the first entry in the AvP series. It has the name power of the Predator franchise, but it’s a new branch, not a continuation of the arc established by the first film. It’s exactly the sort of original story I think is a great vehicle for female lead action stars. Those who agree don’t need the sermon, and those who don’t agree aren’t likely to be swayed by an action movie. And annoying.Īgreeing with the message - even whole heartedly - doesn’t mean I enjoy propaganda. As unwanted, unwelcome, and irrelevant (even inappropriate), but also as ubiquitous and inescapable. This heavy-handed social messaging has much in common with other forms of spam. I found it distracting and detracting.įor exactly the reasons discussed in recent posts. Prey has a lot going for it but has too much Mulan and Dances with Wolves for my taste. Prey got lots of praise, and I’ve long wanted to see The AvP sequel (although I wasn’t expecting much from it).Īs it turned out, AvP: Requiem won the night. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of these movies, but I’ve generally enjoyed them. First, I watched the second entry in the AvP series, Aliens vs. Predators mini franchise, the crossover with the Aliens franchise. Speaking of women-centric movies and TV shows, recently I watched Hulu’s Prey (2022), the latest entry in the Predator franchise.