According to Rotten Tomatoes’ critics’ scores, Prey has quickly overtaken all other Predator films as the one with the highest rating.
To the joy of science fiction lovers, the fifth Predator franchise chapter debuted on the American streaming service Hulu back on August 5.
When it was first confirmed that Prey will include a number of upcoming Native American performers, there was a lot of excitement and hype. Even better, Hulu made available a version that was dubbed in Comanche, the native tongue of the Native tribe in the movie.
In Prey, which is set 300 years in the past, a young Comanche woman named Naru (played by actor Amber Midthunder, a member of the Fort Peck Sioux Tribe), decides to defend her tribe against the Predator that is encroaching on their territory.
The portrayal of Native Americans in the movie has high expectations. Prey is actually the first movie in cinematic history to have a complete dub in Comanche. Additionally, it is the first movie to have a simultaneous English and Native language debut.
This is a result of Dan Trachtenberg, the film’s director, who worked hard to portray Comanche warriors as truthfully as he could.
The actor who plays Naru’s brother, Dakota Beavers, said to Variety: “I saw certain people talking before the previews came out about, ‘How are these people with sticks and rocks supposed to be able to defeat the Predator?’ And I would like people to know that they were intelligent. They were very capable people.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger played Major Alan Schaefer (also known as “Dutch”), a Vietnam War veteran tasked with rescuing a group of US politicians taken prisoner in a Guatemalan rainforest, in the 1987 thriller Predator.
Predator has developed a cult following among sci-fi lovers and is frequently included on “best of” lists. It cost $15 million to make at the time of release, and it made a whopping $98.3 million at the box office.
Schwarzenegger’s movie currently holds the #2 spot in the Predator series, receiving a commendable 80% from reviews. Prey, which currently has a staggeringly high Rotten Tomato “Certified Fresh” rating of 93%, has surpassed the original as of this week.
Film critics have lauded the newest movie for breaking from the stale trope of testosterone-fueled machine gun conflicts and “oiled-up musclemen with biceps” that made up the first movie, such as James Dyer of Empire.
Instead, Dyer praised the most recent episode for including a female character who does not depend on displays of masculinity to establish her status as a warrior.
Even inexperienced film critics have praised Prey on Twitter, complimenting the movie’s actors, photography, and costumes.
One fan tweeted, “Prey might have given us the most BADASS predator look ever.”
Prey might have given us the most BADASS predator look ever #PreyMovie pic.twitter.com/U44wqqgI7I
— sabrina 🦇 (@nightwaynes) August 6, 2022
“#PreyMovie slaps so damn hard! A truly brilliant installment to the Predator franchise. It’s beautiful, epic, fun and absolutely kickass. Amber Midthunder is amazing in the lead and the cinematography and brutal action is on point. Easily one of my faves this year,” another user commented.
#PreyMovie slaps so damn hard! A truly brilliant installment to the Predator franchise. It's beautiful, epic, fun and absolutely kickass. Amber Midthunder is amazing in the lead and the cinematography and brutal action is on point. Easily one of my faves this year 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AGTURQMZy4
— D.K.N ☪️ (@YorkshireH0bbit) August 6, 2022
The Comanche dubbed version of the movie, which was truly done by the performers in the movie, impressed a lot of viewers. “Not only did #Prey release with a Comanche dub, Dan Trachtenberg [sic] got the WHOLE cast to come back dub their voices themselves. That is actually so sick,” one account posted.
Not only did #Prey release with a Comanche dub, Dan Tratchenberg got the WHOLE cast to come back dub their voices themselves. That is actually so sick
— Tyrell Charles (@TheoriesByT) August 7, 2022
Fans of the sci-fi series may have even recognized a cunning callback to the 1987 film’s original title when one of the Comanche warriors quotes Arnold Schwarzenegger: “If it bleeds, we can kill it.”
Every Predator fan when Taabe said "If it bleeds, we can kill it" #PreyMovie #PreyHulu pic.twitter.com/Bgmps0SJZ5
— Shem. (@shemjay93) August 5, 2022
Thankfully, Prey has succeeded in reviving the science fiction series. The subsequent three movies didn’t do as well; the fourth movie from 2007 received ratings as low as 12%.
