Those pesky Predators are back and this time they are collecting skulls in the Northern Great Plains during 1719. The Comanche Nation isn’t going to put up with that nonsense though, and thus we embark on the story of the first meeting between humanity and alien life.
The star of this entry in the Predator series is Naru, a young woman who would rather hunt than gather flowers. She catches some grief from her peers, but her brother sticks up for her and she certainly earns her way by being a better tracker and inventor than everyone else. I mean, axe-on-a-rope… awesome!
Amber Midthunder does a good job in the lead role – I liked her and her character. When I think of female leads in action and sci-fi movies, for me they are always compared to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley and Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Conner. In order to make it work you have to believe that Ripley can strap on a flamethrower and mow down xenomorphs in real life. Sigourney Weaver has the physical presence to make it work.
How does Amber stack up? For the most part, great. At least until the final showdown, where the movie starts to stretch its credibility with Naru, but even then I’m willing to at least partially buy into her using her speed and wits the hold her own because the film has been pretty good up to that point.
I think releasing this direct to streaming was a good idea. My reaction probably would not have been as favorable seeing this on the big screen, but with Prey coming out on Hulu there is less pressure for the movie to measure up and it was easier to enjoy this sequel for what it was – a well-made B movie with plenty of action and gore.
Really, the only thing holding this film back is the CGI. At times it made it hard to stay lost in the story, especially during the scenes with computer generated animals. This isn’t a knock against the filmmakers – I’m sure the budget constraints is what hampered the effects work. I wonder what this film would have looked like if it had been made in the 80s and all the effects were done practically.
At any rate, it’s still a better movie that all of the other Predator sequels and well worth a watch.