A tiny woman against a hulking alien nightmare?
A CGI bear that looks absolutely unbearable?
Some Pred-heads are really gunning for Prey.
By far the biggest complaint among fans is the controversial redesign of the Predator,
which portrays the creature in a decidedly more monstrous form than we're used to.
Dubbed "the Feral Predator," it's an ancestor to the beast seen fighting Arnold Schwarzenegger's
Dutch in the original film, 300 years after the events of "Prey."
Director Dan Trachtenberg told Digital Spy,
"I wanted to make this version of the Predator so much more feral and ferocious and animalistic,
from its movements to its silhouette and its design."
While Trachtenberg's explanation makes sense, some "Predator" fans have responded negatively
to the new look, which is revealed during an action scene midway through the film.
You don't need to look further than the comments section on the fan website AVP Galaxy to see
the disdain many have for the design.
For instance, one user said,
"Feral's weapons were interesting and it was fun watching him on screen.
My one gripe is that I wasn't crazy about the face redesign.
It was just okay for me."
Similar sentiments appear in various comment circles across the web, though the new look
does have several fans.
One user is quoted as saying,
"'Prey' is a solid #predator movie.
Predator redesign seemed unnecessary, but didn't bother me.
Way better than expected."
The predator seen in "Prey" lives up to the species' storied reputation.
The big guy hunts and kills a rattlesnake, a wolf, a bear, a group of Comanches, and
a whole squad of French trappers in brutal fashion.
These scenes offer some of the best action of the entire "Predator" franchise, as the
alien baddie utilizes an assortment of unique weapons and abilities to take out his foes.
Perhaps that's why some fans were left feeling short changed at the monster's demise.
Following his trail of carnage, the hunter chases Naru, who stole his mask in a previous
scene, into the forest and eventually becomes stuck in some mud.
He disappears below the surface but manages to pull himself out of the trap long enough
to aim his arrow launcher at Naru's head, unaware that the clever warrior has placed
his mask on a nearby tree.
"This is as far as you go.
No more.
This is it."
Our antagonist can only tilt his head in confusion before an arrow streaks through his skull,
killing him instantly.
A Twitter user noted,
"The Predator dies in what I think is the dumbest way for a Predator to die . . . It
would be a badass kill if he didn't stand there looking all 'oh s--' for a few good seconds."
Another complaint about "Prey" among fans is the Predator's inability to kill a young
woman with minimal combat experience.
One user made a composite image of the entire cast of the original "Predator" film standing
next to Naru, indicating that it took an entire squad of trained soldiers to take down the
original monster, but only a single, inexperienced warrior to succeed in the latest film.
One could argue the point of Naru's character arc is to show the merits of brains over brawn
in outwitting an interstellar killing machine.
That isn't convincing enough for some, including one Twitter user, who states,
"In this movie the predator 1 punch kills a 1k pound grizzly but can't strangle the
110-pound protag even when it has its hand around her neck."
One could also point out that a theme of the entire original "Predator" film is "brains over brawn."
Dutch is the last one standing because he realizes that the combat experience and physical
might of his team are no match for the kind of clever strategy that both he and Naru rely
on in their climactic battles.
"Prey" is not a perfect film.
There's plenty to love, but this "Predator" prequel has some glaring issues - notably,
the wonky CGI.
Many of the animals in the movie look a little off - especially during the bear fight.
Even fans who like the film point out that some of the visual effects in this sequence
are simply not up to modern blockbuster standards.
One critic said,
"A couple of intro shots of the bear were not very good.
Later on when the bear and Predator were fighting was much much better, but you can tell they
were like, 'This part doesn't matter all that much, but this next part will be in the trailer.'
It was a little rough."
Another tweeted,
"Prey was basically 'what if the power rangers movie had very bad CGI?'"
Though that same user went on to praise the action scenes overall, they clearly had no
love for the distracting special effects.
Naru is largely seen as a misfit by her fellow tribesmen who don't support her rebellious ways.
In fact, except for her brother Taabe, no one steps up to support Naru or her quest
to become a great hunter.
"Who invited you?
We won't be gone long enough to need a cook."
But the understatement of this aspect is one of the reasons some critics praised "Prey,"
with one noting,
"The subtle approach to the arc of Naru is appreciated as [the filmmakers] rarely resort
to forced antagonism via the tribespeople to make their point."
Some fans don't agree, including the hosts of The Angry Movie Review, who cite the scene
in which one of the men in Naru's tribe orders her to go back to the village.
The critic argues that while the explicit bullying makes for easy conflict, it also
feels a little dumbed down.
The others on the show agreed, feeling that while the overall purpose of the scene was
fine, the silly dialogue undercuts the tension, saying,
"Instead of hokey dialogue, it could have all been done in looks or different ways.
Just adult it up a little bit."
"Prey" ends much like the original "Predator," with Naru defeating the alien hunter by utilizing
her wits and escaping with her life.
Some have complained that Naru should have been roughed up a bit more during her battle
with the Predator, noting that even Arnold Schwarzenegger was left bloodied and broken
at the end of the original film.
One user makes the point that even after she massacres the alien, Naru doesn't have a mark on her.
They go on to note that the team from "Predator" had difficulty bringing down the original
alien even with their high-tech weaponry.
A Reddit user stated that they enjoyed "Prey," but added that they missed how clever the
predator used to be.
They went on to lament how the Predators no longer seem like much of a threatening presence
after a few movies that have seen them be beaten with relative ease.
An aspect of "Prey" drawing criticism from fans is the lack of memorable supporting characters.
It's almost a tradition for "Predator" films to feature great ensembles surrounding the
central protagonist in their battle with the alien hunter.
John McTiernan's original 1987 film included the likes of Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Sonny
Landham, and Jesse Ventura, among others.
While later sequels arguably dipped in quality from the original, Hit or Miss TV host Andrew
Tate opined that even the lesser films had solid supporting casts.
He argues,
"Prey doesn't have supporting characters other than the brother - the lead character's brother.
He's in it - I thought he was really good - but he wasn't in it enough.
There wasn't enough development."
Tate felt none of the deaths in "Prey" really mattered, explaining,
"There's too many other characters that get wiped out and I'm just like, 'Oh well, it's
just another generic NPC from Skyrim.
I don't care about them.'"
One four out of ten rating on IMDb had a fairly scathing review, stating,
"The Comanche people portrayed in the film have only one thing to live for - survival
. . . It also makes it very hard for them to be personable and likable.
Every character in the film other than the main girl might as well have been the exact same person."
One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most iconic one-liners comes from the original "Predator."
"If it bleeds, we can kill it."
The same line is repeated in "Prey" by Naru's brother Taabe, while they're both tied to
a tree during the battle sequence with the French fur trappers.
For some, the moment was a goosebump-inducing callback to "Predator," but others felt the
bit of dialogue felt shoehorned into the film.
One tweet described the line as being shoehorned into Prey for no reason.
In the comment section below the tweet, the user posited,
"It would have been better if they gave one of Billy's lines to them.
'There's something hunting us, and it ain't no man . . . we're all gonna die.'
And then they all indeed die."
About midway through "Prey," Naru comes to a startling conclusion while tied up to a
tree with her brother: the Predator won't kill her because it doesn't see her as a threat.
This ties into the overall theme of "Prey."
Naru is trying to prove her worth to those around her, while many in her tribe see her
as little more than someone who needs to learn her place.
However, some fans were angered by this twist.
In their negative review of the film, Bad Movie Reviews claimed,
"The movie constantly panders to gender politics as apparently, in this movie, the Predator
isn't attacking the female lead because it doesn't see her as a threat . . . Since when
does the Predator care about the gender of its victims?"
In the comment section for the same video, a user noted that the Predator slaughtered
the fatally injured fur trapper Raphael despite knowing he didn't have a weapon and was physically hampered.
He explains,
"He certainly wasn't a threat, but that didn't stop the predator from killing him."
Others in the comments agree with another user arguing,
"Don't let anyone fool you, Predators have attacked women with weapons in other movies.
Only exception was [Predator 2], where the woman was pregnant and he didn't."
In one particular way, "Prey" seems to be messing with "Predator" franchise lore, which
is a bad idea when dealing with hardcore fandom.
The character of Raphael Adolini plays a huge part in the franchise, at least in terms of
comic books and spinoffs.
Adolini was the name inscribed on the gun given to Danny Glover by one of the departing
Predators at the end of "Predator 2," seemingly as a sign of respect.
For years, fans wondered who this mysterious man was and why a Predator would carry around
his weapon, clearly seeing it as some sort of prized trophy to be handed off when bested in combat.
As it turns out, the answers lie in a 1996 Dark Horse comic book titled "Predator: 1718,"
a storyline "Prey" completely ignores.
Instead, the film features a man named Raphael, who is killed by the Predator after handing
his flintlock pistol to Naru.
While it's neat to see the "Predator 2" Easter Egg in "Prey," the complete disregard for
previous comic book canon has disappointed some, much like Disney's retconning of pre-existing
"Star Wars" Expanded Universe stories.
One of the coolest scenes in "Prey" features Naru taking out a group of French trappers
using her throwing axe and some well-timed flips.
Shot to look like one long take, the sequence is violent, gory, and completely badass as
Naru slices and dices enemies left and right without remorse.
Still, there were quite a few fans who decried the moment as unbelievable.
A Reddit user noted that Naru was mostly seen as "useless" by her tribe for much of the
film, continuing,
"Then when the movie calls for it she can suddenly slaughter a camp of 10 or so men
in 45 seconds . . . It would have been a better step imo for her to have been a capable hunter
and warrior . . . rather than making her instantly go into beast mode for the last 15-20 minutes."
Others have joked that Naru's abilities are more akin to Keanu Reeves' killer assassin
in "John Wick" than a real-life Indigenous warrior.
One tweet jokes,
"Naru in 'Prey' is very obviously the founder of the assassins guild in John Wick.
The obvious fact that John Wick, Predator, & Alien is a shared universe is basically
the greatest gift 2022 could have given me."