Prey
Very well directed, but falls short of the first film. It's certainly the best one since at least the second film, although I'd say I enjoyed it more than the second. The film is really let down by some of the action being far less grounded than it ought to be. There are times where the choreography is a bit too slick and feels entirely odd and out of place in a story and setting that is otherwise very grounded. One's suspension of disbelief is beat even harder into the ground by the protagonist, who in no way seems capable of prevailing. It reminds me of the second film and how I always found it difficult to believe that Danny Glover could have any chance of surviving. I feel like there were some very real issues with the yautja in the film, who is characterized as being entirely stupid and incompetent-- at least when it concerns the protagonist and her tribe.
The film is ultimately carried by Amber Midthunder's charisma and talent as an actress (every single performance was great though), as well as her very pretty face. In particular, her eyes are very emotive. The film does manage to build good suspense, because the sound design manages to make the yautja in the film menacing and spooky at times,. This has been something that the franchise has lost over the last thirty years, and I highly implore people watch this film with good headphones or surround sound. As an entirely unwanted and inappropriate aside, no your Ray Cons are not good headphones.
Ultimately I enjoyed this film, despite my issues with it. It came very close to being great, but is ultimately held back by the eye rolling nature of the protagonist. I'm also willing to bet some special snowflake types will start frothing at the mouth over some very liberal dog whistling going on. I wouldn't watch this with anyone that gets upset about the liberal agenda (lol).
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