Action franchises tend to go bigger with every new installment, and “Predator” is no exception.
Where the original 1987 film pits a small group of sweat-soaked paramilitaries against a Predator (aka. Yautja) in a dense South American jungle, its first two sequels expand the setting to a dystopian version of Los Angeles circa 1997 and then an entire extraterrestrial planet.
But while “The Predator” tried to dial things back to muddled results, director Dan Trachtenberg’s prequel “Prey” is much more successful, with its story unfolding on the unconquered Great Plains in the early 18th century.Winding the clock back simultaneously gives Trachtenberg an organic excuse to simplify the Predator‘s arsenal, which helps to level the playing field for the alien hunter and the film’s human protagonist: the aspiring Comanche warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder).
This approach of stripping “Predator” down to its basics also extends to the themes in “Prey.” Much like…
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