It's pretty rare that a sequel improves on earlier installments in a franchise.
It's even more rare that this happens after the franchise really starts going downhill.
And it's extremely rare that a sequel improves on earlier installments after the franchise starts going downhill - when (IMHO) even the original wasn't all that great to begin with.
Well friends, I would say the Predator franchise has done the near-impossible and risen from the ashes of a seemingly dead and buried series to put out a really solid, fast-paced action/adventure/sci-fi offering in Prey that knocks all three genres out of the park.
And as I said, I wasn't even all that crazy about the original Arnold vehicle. I didn't hate it (I can't say that about some of the earlier sequels), but I just found it underwhelming and a bit anti-climactic, and I didn't really care that much about the characters. And I just never thought the original predator looked much like anything other than a guy in suit.
However, I found Prey to have a nearly perfect slow-burn pace, incredibly well-done action scenes, and characters I really cared for. Hell I thought the dog in Prey was a more memorable character than anyone in all of the previous Predator movies combined. And I really liked the way they portrayed the Native American protagonists. It's like someone finally said, "You know what, instead of portraying Native Americans as savages or impossibly noble super-beings - why not just portray them as normal, flawed-but-likable individuals who happen to be Native American?"
Do yourself a favor (as long as you don't have a problem with scenes where people lose arms and legs) and give this one a chance. And give it a chance even if you've pretty much written off the Predator franchise, and even if you didn't even think the original was all that great.
It's even more rare that this happens after the franchise really starts going downhill.
And it's extremely rare that a sequel improves on earlier installments after the franchise starts going downhill - when (IMHO) even the original wasn't all that great to begin with.
Well friends, I would say the Predator franchise has done the near-impossible and risen from the ashes of a seemingly dead and buried series to put out a really solid, fast-paced action/adventure/sci-fi offering in Prey that knocks all three genres out of the park.
And as I said, I wasn't even all that crazy about the original Arnold vehicle. I didn't hate it (I can't say that about some of the earlier sequels), but I just found it underwhelming and a bit anti-climactic, and I didn't really care that much about the characters. And I just never thought the original predator looked much like anything other than a guy in suit.
However, I found Prey to have a nearly perfect slow-burn pace, incredibly well-done action scenes, and characters I really cared for. Hell I thought the dog in Prey was a more memorable character than anyone in all of the previous Predator movies combined. And I really liked the way they portrayed the Native American protagonists. It's like someone finally said, "You know what, instead of portraying Native Americans as savages or impossibly noble super-beings - why not just portray them as normal, flawed-but-likable individuals who happen to be Native American?"
Do yourself a favor (as long as you don't have a problem with scenes where people lose arms and legs) and give this one a chance. And give it a chance even if you've pretty much written off the Predator franchise, and even if you didn't even think the original was all that great.