Hey guys and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, since we just had the theatrical release of a new movie in the Predator franchise, I wanted to look at the other installment that came out this year that I was finally able to check out. Predator: Killer of Killers premiered on Hulu in June and was a very well received expansion of the Predator universe, with director Dan Trachtenberg, back behind the helm after delivering the highly acclaimed Prey. Like that film, we get to see the titular alien species in different eras of history and when this was announced I was incredibly excited as this sounded like such a fun and clever way to do more with this concept without having to worry about mainstream interest at the theatrical level (even though it would’ve been awesome to see this on the big screen). With that said, was this able to provide a worthwhile dip into history? Let’s jump right in and see what exactly the Yaujta were up to throughout the many years of human civilization!
The movie functions as an anthology with four chapters being being told centered on different protagonists. The first is The Shield, which follows a tribe of Vikings led by the warrior Ursa in Scandinavia in the year 841. She leads her clan, along with her young son, Anders, to go and destroy a rival tribe led by a man from her past named Zoran, whom she wants to enact revenge upon. The second is titled The Sword, and centers on two brothers named Kenji and Kiyoshi in 1609 Japan, who are sons of a Samurai warlord and are torn apart after the former gets scarred by the later for refusing to fight. Twenty years later, after their father’s death, Kenji suits up to confront his brother after all this time. Then, there is The Bullet, which is about a fighter pilot named John J. Torres in 1942 who wants to prove himself. He gets his chance, when his aircraft carrier’s unit goes to investigate the destruction of another unit and he decides to tag along after witnessing some mysterious technology. This all culminates in The Battle, which brings all of these stories together in a surprising way.
I can’t help but really dig how Trachtenberg is taking the concept of the Predator and the mythology that goes with that species in order to tell all of these fun “what if” stories that were only alluded to in the original films. With this series of stories, he is able to dig into what many fans have wanted to see from this series, which is witnessing Predators hunting various opponents throughout human history and boy does he take advantage of the possibilities presented here. Each of the stories deliver on all the violent action that one would expect from a Predator story, this time with a new flavor, given the various eras that we visit, which prevents things from getting tired. They all have a unique feel and are very engrossing in their own right to the point where I was invested in each character’s journey before the titular hunters even show up. The Shield is a harsh and surprisingly poignant tale that tackles the meaning of revenge and whether it can truly be satisfactory as well as the price of a violent lifestyle. The Sword is my favorite of the bunch, as I found it to be exceptionally told story thanks to how it is able to convey everything perfectly all through action and emotions with almost no dialogue spoken. It touches upon similar ideas as The Shield through a tragic rivalry that is emotionally riveting in how it explores the bonds between loved ones and the feeling of losing one.
The Bullet is by default the most conventional of the bunch, but is still a very enjoyable story that works really well as an underdog tale, as our protagonist is the least experienced out of the three presented here and so it is the one where I was the most interested in seeing how he would get out of this situation. It all culminates in a way that I found surprising and honestly risky, but it managed to work, without sacrificing what the individual stories were doing and it actually provides some great pay offs for each of our heroes. Now, I do have a slight issue with how a specific arc is wrapped up as I feel like certain endpoints are kind of sacrificed for the sake of keeping things in play for future installments (and there is a reveal that may polarize fans due to how it kind of undoes the satisfying endings of previous Predator films, but it does have me curious as to what can happen next). Putting that aside, the preceding movie is so awesome that it didn’t bother too much and I greatly appreciated the film’s focus on showcasing new stuff for this franchise rather than relying on the hits to appease the fans.
This is the first Predator project to be animated and it opts for a very stylistic approach that is reminiscent of other animated takes on well known IP such as Spider-Verse and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, given the changes in frame rate and less fluid nature of the movements, but it still manages to do its own things. It sort of is like Arcane in terms of combining 3D and 2D together, but not as smooth. That however is not a bad thing as this still manages to be a visual treat with environments that feel vast and are utilized to great effect in the various action sequences, managing to bring to life historical places like Samurai era Japan and a sea borne WWII perfectly with a Predator tinged element invading these settings. The frame rate changes help in adding a kinetic feel that makes the proceedings all the more intense and all of the different elements on an animation level come together nicely so that it never off. Each of our main characters is designed memorably and in a way where their physical attributes match both their personalities and fighting styles like with Ursa having a more rough and tumble approach or Torres being one to rely on his brains more than brawn due to his scrawniness. Same goes for the Predators with each one having a distinct and memorable look to them, while also providing the intimidation and formability that the killers are known for.
Color is also utilized to great effect with it adding to the mood of the settings and it makes some visually captivating scenes that can often reflect the emotions displayed, like fire displaying inner rage, the sunlight signifying a peacefulness, or fog creating a sense of mystery (very useful in the action). When it comes to the action itself it is easily the most brutal and gory out of any Predator movie, thanks to the freedom of the animation medium to get away with more over the top kills. Heads and bodies get destroyed and explode in various creative ways that fit the Predator brand and Trachtenberg has fun exploring the various scenarios in which the weaponry of the alien species can be used in these historical settings. It helps that all of the sequences are masterfully planned out in terms of fight choreography and editing as it all comes together for a violent symphony (there’s a couple of very nice one takers that only exemplify this such as an early Viking raid). It is very satisfying to see our heroes learn on the fly about their opponent and use what they have (as well as their wits) to take them down, with the ways they do so, feeling organic and thoughtfully constructed in terms of putting in necessary struggles and build up to make the pay offs land even harder.
A sign of a good anthology is when the subject of each story manages to be engrossing on their own terms and that is absolutely the case here. Each of the leads here have their own background and personalities. Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy) makes for a very compelling and fierce warrior whose story ends up being tragic as we see her quest for vengeance go in an unexpected direction. Her relationship with Anders (Damien Haas) is very well established and there is a surprising moral conundrum as we both want the bad guys to get some sort of comeuppance, while hoping he’s not the one to do it as the movie shows that Ursa lost her innocence once she had blood on her hands (and not by her choice). Slight spoilers, but Her story ends up being the saddest as the Predator coming in actually takes everything away from her and she is just fueled by revenge by the time we get to the final segment. Kenji (Louis Ozawa Changchien), on the other hand is the complete opposite as he a very cool and collected individual who is never one to fight unless provoked. I enjoy how much of a relative pacifist he is, as it is fairly unique as far as this series goes and his relationship with Kiyoshi and the various complications is one that manages to be conveyed so brilliantly with almost nothing said. Torres (Rick Gonzalez) manages to be the most “underdog” of the bunch as he really is just a normal guy with untapped air piloting skills that he realizes. He provides some needed levity with his quips and sassy comebacks giving him a plucky spirit that is rather endearing and it is very enjoyable seeing him think on his feet during dog fight with an alien space craft and figure out what to do. His dynamic with head fighter pilot of the squadron, Vandy (Michael Biehn no stranger to iconic sci fi franchises), is also quite nice with his tough, but well meaning mentor type who plays a key role in pushing Torres to his full potential.
This next paragraph contains spoilers for the Last act: Each character’s story, while different in tone and setting, do have interesting parallels in how they follow characters facing a loss of some kind and having to prove themselves as fighters. This all comes to a head in the last story where we see them cross over through a gladiatorial battle on the Predator home world where they are forced fight each other. I was hesitant of this at first, but thankfully this does not end up betraying each prior individual story, and I was impressed at how well this part was written. The language barrier between the three leads is a clever way of creating conflict and suspense since they have to find ways to communicate in the hopes of teaming up and not killing each other while having a detonator attached to them, forcing them to fight. I was on the edge of my seat and wondering how they would get out of this mess and the screenplay plays fair in terms of how this happens. Also gives our characters some nice pay offs to what was established before.
All in all, I found Predator: Killer of Killers to be a riveting anthology that expanded on this universe in so many amazing ways. While I have some issues with how some things wrap up, everything else is so awesome from the excellently constructed stories, the way the period settings are taken advantage of, the emotional arcs of the characters, the visually dazzling animation, the gory and clever action sequences, and a compelling group of individuals to follow. I think fans of the Predator franchise are going to eat this up, especially those who have been yearning for stories of this vein that were only teased in initial installments. I also think this just works as an exciting and fun anthology, even for those who aren’t as into the lore. Dan Trachtenberg has proven to have an insanely creative vision for this series, one that makes me happy that he is kind of the unofficial architect of this franchise now. I for one, can’t wait to see what is done next and spoiler for my review of Predator: Badlands, but that one only furthers my excitement!
Rating: A
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