Predator: Killer of Killers review
Hulu just dropped a great Predator movie.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Predator: Killer of Killers
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and Joshua Wassung
Screenplay by Micho Robert Rutare
Predator: Killer of Killers Review
This is a busy week for new releases. Dangerous Animals, I Don’t Understand You and The Ritual all hit theaters the same day. We’ll, of course, have reviews for all three on the site soon (Dangerous Animals was reviewed last week). The plan was to post a review for The Ritual today; I Don’t Understand You on Monday…and get to Hulu’s Predator: Killer of Killers on Tuesday. Hulu chose a jampacked weekend to drop its animated Predator anthology…but we’re going to let it jump the line for a reason. It’s great. You should carve out some time this weekend to watch it. The same can’t be said for I Don’t Understand You and (especially) The Ritual. Quality wins out. Seriously…don’t go see The Ritual. That’s the only warning you’ll get from me until Monday.
Predator: Killer of Killers, on the other hand, should be watched by anyone with even a passing interest in the Predator franchise. Director Dan Trachtenberg set the franchise back on the right path a few years ago with the Hulu only release of Prey. Prey is a fantastic movie that should have received a full theatrical release. His upcoming film Predator: Badlands will fix that problem when it hits theaters this November. Hulu isn’t being totally left out on the Predator fun, however. Trachtenberg has teamed up with Joshua Wassung to direct an animated anthology set inside the Predator franchise. And it’s available on Hulu right now.
Normally we tackle anthologies by ranking the individual segments that make up the film. I guess we can still do that…though in a less traditional way. We’ll cover the twenty minute (give or take) segments in order…but let you know which ones are the best. There are three individual segments in Predator: Killer of Killers…and then a final segment that brings all three together. The overall package is incredibly strong. The bite sized stories each bring something different and exciting to a movie that features a ton of action, creates memorable characters, and doesn’t skimp on violence. In other words, a top tier Predator movie.
The first section of Predator: Killer of Killers (The Shield) is set in 841 A.D. Ursa, a Viking, leads a battalion to kill Zoran. She attempts to teach her young son Anders the Viking ways as they tear through Zoran’s soldiers. A Predator is watching, of course, ready to pounce the moment that Ursa proves herself the top warrior among the carnage. The Shield is a strong opening to Killer of Killers. It establishes the pattern that the first three segments of the anthology will take. It’s the weakest of the three…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good story in its own right. Only that things are going to get even better.
The Sword follows The Shield as the second section of the anthology. It’s the best piece of Predator: Killer of Killers. Twin brothers, Kenji and Kiyoshi, battle each other for their father’s title of Shogun. Set in 1609…The Sword features an epic one on one samurai fight. The Predator here, once again, patiently watches the brother’s battle to establish who the alpha is. I can’t say enough about the quality of The Shield. The swordfight between Kenji and Kiyoshi is incredible. The characters are wonderfully established with very little dialog. And there’s a Predator waiting for whoever survives their emotional, action packed showdown.
The third individual segment, The Bullet, changes things up considerably. It centers on a World War II pilot in 1941. The action here all takes place in the sky. John Torres notices something (a cloaked Predator ship) in the sky…but all of the pilots are too far out of range to warn. Torres heroically takes off in a busted plane to try and warn/protect them. The arial combat in The Bullet is a nice change of pace from the hand to hand battles that precede it. Michael Biehn voices a character in this section. If you are familiar with Biehn’s history in the Alien and Terminator franchises…you can probably guess what happens to his character here. The Bullet is the second best segment in Predator: Killer of Killers…offering something fresh to the Predator canon.
The final segment of Predator: Killer of Killers serves as a direct sequel to all three of the segments that precede it. It features a couple of franchise call backs…the latter of which will be of great interest to fans of Prey. It’s a fun story that leaves a couple of cliffhangers dangling for the future. Which is a nice way of saying that, despite its wholly satisfying total package, Predator: Killer of Killers doesn’t land on a full conclusion. It’s interesting to see the heroes from different times and places, all of whom speak different languages, attempt to navigate the deadly situation they find themselves in. If a Killer of Killers 2 were to be announced…that would be even better.
The animation and voice acting in Predator: Killer of Killers is very good. Its story is even better. This is a bloody, action packed and occasionally emotional journey for three well-defined heroes. This is top tier Predator. Don’t miss it.
Scare Value
Prey revitalized the tarnished and tired Predator franchise. Predator: Killer of Killers keeps the high-quality storytelling rolling into the release of Predator: Badlands this fall. Killer of Killers is an anthology that gives us a trio of new heroes in truncated but effective stories, pits them against Predators…and then, each other. It’s an all gas no breaks animated action piece that you don’t want to miss.
4/5
Predator: Killer of Killers Link
Streaming on Hulu
