I am a child of the 70s. That means I’m a teen of the 80s. And like every good teen of the 80s, I LOVED 1987s Predator. For the time, the special effects were jaw dropping. It was nearly non-stop action and has some of the most quotable lines from any 80s action movie. I dare you to watch it and not yell “Get to the choppa!”
I have seen just about every sequel and nothing has come close to the excitement of the original Predator. Although 2022s Prey came close. I figured I’d never see anything as good as the original Schwarzenegger testosterone fest. Well I was wrong. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Predator: Killer of Killers is actually better than the original Predator. After writing that lat line, I fully expect someone to come crashing through my door to revoke my ‘Teen of the 80s” card, but it is worth the risk. Predator: Killer of Killers is simply that good.
What makes me so willing to risk my life”Teen of the 80s” card?
First, the animation is incredible. You could play this movie with no sound from any point and you could enjoy it. All of the artists involved have created a masterpiece.
Second, the settings. This movie provides three distinct stand alone stories. One set in the time and place of the Vikings, one in int time of the Ninja and Samurai of Japan, and the final one during World War II. Vikings, Ninja and Soldiers… oh my! Maybe I won’t lose that 80s teen card after all. I honestly could not think of a better combination of settings. Each one is awesome. Getting all three is simply mind-blowing. In each of these settings, The Predator uses weapons that are similar, yet far superior, to those used by the human at the time. It leads to incredible battle scenes.
Third, speaking of battle scenes, that’s basically all this movie is. It includes some of the coolest battle sequences (whether live action or animated) that I have ever seen. I have seen many battles. So when I see something new, I go nuts. And I went bonkers while watching this. There were so many new cool moves I had not seen before. 90% of the movie is comprised of these fight sequences. They only deviate away from the action just long enough to make you care about a main character. And that is all I would have needed in the 80s. “Enough of this talking bullshit! Get back to the fighting!” Apparently they heard 80s me loud and clear. They use the beautiful visuals and a little dialogue to establish why you would sympathize and root for the main characters. Even given this limitation, they managed to make some very cool characters.
Fourth, the score. Although I said the movie was beautiful enough to watch without sound, that would be doing a disservice to Benjamin Wallfisch who composed an amazing score for the film. With so little dialogue, you need something to satisfy your desire for sound. Wallfisch does that in a very exciting way. You can tell he was influenced by the original 1987 score, but he definitely makes it his own and it pairs incredibly well with the exciting battle scenes.
If you are a Predator fan… or want to become one. Go and watch this movie ASAP. And if you haven’t seen prey, treat yourself to thane too.