ThePredatorfranchise has had some trouble finding its way through the years. That was, untilPreycame out (unfortunately as a streaming-only release) and reinvigorated the saga of these intergalactic hunters. That movie spurred countless discussions online of where fans wanted to see the Predator next: feudal Japan! Vikings! The options were seemingly endless. And, it seemed, the creatives behind Predator took those notes. However, what they delivered,Predator: Killer of Killers, is ultimately a waste of all that potential.
Predator: Killer of Killersis an animated anthology that tells three separate stories of humans facing off with the titular alien hunters throughout history. It’s exactly the kind of things fans have been clamoring for, but in a way that would also make them say “not like this!” Aside from the unimpressive and choppy animation, the storytelling falters under the constraints of the format.Killer of Killersnever reaches the heights of the franchise, even if it’s not quite as bad as the worst entries.
Predator: Killer of Killer’s Anthology Format Is A Weakness
Each story suffers from a lack of tension and characterization (with one exception)
Predator: Killer of Killers, which is co-directed byPreydirector Daniel Trachtenberg and Joshua Wassung, begins its segmented story with a Viking revenge tale that is ultimately interrupted by a hulking Predator. Ursa, an imposing and determined leader, is trying to teach her son, Anders, to be a killer like her. It’s an intriguing set-up, and though it is truncated, Ursa’s backstory is tragic and ultimately informs her current personality and relationship with Anders.
There’s some impressive action, especially ina particularly violent single take(which probably would have looked way better in live-action), but once the Predator shows up, Ursa’s story hits a wall. The fight between the two is brutal, and as with any time a human faces a Predator, it demonstrates how resourceful and creative people have to be to win. However, there’s no emotional payoff to this story. The mother/son dynamic doesn’t really bookend in a satisfying way, and before you know it,Killer of Killersis moving onto the next thing, which is, thankfully, better than the last.
Chapter two finds a different Predator interrupting a brotherly feud in 1700s Japan. Twin brothers Kenji and Kiyoshi share a special bond with each other that is ultimately broken when their father pits them against each other as children. As adults, one brother has taken the seat of power as a samurai leader, while the other has hatched a revenge scheme using the skills of a ninja. It’s a far more promising setup, and one that is told almost entirely without dialogue, letting the action do the talking.
This segment embraces the animated medium far more than the other two stories, and it really pays off. There’s still an emotional throughline with the brothers, but just likethe recent sci-fi movieNo One Will Save You, it’s the action and choices of the characters that move this short story forward. Early on, there’s an excellent section of the ninja brother trying to sneak into the samurai compound without being detected. Things don’t quite go as planned, but he tries his hardest to keep from being discovered until it is ultimately too late. It’s a fun, playful moment in a pretty violent entry that embraces Predator’s fighting abilities to a greater degree than the Viking segment. Even its conclusion holds more emotional weight and is framed in such a hauntingly beautiful way.
After that,Predator: Killer of Killersreally goes downhill with its third segment. It’s a shame that the anthology couldn’t finish a bit stronger before its final chapter, because it is very hard to feel invested in this last Earthly story. This time, rather than a head-on fight, we follow Torres,a young wannabe pilot during World War II, as he takes on a Predator in an aerial dogfight. There’s a kernel of a good idea here, with a human predator fight finding a new avenue, but in the execution, it just falls apart.
The biggest weakness in the third chapter of the movie is Torres himself. He’s not exactly compelling, and his tendency to talk to himself throughout the segment whenever he needs to figure out a solution is a brutally annoying counter to the dialogue-free second chapter. It’s a serious case of telling, then showing, and it just doesn’t work at all. It’s too bad, because one of the drivers of this conflict is that Torres’s plane is in rough shape already, and he has to keep improvising and fixing it during the battle. However, Torres is not a compelling enough character to make any of these fixes feel urgent. It’s a weak chapter that leads into the actual last act of the movie. Without giving away too much, everything eventually ties together in a pretty lackluster finale that only continues to highlight how irritating Torres is when compared to the other two characters.
Predator: Killer of Killers never overcomes its flaws
Predator: Killer of Killersprobably isn’t the weakest entry in the entire franchise (that honor may go toPredator 2, or possibly even the more recentThe Predator), but it certainly doesn’t justify its existence. What really doesn’t help is the animation style, which feels stilted and lacking in style, even in fast-paced action scenes. The anthology format might have worked better if each segment looked different (think of the seamless blending insomething likeInto the Spider-Verse, for example), though it would then be much harder to tie them all together in the end.
The only thingPredator: Killer of Killersreally does is highlight the greater success of the Alien franchise, which has seen far more theatrical releases and a greater building of its lore over time. Predator has always lived in Alien’s shadow, and projects likeKiller of Killers, plusthe decision to makePreya streaming release, keep emphasizing that. The Yautja and their human opponents deserve far better, and so do fans of this franchise.
