The critics have spoken, and Prey stands tall as the best-reviewed movie in the Predator franchise. Over at Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates reviews from a variety of critics to calculate a certain "score," Prey currently sits at 92% fresh based on 143 reviews. Its audience score isn't too far behind, scoring 82% with more than 250 fan-submitted ratings. Its Tomatometer score officially makes Prey the highest-rated movie in the series, and that even includes the popular original film.
Going back to the original Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the hit film sits at Rotten Tomatoes with a fresh 80% score, which is still respectable, not not as high as Prey. However, the original Predator did better with its audience score, which reached 87%. The following scores for Predator movies include 1990's Predator 2 at 30% and 44%; 2010's Predators at 65% and 52%; and The Predator at 33% and 33%. Even if some diehard fans of the original won't consider Prey to be superior, it still seems many of them would agree that the franchise has gotten back on track with this newest release.
The crossover movies in the series did not fare much better than the other Predator sequels. If we take a look at 2004's Alien vs. Predator, that movie holds a rotten score at 21% with an audience score of 39%. The 2007 sequel, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, did worse than its predecessor, landing with an abysmal 12% rotten score with a 30% audience score.
Critics Have Widely Praised Amber Midthunder's Performance in Prey
Prey is directed by Dan Trachtenberg and written by Patrick Aison. It serves as a prequel to the previous four movies, imagining the very first Predator to visit the planet to find new prey to hunt. Amber Midthunder stars as a Comanche woman living in the 1700s who must take on a deadly Predator using only the primitive weapons available to her at the time. Something every critic seems to agree on, even those who otherwise have given the film a negative review, is that Midthunder shines in the film with her performance.
"The success of the film falls squarely on the shoulders of Midthunder," says our own Julian Roman in his review. "She's remarkable in every facet of her character. Naru is nuanced with her family but an absolute bad-a** against the merciless Predator. She has the fortitude to slay a monster. I hope to see her character again in a sequel."
Roman's desire to see Midthunder appear in another Prey movie is not outside the realm of possibility. Because the critical reception has been so strong, that can only increase the fan interest in checking this movie out now that it's made its streaming debut. The strong reviews are nice, but will ultimately affect the film's chances of getting a follow-up more than anything is will be the viewership numbers. If enough fans are tuning in, perhaps we will see more of Midthunder in action.
Prey is now streaming on Hulu.