‘PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS’ Review: Predator: The Eras Tour

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS

Rated R, 1 hours and 25 minutes

Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg, Joshua Wassung

Starring: Lindsay LaVanchy, Damien C. Haas, Andrew Morgado, Rick Gonzalez, Louis Ozawa, Michael Biehn

After coming off a PREDATOR franchise high with the phenomenal PREY, director Dan Trachtenberg returns to the monsters’ milieu with the animated anthology PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS. He, co-director Joshua Wassung and scribe Micho Robert Rutare deliver an absolutely stellar, thrilling tale that’s every PREDATOR fan’s dream come true. It kicks ass and holds nothing back, deftly balancing lore and complex, contemplative themes revolving around vengeance and violence. Housing a gorgeously tactile texture, riveting animated scale and scope, bloody, brutal fights and compelling characters, it’s a rousing must-see.

In an inspired move for this series, the plot pulls from locations all across different time periods, first beginning in Norway in 841 A.D.. “The Shield” follows a band of Viking warriors out for revenge on a warring tribe. But what Commander Ursa (voiced by Lindsay LaVanchy), her teen son Anders (Damien C. Haas) and the evil Chief Zoran (Andrew Morgado) never expected was a creature from another planet, a big hulking Predator, to ambush their operation with otherworldly smack down. The second chapter, titled “The Sword,” is set towards the end of feudal Japan and centered on twin brothers Kenji and Kiyoshi (both voiced by Louis Ozawa) taught by their harsh disciplinarian father that only one of them can be a true samurai warrior. As the two engage in warfare, you guessed it, yet another Predator shows up for a showdown. The third chapter, “The Bullet,” involves hotshot, wannabe pilot John Torres (Rick Gonzalez) attempting to save a U.S. squadron and his Naval officer mentor Vandy (Michael Biehn) from mysterious Predator spaceship, engaging them in dogfights over the Atlantic during World War II. As it turns out, these Earthly heroes are being culled to participate in something massive on another planet.

Animation proves the perfect medium to deliver this sprawling adventure. Environments these characters inhabit – like the Wintery snow-covered terrain, the Autumnal ginko leaf-covered ground and the Summer breezes that blow through the cornfields – are stunning. Fire, wind, water, explosions and blood elements are visceral sensations, seeing arrows aflame and hearing the squelching of body parts being severed. The body count is high, as are the glorious wince-inducing amputations, bifurcations and decapitations. Action is exciting and awe-inducing. Through stylized framing and specialized choreography (Nordic warrior slaying, samurai swordplay and aerial acrobatics), each fight sequence is given an indelible identity. Benjamin Wallfisch’s evolving, mounting compositions (which also pay homage to Sarah Schachner PREY and Alan Silvestri’s PREDATOR) augment tonal coloring.

The filmmakers take great craft and care creating an extended universe that builds on the already established worlds while adding to it in ingenious ways. They innovatively incorporate ties from previous PREDATOR films, from props like the Predators’ weapons and Raphael Adolini’s flintlock pistol to signature aesthetics like Predator Vision in their own animated style. They gift us with characters with well-executed arcs, whose oppressive internal conflicts and pressing, dire physical circumstances feel meaningful. We instantly care about them. Crystalized sentiments within each of the chapters provide a strong emotional tether, connecting the heroic trio through their trials and triumphs. And pay close attention to the finale as Trachtenberg and co whet our appetites perfectly for more PREDATOR hijinks in future installments, whether live-action or animated.

Grade: A

PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS is now streaming on Hulu.