PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS:
ANIMATED PREDATOR ANTHOLOGY FILM IS THE BEST PREDATOR YET!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: **** out of 4
HULU/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS
The Predator is back in Predator: Killer of Killers
The Predator returns to hunt this time in animation form in Predator: Killer of Killers, a new animated anthology film in the Predator franchise serving as a midquel between 2022’s Prey and the upcoming Predator: Badlands which is set to release in theaters later this year. Like the Alien films, Predator has had a somewhat bumpy history in the world of movies with the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger original being very much beloved amongst many people (Including myself) while following entries like 1990’s Predator 2 and 2010’s Predators definitely have their audiences still couldn’t quite live up to the first movie, 2018’s The Predator is garbage!
But then, the movie Prey came out of nowhere in 2022 on Hulu which revitalized the Predator franchise much like what Alien: Romulus did for the Alien movies last year with people hailing it as the best Predator movie since the original, some even say it’s better. So, after that movie became extremely popular and successful, director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) was brought back in to direct a sequel plus a secret animated project to tie-into Predator: Badlands’ release and that’s where Killer of Killers comes in which was just released on Hulu.
After watching it, I have to say, Predator: Badlands has a lot to live up to because this movie is freaking amazing and might even be my favorite Predator film now (That’s twice now, an animated movie in a film series became my favorite). Predator: Killer of Killers fires on all cylinders in a 90-minute runtime and really showcases the advantages animation has over live-action.
The film is split across three chapters (The Shield, The Sword, The Bullet) and follows three of the fiercest warriors in human history; Viking raider, Ursa (voiced by Lindsay LaVanchy) guiding her son on a bloody quest for revenge in 841 A.D. Scandinavia, a ninja in feudal Japan, Kenji (voiced by Louis Ozawa-The Bourne Legacy, Jack Ryan; who previously portrayed Hanzo Kamakami in Predators) who turns against his samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession, and World War II pilot, Torres (voiced by Rick Gonzalez-Old School, Reaper, Arrow) who takes to the skies to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause. However, while all three of these warriors are killers in their own rights, they soon become prey for the ultimate killer of killers, The Predator.
The film also features the voices of Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens, Planet Terror) as Vandy, Doug Cockle (Reign of Fire, The Witcher franchise) as Einar, Lauren Holt (Saturday Night Live, Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm, Barbie) as Freya, Piotr Michael (Bill & Ted Face the Music, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, The Wild Robot) as Gunnar, and Cherami Leigh (Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir) as Young Ursa.
Overall, Predator: Killer of Killers takes the Predator franchise to new places while expanding upon its lore and offering a visually dazzling, action-packed, and thrilling anthology film that could only be done through animation. This is essentially the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse of Predator movies as it completely subverted my expectations with an animated movie based on this property and blew me away as I was watching it, the fact this was dumped on streaming is criminal, I would gladly watch this in a theater if given the opportunity.
The animation is gorgeous and captures that stylized look of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Arcane: League of Legends, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem with the choppy frame-rate and comic book/graphic novel-like visuals. To the point where now I want a fucking Predator comic book with this art style, that would go so hard.
The action in particular is where the animation shines the best as it’s very fast, kinetic, and grisly that I can only describe as Mortal Kombat bloodshed done in the Spider-Verse art style with Predators. It’s honestly some of the coolest and most violent animated action scenes I’ve seen in a while (Not counting anime) and it even puts some of the live-action Predator action sequences to shame, consistent action through and through.
However, within all that non-stop action and violence, the movie does an amazing job at making you care about each of the stories and characters involved in a limited amount of time. I legit felt for characters like Ursa and her son in the Viking segment, Kenji and his brother in the Ninja/Samurai segment, and Torres in the World War II segment and loved seeing them overcome their conflicts whether it’s avenging the death of a loved one, fighting for their honor, or protecting their home from enemies.
The main characters are very well-defined and endearing throughout and despite being animated, felt the most human out of all the Predator movie characters in the past. I honestly cared more about these animated characters more than the majority of Dutch’s team in the original movie.
This movie is great, but there is one fatal flaw and you might already know what I’m going to say since I hinted at it earlier… it’s on Hulu! I was relishing in the animation, artistry, and technical throughout the film and constantly wished I was watching this on the big screen instead of at home on a TV, it looks and sounds spectacular and I was both excited and pissed off at the same time because this is some of the coolest cinema animation I’ve seen since Mutant Mayhem and it deserved to be shown in theaters (The movie where humans train a fucking Predator dog got a theatrical release but this and Prey didn’t? Hollywood, you’re full of shit!), at least Badlands is getting a theatrical release.
I will go on record and say Predator: Killer of Killers is my new favorite Predator movie which is quite a statement because I loved the original film and Prey, but this one kept the energy going all the way through and delivered some of the most breathtaking and raw stuff ever done with the Predator. Predator: Badlands has some big shoes to fill after watching this and I will gladly rewatch it alongside all the previous Predator movies and both Alien VS Predator films when Badlands hits theaters this holiday season.
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