The latest instalment of the Predator franchise has arrived on Disney+, the animated anthology movie Predator: Killer of Killers. This is the ‘secret’ Predator movie that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg was working on alongside the live-action sequel, Predator: Badlands, which is due out later this year.
While the images and trailer for Predator: Badlands haven’t inspired much confidence in that movie, the Predator: Killer of Killers trailer looked quite fun. The movie has now landed and clocks in at a lean one hour and twenty minutes (excluding credits), so I thought I would give it a whirl.
Predator: Killer of Killers follows three storylines in different time periods: Vikings in the year 841, Japanese Samurai in 1609, and US Navy pilots in 1942. In each chapter, a Predator crashes the party, and the human warriors must face them in a battle to the death.
Chapter 1: Shield
The first segment of Predator: Killer of Killers is a tale of revenge as Viking warrior woman Ursa leads a small band of fighters to an enemy fortress to kill her father’s murderer. A Predator arrives to take on Ursa’s team.
The Predator in this chapter is about twelve feet tall and almost as wide, like a troll from The Lord of the Rings. It’s not exactly a fair fight, but he shuns armour and cloaking, and his only weapon is a device he wears on his fist that delivers a supersonic punch.
Ursa is a legitimate warrior, and my initial concerns about her falling into the ‘girl boss’ stereotype were quickly dispelled. Her young son is part of her team, and her concern for him shows her human side. The movie doesn’t have time to flesh out the rest of her band, but at least they get distinctive looks.
When Ursa takes on the Predator, there’s an obvious size and strength disparity, but the animated action is naturally stylised and not the kind of thing you would see in live action, so they get away with it. I’m not sure why, or if they should, but they do. Plus, they fight underwater, where her agility is an asset.
I wouldn’t have minded seeing this twenty-minute short expanded into a full movie, Sure, it’s basically the same as the original Predator, but it would still kick ass.
Chapter 2: Sword
In feudal Japan, two sons of a Samurai warlord are forced to fight each other. One brother, Kenji, refuses and flees. Twenty years later, following their father’s death, the prodigal son returns to face his brother.
Kenji infiltrates the heavily defended castle and attempts to remain in stealth mode, but keeps getting spotted by guards. It reminded me my Assassin’s Creed playthroughs, where I end up having to kill every single guard in open battle because my dumb ass can’t stay hidden.
When the Predator arrives, he is lean and agile, wears armour and uses mostly era-appropriate bladed weapons and chains (although he did cheat and use explosive projectiles a few times). The chapter is mostly dialogue-free, which is an interesting choice that works.
Chapter 3: Bullet
Torres, a young fighter pilot mechanic/wannabe pilot, is working on an aircraft carrier in 1942. A decimated squadron returns from battle, and Torres finds a Predator weapon embedded in one of the planes. The remaining pilots take off to battle the unidentified foe, and Torres takes off in his barely working plane ‘the bullet’, to warn the others that they’re in over their heads. They don’t listen.
This chapter is basically an aerial battle with a predator in a spaceship. The Predator weaponry is inventive and includes heat-seeking harpoons and nets. The Predator itself is seen in the cockpit and is the first bald Predator I have ever seen, so that’s pretty cool. Anyway, it’s an interesting variation on the usual Predator encounter.
The Final Showdown
The three storylines converge in the last act as the survivors are brought together for a final battle like Survivor Series 1990.
This is the weakest part of the movie. The gladiator-style showdown in a colosseum (presumably on the Predator home world) reminded me of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and that can’t be good. The action stretches credibility even by animation standards, and there is no real resolution.
Does that mean “to be continued?” Will this movie tie into Predator: Badlands in some way? The third act introduces Easter eggs relating to Prey and the broader Predator universe, but I couldn’t help but think it would have been better as a standalone movie with a proper ending.
Killer of Killers, or Filler of Fillers?
Predator: Killer of Killers is a fun movie with enough variation in each of the chapters to keep things interesting. I like how the Predators have their own individual look, varying in size, fighting style, and weaponry.
The animation is well drawn, at least to my amateur eye, but the movement is janky in parts due to the low frame rate. Clearly, this was a deliberate stylistic choice, but it just reminds me of a lagging cut scene at times.
The action gets a little silly at points, and it doesn’t quite stick the landing by ending in such an open-ended way. But you’ve got to keep expanding that universe, right?
