Animated spin-offs of established franchises are a great way to expand the audience’s knowledge and introduce new characters and worlds. We have seen this work with the Spider-Verse movies and the expanded Star Wars Universe in Clone Wars, Rebels, and the Tales of series. Predator: Killer of Killers follows this trend and gives the audience a deeper look into their folklore and expands what we know about the predators in general. Director Dan Trachtenberg has given us an anthology that surpasses his last film, Prey.
Predator: Killer of Killers is an anthology film that gives the audience three short stories that are connected in some way. The stories take us on a voyage through the days of the Vikings, feudal Japan, and World War II. Within each story, we see how the predators have always been visiting Earth and hunting the people of this planet. It is what happens with their prey that gives us an inside look at what happens to those who best them in battle.
The advantage of this being an animated movie is that the directors and writers can give the animators something that might not be able to be filmed in the real world, and the animation makes it possible. Having a character fight off multiple enemies in one take might take a lot of time and money, but by drawing it, the scene can be done in less time. This is the beauty of animation, the animators can animate incredible sequences and give the audience something amazing to watch.
The first story, “The Shield”, deals with Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy), who is teaching her son about why they fight. In this story, we see some brutal scenes on the battlefield that might not have passed the MPAA’s rules for violence. This story concludes with a predator joining the fight and the audience watching Ursa use all her skills to survive the assault.
In “The Sword”, we meet two young samurai students who are pitted against each other by their Sensei for succession. The fight does not go as their sensei planned, which causes the two young men to meet up again 20 years later. During this face-off, the two are being watched by a predator. Watching a predator fight a samurai is not only surreal but it’s freaking fantastic to see!
The last story is “The Bullet,” which takes place during World War II. In this one, we are introduced to a pilot named Torres (Rick Gonzalez), who is grounded as a mechanic on a battleship. After seeing that one of their planes was shot down by something not of this Earth, he takes to the skies to warn the other pilots. This story has some amazing flying sequences that could only have happened with animation or special effects. Again, we get a great face-off between a predator and the human pilot.
The final story has to be seen to be enjoyed. I will not say anything about it to spoil it, but it is great to see where these stories take the audience. The action in this one is ramped up, and you get to see more of the predator world than we have seen in other movies. It is also great to get an insight into the ranking order of the predators. Is there one predator that is the strongest and best hunter among the rest? While this story gives us a clue, we will never really know.
Final Thoughts: Predator: Killer of Killers is a fantastic entry into the Predator Universe. All four stories deliver the action, blood, and ferociousness that are staples of the Predator movies. This movie gives the audience a fantastic insight into what they do with the prey that bests them in battle. There are some fantastic easter eggs scattered throughout the segments and a jaw-dropping final shot.
Kid-Friendly: The film is rated R due to its graphic violence and strong language. While the violence is animated, it still might be too intense for younger viewers. I suggest that parents watch this first and judge whether their child will be okay with what they see.
Violence: Predator: Killer of Killer is filled with violence within the first 10 minutes of the first segment. The battle scenes are intense and take advantage of showing the brutality of the characters within this animated world. Be prepared to see some kills that will have you wincing in your seat.
“Predator: Killer of Killers” is an original animated action-adventure film set in the Predator universe. The anthology story follows three of the fiercest warriors in human history: a Viking raider guiding her young son on a bloody quest for revenge, a ninja in feudal Japan who turns against his Samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession, and a WWII pilot who takes to the sky to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause. But while all these warriors are killers in their own right, they are merely prey for their new opponent – the ultimate killer of killers.