I was chatting with my brother recently, and I mentioned the animated sort-of-anthology Predator: Killer of Killers was available on Hulu. I had heard from friends that it was rather awesome, and honestly, the concept of Predators going after fighters in different time periods an places is rather promising. That, by itself, was the sort of thing that got people to watch Prey while the overall quality of the movie kept them watching. I know my brother has tastes similar to my own when it comes to genre works, but he said he had no interest in Killer of Killers because he doesn’t care for cartoons anymore outside the occasional Looney Tunes short. As he sees it, anything you can do with animation can be done just as well with CGI, so why make a cartoon anymore?
I’m guessing he hasn’t seen that many Disney live-action remakes. Those would make anyone see why animation is the right choice sometimes.
Opening with a proverb held by the alien Yautja (the real name for the Predator’s species), the movie is divided more or less neatly into four segments. In the first three, a Predator stalks a human with some impressive skills, and in the last one, well, let’s just say there’s an epilogue and leave it at that. Regardless, in “The Shield,” shieldmaiden Ursa (voice of Lindsay LaVanchy) is out to avenge her father’s death at the hands of a rival Viking chieftain with her son and tribesmen at her side. In “The Sword,” ninja Kenji (Louis Ozawa) and a samurai get into a massive swordfight while both of them speak very little. And in “The Bullet,” American airman John Torres (Rick Gonzalez) takes to the skis when a third party attacks both American and German planes in the middle of World War II.
Into each of these stories, a Predator shows up. A big bruiser of a brute attacks Ursa while a stealthier one attacks Kenji and the samurai. Torres’s opponent is flying a small spaceship that is probably the Yautja answer to the fighter jet. In each story, the Predators dish out some horrifyingly gory deaths to anyone that might be even a minor threat while the protagonist for each segment stops to observe the attacker and find a weakness. Is that enough for Ursa, Kenji, or Torres to find their way to victory? And what happens if they win?
This movie was directed by Dan Trachtenberg, director of Prey and the upcoming live-action Predator: Badlands, and I would say the franchise is in good hands. He is, arguably, doing more creative work with the Predator than anyone since the original movie. He also serves as the co-writer here, and he finds interesting ways to both portray the Predator in each story and even building something of a culture for the Yaitja rather than to just have them be these big bruisers who show up and kill people on Earth. That still happens here, but the look of each Predator is unique as are the weapons they carry, and each attacks their targets in a manner that is entirely appropriate for the lead human character in each story.
Factor in as well some good animation, and this movie does exactly what it should be doing: telling exciting, action-packed stories, and not much else. The characters are as deep as they need to be for a story like this, but let’s face it: no one is watching Killer of Killers for anything more than that. This is a straight-up action movie with some characters matching wits and skills against an alien hunter. It’s exciting, not for kids, and expands the world of the Predators in potentially interesting directions. Just don’t go into this one expecting Shakespeare or something.
Grade: A-
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