Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast · Venganza Media, Inc.

Predator: Killer of Killers

·1 hr 33 min·5 clips

Brock calls the film’s worldview one where children are “traumatized for the next 20 years.”

1. Now Playing reviews Predator: Killer of Killers as part of its Predator Retrospective Series. 2. Brock, Stuart, and Arnie host the discussion, and Arnie also gives the plot rundown for the three-part anthology. 3. The episode asks whether Dan Trachtenberg’s Hulu animated Predator film works as more than a side project after Prey. 4. Brock says he would not have watched a direct-to-streaming animated anthology without the review assignment. 5. Stuart points to the film’s strong reception, including a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and a high Metacritic mark. 6. The hosts spend time on the production, noting that Third Floor Incorporated and Unreal Engine were used for the animation. 7. Stuart describes the motion as stuttery at first and compares the look to low-frame-rate animatics. 8. Brock says the lighting, camera angles, and compositions improve the movie’s visual impact once he adjusts to the style. 9. Arnie lays out the first story, set in 841 AD, with Viking warrior Ursa, her son Anders, and the leader Zoran. 10. The hosts describe Ursa’s shield kills, the frozen-lake fight, and the Predator’s underwater defeat. 11. Brock emphasizes the mother-son trauma in the Viking section and calls the culture’s violence a cycle that passes from father to child. 12. The second story takes place in 1609 Japan and centers on brothers Kenji and Kiyoshi being trained as samurai by their father. 13. The hosts say the brothers’ duel, Kenji’s later return as a ninja, and the father’s pressure create the strongest character work in the film. 14. Brock says the samurai segment would still work even without the Predator because of its art style and action. 15. The third story moves to 1942 and follows fighter pilot John Torres in an air battle against a Predator spaceship. 16. Brock and Stuart discuss the Predator’s heat vision, the damaged helmet, and the underwater fight with Ursa and her shield. 17. Arnie’s plot summary ends with the three survivors waking in a Predator cell and being forced toward another fight. 18. The hosts note that the film mixes English with foreign-language openings and uses that structure to connect the anthology pieces. 19. Listeners who like Predator lore, anthology structure, and action-heavy animation will likely enjoy this episode. 20. Listeners who want a spoiler-free, non-anthology review of Predator probably should skip it.

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