001: 'PREY' vs 'BULLET TRAIN'
We're back! A little word on where we go from here, along with this week's reviews.
Dear reader, it’s been a long time. I shouldn’t have left you … without a dope newsletter to step to. CHOICES is back.
This will no longer be, as I considered it, “newsletter about nothing.” Not only does a lack of focus make it hard to crank out new content every week, but it also makes it hard to convince other folks to take a chance on this thing and join the club.1 We’re trying to go nationwide here. Heck, international even.
I want to build this into something. I want us to be an active and engaged community. It won’t happen overnight, but in due time, anything’s possible.
From here on out, this newsletter will solely be dedicated to film. It’s what I know best and what I love to write, talk, and think about whenever I can.
Each Monday, two short reviews will be sent to your inbox. One will be for a movie currently playing in theaters. The other will be for a streaming exclusive. The choice of what you want to see is up to you. All I’m here to do is to provide a humble opinion with some hopefully helpful analysis.
In addition to the Monday reviews, you’ll also get an additional email from me on Wednesdays. You’ll learn more about those later.
But for now, dear reader, thanks for sticking around. Let’s have some fun.
‘PREY’ (2022, Hulu)
IMDb synopsis: “The origin story of the Predator in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Naru, a skilled warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth.”
In a way, Prey shares a lot in common with its iconic alien antagonist: it’s lean, it’s mean, and it’s very, very good at carrying out its mission.
The mission, in the movie’s case, is reviving a franchise that seemed dead in the water due to the tepid reaction to 2018’s The Predator – which had some fun moments2 courtesy of the Shane Black house style, but was ultimately overshadowed by its chunky alphabet soup plot and off-screen controversies.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (also known for the excellent 10 Cloverfield Lane) and starring Amber Midthunder, Prey focuses on Naru – a young Comanche woman in the early 1700s. She wants to prove to her tribe, and particularly, her confident older brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) that she can be just as competent as a hunter and protector as he is.
But ain’t nobody trying to hear all that. They’d rather Naru focus her attention and talents on being a healer, and she’s a great healer. It’s just not her dream.
When Taabe and other members of the tribe fail to heed her warnings of a strange creature lurking about their land, it’s up to Naru to protect them by putting her skills to the test and facing off against the alien Predator.
One of the benefits of Prey being a period piece is that there isn’t a lot of fat weighing down the story. In the movie’s setting, there’s no history with the Predator that needs to be explained in detail to the characters. No one speaks in rapid fire Marvelesque dialogue or references alien pop culture ad naseum.
The Predator simply shows up and Naru figures out what she needs to do.
The lack of baggage gives Prey a breakneck pace that’s both refreshing and engaging. Pair that with Trachtenberg’s flair, Midthunder’s performance (which earned her high praise from OG Predator cast members), and well-executed action, and you end up with a great time at the home theater.
Oh! And there’s a quality dog performance3. Shout out to the goodest girl.
‘BULLET TRAIN’ (2022, in theaters)
IMDB synopsis: Five assassins aboard a fast moving bullet train find out their missions have something in common.”
There’s something about movies set aboard moving vehicles that just … does it for me. There are some notable exceptions to this statement (*cough cough* Speed 2: Cruise Control), but for the most part, it’s a constant truth.
Maybe it’s the fact that movies that move, for the most part, feel like they’re building toward something. Once I’m locked in, I’ve got to see it through.
Bullet Train is a colorful, frenetic, and fun addition to the planes, trains, and automobiles subgenre of film. It’s not perfect, but again, it’s fun. Sometimes fun is all you need in a movie. Not everything has to be a thesis on something.
Speaking of fun, you know who’s having a good time in Bullet Train? Brad Pitt.
He plays an assassin, codenamed “Ladybug.” He’s really into therapy. He no longer wants to solve conflicts with violence. He’d rather ply people with an endless supply of zen master platitudes and empathetic conversation.
Ladybug is tasked with retrieving a briefcase containing millions of dollars on board the titular train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto. The briefcase is in the hands of “Lemon” (Brian Tyree Henry) and “Tangerine” (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who are also hired assassins, but they don’t share Ladybug’s relaxed perspective.
Then there’s the matter of “The Prince” (Joey King), another assassin, who also has a vested interest in the briefcase. And there’s Yuichi (Andrew Koji), who has a vested interest in The Prince. And let’s not forget “The Wolf” (Benito A. Martinez Ocasio, a.k.a. Bad Bunny). How could we forget The Wolf?
In other words, too many killers in the kitchen spoil the broth … with blood.
While Bullet Train is helmed by David Leitch – known for his work on John Wick, Deadpool 2, and Hobbs & Shaw – the best parts of the experience don’t have much to do with the action. Except for a few choice sequences, like Ladybug and Lemon’s silenced battle in the train’s quiet car or the Wolf’s first appearance, most of the action is rather forgettable.
Too much CGI at some points and flatout uninspired and derivative at others.
The true meat of what makes this movie work, or its “funness,” if you will, is in the performances. Pitt takes a role that likely would have been played as a semi-serious parody of Keanu Reeves’ entire steez by anyone else and gives it a goofy veneer we haven’t seen since his excellent Burn After Reading work.
Taylor-Johnson and Henry’s brotherly bickering carries a lot of weight in terms of humor, and King puts in a solid heel turn as a merciless mercenary.
Narratively, Bullet Train is bogged down by an abundance of over-the-top flashbacks to explain the character’s backstories. Exposition is crucial, but flashy info dumps only serve to derail the train. The key is to keep moving.
VERDICT
Stream Prey on Hulu expeditiously. Bullet Train is a good time, but one better suited for the home theater than the silver screen. It can wait until later.
Speaking of clubs, should fans of this newsletter have a collective name?
Nebraska (Trevante Rhodes) describing the Predator as an “alien Whoopi Goldberg” is peak comedy.
SPOILER: The dog survives. Just in case you get worried about that kind of thing.