‘Prey’ doesn’t have a prayer

“Prey” is part of Predator universe, wherein aliens from another universe hunt for other life forms. At the center of this tale is Naru (Amber Midthunder), a Native American of Comanche descent who wants more out of life.

The directing chores for “Prey” were handled by Dan Trachtenberg, who called the shots on “10 Cloverfield Lane” in 2016.

This tale was just an enjoyable waste of time. It did not really need the big screen to make it a worthwhile experience.

Of course, there are nods to past entries such as the sexy line “If it bleeds, we can kill it,” something lead character Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) said in the 1987 original “Predator”. That fun flick was at the start of John Mctiernan’s directing career. He also directed the classic ”Die Hard” a year later in 1988.

“Prey” does everything it’s supposed to do in intertwining the previous “Predator” entries. To me, the best entries are the 1987 “Predator” with Schwarzenegger, the so-so “Predator 2” in 1990 with Danny Glover, the late Bill Paxton, Maria Conchita Alonso and Gary Busey.

Then there’s “Predators” from the summer of 2010 in which various miscreants were thrown onto a foreign planet and hunted for sport.

That tale featured Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Laurence Fishburne.

The most recent entry was the Shane Black- directed “The Predator” in 2018. It featured Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Jane and Jake Busey.

Irony fell into the picture because Black was a soldier in the 1987 incarnation.

His character met his demise early on in that engaging run through the South American jungle.

Going back to “Prey,” the revolver Danny Glover received in “Predator 2” makes an appearance here. It is all woven together to give the story justification and relevance to make it a more cohesive tale.

As aforementioned, this was sold as some sort of deal with Hulu, one of the many places streaming titles can now go to for a wider audience.

Grade: B-