Review Detail

Superior to the original. The late reveal works incredibly well and makes me wonder if the writers originally considered something like this before deciding to broadcast it as a Predator movie early to keep audiences engaged. I hate that I can't experience the story like this for the first time, but I can do the next best thing and watch this edit with my kid when he's a bit older.

The sparse dialogue in the first act is effective. There's enough happening with facial expressions and body language to understand the the interpersonal tensions and to read between the lines, so to speak. I wish more movies trusted the audience to observe and understand without being told, as this edit does.

The changes to the bear scene were handled very well. Subtle, but effective, and without the setup it really is a perfect reveal for the hunter.

AUDIO/VIDEO QUALITY

Quality is the same as the original. The 6.5GB file was appreciated. 10/10

AUDIO EDITING

I didn't notice any issues, and the scoring is seamless even with all of the small cuts involved. 10/10

VISUAL EDITING

There's a moment at 8:30 that feels like a continuity issue. It was the only moment where I paused and checked the original. We hear the sound of Aruka(?) using the stone, and while it's out of frame, there's no movement to her head or shoulders to connect us with the sound. Then it cuts to a close-up of the stone and it doesn't feel quite right because we didn't see her begin to use it again. It's subtle, and not necessarily a problem. UPDATE: The editor has made a small adjustment to the audio here, and this no longer feels like a continuity issue, so I've adjusted the score. 10/10

NARRATIVE

I REALLY want to score this a perfect 10 because the implicit nature of this telling (plus the late reveal) is superior to the original film. However, there were a few moments where the Comanche dialogue wasn't matched to a subtitle and I felt I was missing something important. It was just enough to bring me out of the experience and make me wonder why some of the lines weren't subtitled. UPDATE: The editor has explained the official version is also parsimonious with subtitles, so since this is not their creative choice, I've adjusted this score.

ENJOYMENT

I enjoyed this more than the original, so 10/10.