What I Love Most About Naru in Prey
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:23 am
She's a screw up yet never to the point of being stupid. Naru makes a number of mistakes in Prey and is often shown to be outmatched throughout the film, by the Predator, by her fellow hunters and by animals she's hunting. She almost dies via quicksand at one point and only survives because someone saves her or because she is not seen as a threat.
And yet she is a badass and her victory against the Predator doesn't feel cheap. She doesn't beat the Predator because of some super-weapon she's never seen before but somehow knows how to use she wins because she learned how the Predator hunts and how sees how it tech works and turns it to her advantage. To contrast, in Predator 2, Predators and The Predator the heroes defeat the titular monster by just hitting/shooting it a lot until it finally dies or getting a lucky shot on it when it's not looking.
But in Prey, the reason the Predator is defeated is due to Naru using everything she learns to her advantage. It uses the trees to get around so set a trap in the tree to injure it. It's weapon hones in on whatever it targets so use its helmet to set another trap for later. It's stronger than even a bear so use my smaller size and my surroundings to my advantage.
The only thing that strains disbelief is the flower that lowers body heat which IS based on a real thing it just doesn't work like it does in the film but that's about it and it's only used at the start and it's made clear that the affect was only temporary and the Predator is able to see her soon after.
I love this because Naru goes through an arc, the fact that she doesn't score any real victory throughout most of the film against the Predator is believable yet so is her victory. She observes, she learns and she grows which makes her all the more engaging as a protagonist.
And yet she is a badass and her victory against the Predator doesn't feel cheap. She doesn't beat the Predator because of some super-weapon she's never seen before but somehow knows how to use she wins because she learned how the Predator hunts and how sees how it tech works and turns it to her advantage. To contrast, in Predator 2, Predators and The Predator the heroes defeat the titular monster by just hitting/shooting it a lot until it finally dies or getting a lucky shot on it when it's not looking.
But in Prey, the reason the Predator is defeated is due to Naru using everything she learns to her advantage. It uses the trees to get around so set a trap in the tree to injure it. It's weapon hones in on whatever it targets so use its helmet to set another trap for later. It's stronger than even a bear so use my smaller size and my surroundings to my advantage.
The only thing that strains disbelief is the flower that lowers body heat which IS based on a real thing it just doesn't work like it does in the film but that's about it and it's only used at the start and it's made clear that the affect was only temporary and the Predator is able to see her soon after.
I love this because Naru goes through an arc, the fact that she doesn't score any real victory throughout most of the film against the Predator is believable yet so is her victory. She observes, she learns and she grows which makes her all the more engaging as a protagonist.