Drive-in novices plus the ‘Predator’ prequel ‘Prey’

In my 20-plus years as a movie critic, I’ve never gone to a drive-in theater.

The absence of drive-ins around the Inland Northwest certainly exacerbated the situation, though my wife’s parents live less than 15 minutes from one in southern Idaho. We’ve visited them almost every year for 20 years, talked about going every time and still never went.

Finally, on a recent vacation to western Washington, I took my family to the Rodeo Drive-In in Bremerton, Wash. The three-screen establishment offered tantalizing big screen options like “Nope” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Our 5-year-old instead insisted on “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”

While I enjoyed the original “Despicable Me” film back in 2010, I’m not what you would call a “Gentleminion” (whatever that’s all about). I do have four kids though, so the various “Despicable” movies run on a recurring basis in my house.

With a crew of six, a drive-in movie can be challenging, especially when you’re on vacation and don’t have portable seating with you. Short of sitting on the ground in excruciating heat, we had to figure out how we could all see the screen from inside the vehicle.

I sat in the back of the van in order to give the younger kids a better view. If I turned my head around, I could see another screen behind us playing “Nope,” and I just about dug around for the portable radio so I could listen to that movie instead of the nonsense-spouting yellow guys.

We also parked toward the back of the lot. It was a somewhat sparse crowd for a Sunday evening (for a four-week-old movie), so we figured we could get away with turning our car on occasionally (the engine makes noise) to blast the air conditioning. What a lifesaver.

“Minions: The Rise of Gru” is incredibly short. Just when I felt like we finally got settled, the movie entered its feverish third act. The official runtime clocks in around 85 minutes. I’m not complaining, but it felt like 45 minutes at the most.

My wife and I really wanted to watch the second feature, “Thor: Love and Thunder,” though we figured our younger kids might get grouchy trying to fall asleep in the car. It turned out fine. Our older kids, having just watched “Thor: Ragnarok” on Disney+ earlier in the day, enjoyed the new “Thor” more than “Minions,” as did their parents, and our 5-and-7-year olds dozed off in their seats about halfway through.

We made it back to our vacation house a little after 2 a.m. My oldest son zombie-walked into the house, and my wife and I carried the younger two to bed. My 5-year-old claims he loved “Thor” but cannot provide a single detail about it. Probably for the better, given its super-murderous villain and cancer subplot.

We ate snacks, fought off mosquitoes and watched two of the summer’s biggest hits under the stars. Was it everything I imagined? Sure. I think I still prefer a more consistent stream of air conditioning.

‘Prey’ an action-packed ‘Predator’ sequel

As much as 1987s “Predator” rules, it probably didn’t need to be a franchise. Even putting aside those abysmal “Aliens vs.” spinoffs, the “Predator” sequels lack the thrills and novelty of the original.

“Prey,” a prequel film set in 1719 that follows a young Comanche woman squaring off against a stealthy alien visitor, strips away most of the franchise’s convoluted backstory and goes for a more grounded cat-and-mouse adventure.

The bare bones plot: Naru, compellingly played by Amber Midthunder, wants to follow in the footsteps of her warrior brother (Dakota Beavers), but she’s put to the ultimate test when a jerky Predator begins its sadistic game.

Set against gorgeous landscapes, “Prey” delivers some brutally satisfying action sequences (the movie finds plenty of animals and incompetent frontiersmen as fodder for the Predator). Director Dan Trachtenberg (“10 Cloverfield Lane”) builds one efficient chase/battle sequence after another, all while maintaining focus on his charismatic lead. The movie also features a terrific doggie performance — Naru’s canine companion Sarii proves to be a resourceful ally against a stealthy alien visitor.

Side note: Predators need a lesson in sportsmanship. They rely on their invisibility cloaks more than even the little boy version of Harry Potter.

The film is streaming exclusively on Hulu. It would’ve been a fun spectacle on the big screen, drive-in or otherwise, but I’m not complaining about a “freemium” home experience.

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Tyler Wilson is a member of the International Press Academy and has been writing about movies and pop culture for Inland Northwest publications since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.