Most Predator movies share two similar, universal truths: the Predator is the bad guy, and the Predator always loses. Those were rules director Dan Trachtenberg even embraced with his 2022 film, Prey. Now, though, for its live-action follow-up, Trachtenberg has decided to flip those truths on their heads. What if the Predator wasn’t the bad guy? What if the Predator didn’t have to lose?
That’s the setup for Predator: Badlands, which opens in theaters Friday. It stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek, a young Yautja (which is the proper, in-universe species name for “Predator”) hunting the universe’s most feared, indestructible creature, the Kalisk, hoping to cement his place in his clan. The journey takes him to Genna, an impossibly deadly planet where everything is trying to kill you. And we do mean everything. Trees, leaves, bugs, you name it, and it’s trying to kill Dek.
On Genna, Dek meets Thia, played by Elle Fanning. Thia is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic who is on Genna for reasons we won’t spoil. But she’s been ripped in half by the creatures of the planet and offers to help Dek on his quest to kill the Kalisk.
Among the many, many good things about Predator: Badlands is that while that’s the basic setup for the main story and characters, it all goes much deeper than that. The film begins by dissecting Dek’s complex relationship to family, which is surprisingly Shakespearean. He’s given real, traumatic motivations for his journey, and almost instantly, he becomes wildly relatable. That carries over to Thia, too, especially in regard to Tessa, another synthetic who looks just like her. Thanks to Tessa, Thia has some serious abandonment issues, and those give her a humanity that extends through the story. Bonus that it’s Elle Fanning in both roles, who brings real vibrancy to each character.
That story then becomes an emotionally charged adventure as Dek and Thia traverse Genna, encountering all manner of wild, deadly, awesome creatures as they attempt to find and destroy the Kalisk. The action in Badlands is incredibly electric because you really never know what’s next. We have an idea, from previous movies, of what a Yautja and a synthetic can do, but what about everything else on Genna? All of its creatures do different, unexpected things, and, as we continue to explore the planet, there’s a real joy in discovering all its secrets and seeing how Dek and Thia react.
Along the way, the story gives us several twists and turns, as well as multiple winks and nods to both the Predator and Alien franchises. The inclusion of Weyland-Yutani, the main company from most of the Alien films, as well as the recent Alien: Earth, is one example, but there are others too, ranging from big, exciting, and obvious ones, such as the massive yellow power loader in the trailer, to some third-act setups sure to delight fans of the 1987 original.
One gripe some might have with Predator: Badlands is that it’s a slightly more Disney version of the other Predator movies, and that is certainly a valid point. Figuratively, it explores a more traditional hero’s journey, opposed to the expected predator vs. prey conflict. It’s also, quite literally, a Disney film. Badlands is rated PG-13, a first for the main franchise, and Dek and Thia even pick up a cute creature named Bud along the way. (who, unlike other “Baby “Yoda”-type additions to Disney films, does eventually play a very crucial role). However, while there is some merit in the complaint that Badlands humanizes a character we’re used to seeing as evil, I found that the new perspective enhances the previous films rather than undercuts them.
If you’ve never seen a Predator movie before, Badlands works very simply as an entertaining sci-fi adventure. But, if you’re a fan of the franchise, it’s additionally exciting and rewarding to discover what these creatures are like from their side of the mask. Through this story, we learn so much about this mythical species that has captured the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover, Amber Midthunder, and others. Plus, it’s only PG-13 because there aren’t any humans in it. Badlands is wildly gory. That gore just happens to be white and green, instead of red. Feeling something human for the characters is an easy trade-off against seeing a bunch of humans get killed.
Basically, Predator: Badlands is not like any Predator movie you’ve seen before, but it is still an excellent Predator movie. Trachtenberg [whom, full disclosure, I’ve known personally for several years] has again found a way to flip the franchise on its head while also keeping everything you love about the franchise intact. It’s got the Predator weapons, it’s got the Predator action, but now we get to know the Predator too, and that makes it incredibly special and unique.
Predator: Badlands opens November 7.
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