‘Predator: Badlands’ review: A bigger, better hunt

The Galaxy’s greatest warrior is finally let loose in the fun and refreshing Predator: Badlands.

The worst thing about the Predator monster is that, despite how cool he looks and moves and massacres his targets, he could never be the main character. He always has to be the menacing antagonist lurking in the shadows and amping-up the dread in whatever thriller a writer or director puts him in. To be fair, that’s likely because there’s only so much you can do with a masked beast that alternates between growling and roaring.

But Dan Trachtenberg begs to differ. Sure, the writer/director kept the literally-big game hunter on villain mode in his 2022 franchise revival Prey. Now that the Predator is back in style, Trachtenberg decides it’s finally time to let the big man stretch his wings (or fangs) in his very own movie. There are no humans to stalk and no muscly men to mutilate, just a monster on the hunt and all the ways he does it.

Another change of pace is that the Badlands in Predator: Badlands is not Earth. Instead, the lone Yautja (the name of the Predator species, mind you) is pursuing a big catch on a much more dangerous planet. Said hunter, Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), is looking to prove himself to his fellow Yautja who deem anything unable to be an apex predator unworthy of life. Now Dek has to use his wits and a smaller (but no less cool) collection of alien tech to find a big beast to take home. He’s also got some backup in Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani android that’s missing her legs but has plenty of knowledge of the planet that’s trying to kill Dek as hard as he’s trying to kill its resident monster.

All you need is kill.

With no pesky human characters in need of development or a storyline, Trachtenberg and co-writer Patrick Aison have plenty of room to come up with new creatures to kill and tools to do the killing. Seeing Dek whip out his laser-tipped blade like a lightsaber designed by Zack Snyder never gets old. That main weapon is complemented by a laser bow, freeze bombs, and a boomerang blade used in exhilarating action scenes. He’ll need those gadgets to survive the planet, which is designed like Pandora if it was created by Sam Raimi and not James Cameron. There’s “razor grass” that cuts anything it touches, weeds that shoot poison darts (while exploding, obviously), and even tree branches that are straight out of the original Evil Dead. All of the action that spurs from these tools and terror are some of the most fun you’ll have with a Predator movie since the original.

That does mean there’s none of the suspense or terror that came from the ’87 original, or Prey for that matter. Predator: Badlands is more of a sci-fi smoothie, mixing the cartoonish creativity of a series on Toonami with the over-the-top violence of an M-rated video game (though likely edited down to get its PG-13 rating). The inclusion of Thia also borders on pandering; trying to give the audience a quirky avatar to connect to since the snarling protagonist doesn’t offer much emotional depth. Thankfully, the script doesn’t think its audience is stupid and avoids hitting it over the head with too many attempts at humor, plot contrivances, or callbacks to the rest of the franchise. Even the presence of Thia referencing the Alien franchise isn’t shoved down your throat.

Badland buddies.

It definitely helps to have a talented actor distract you from the fan service. The younger Fanning is delightful as a slightly less annoying C-3PO with perfect comic timing. You do wish that she played things closer to the classic Weyland synthetics like Michael Fassbender in Prometheus: stiffer, more poised, and a bit colder to Dek’s intensity. Still, Fanning balances slightly-robotic tics with a bubbly energy that act as a great foil for the grumpy Predator.

Credit should also go to Schuster-Koloamatangi behind all the Predator makeup. Even though he buried in prosthetics and rubber, the actor brings the right amount of physical intensity to the role. He’s working in-tandem with the heavy facial effects and never seems weighed-down by the character design. Brett Butt, Susie Glass, and the rest of the makeup team earn credit for making Dek look as real and nimble as possible.

The bottom line.

Whenever you try to expand the lore of a side character or a villain, there’s the risk of overexposing that cool aspect of any movie or franchise. Predator: Badlands is one of the few successful examples of that experiment thanks to a simple script and a director more focused on creativity than franchise continuity. It does speak volumes that a premise this basic and an execution with such a good vision is rare in today’s blockbusters. For now, let’s just enjoy a fun time with a space adventurer and his quirky friend…at least until the next one comes out in six months. 

Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters everywhere. Watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of 20th Century Studios. Read more articles by Jon Winkler here.