Predator: Badlands review

PREDATOR: BADLANDS: 

KILLER ALIEN HUNTER BECOMES UNEXPECTED HERO IN SOLID SCI-FI FOLLOW-UP! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

20^TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Dek in Predator: Badlands

 

            An outcast Predator teams up with a robot android and embark on a treacherous journey in Predator: Badlands, the latest installment of the Predator film series and director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane)’s highly anticipated follow-up to 2022’s Prey which injected new life into the franchise after a bumpy past. 2025 has truly been the year of Predator as not only did we have this in theaters, but also Trachtenberg’s stellar fully animated Hulu movie, Predator: Killer of Killers which was released over the summer and in my opinion dethroned the original 1987 Predator and even Prey as the absolute best Predator movie. 

            I was excited to see this movie when it was announced, I thought Prey was a very pleasant surprise when I watched it and the already mentioned, Predator: Killer of Killers I love on a Spider-Verse level. However, I was concerned when it was revealed to have a PG-13 rating unlike its R-rated predecessors and the last time a Predator movie had that rating was 2004’s Alien VS Predator which let’s be real is not a very good film. 

            Well, even with that significantly less gory and violent rating, Dan Trachtenberg delivered a really solid follow-up to Prey with this movie. What I really admire about Trachtenberg whether he’s directing a Predator or Cloverfieldmovie is how experimental he is in terms of his filmmaking and how he’ll subvert audiences’ expectations with a franchise. 

            In Predator: Badlands’ case, it’s ditching the horror element from previous entries and going into an action/sci-fi direction where a runt Predator is the protagonist and ends up becoming the hero. Aside from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Hollywood has had a difficult time with trying to take characters that were villains originally and make them the heroes in the follow-up (Don’t Breathe 2, M3GAN 2.0, etc.), but this is easily the best attempt at it since T2. 

            The film follows Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi-Red, White & Brass), a runt Predator from the planet Yautja Prime who is an outcast amongst his clan and takes a vow to hunt the most powerful creature in the universe in order to gain his father’s approval. This leads him to Thia (Elle Fanning-Super 8, Maleficent 1 and 2, A Complete Unknown), a damaged Weyland Corporation (The evil company from the Alien films) android whom he reluctantly allies with on his quest to find and hunt down the Kalisk while several other Weyland androids including Thia’s “sister”, Tessa (Also played by Fanning) are hot on their tail. 

            Overall, Predator: Badlands once again takes the Predator franchise to exciting new places in terms of storytelling and gives an odd couple adventure with a Predator and a robot that ironically humanizes the killer alien creature. The film is essentially about a Predator not respected by his clan going on a quest to this dangerous planet that’s like if Avatar’s Pandora wanted you dead at every given moment to hunt down the ultimate prey and ends up taking a hero’s journey instead. 

            Honestly, this is the first movie where the sole focus is on the Predator itself and not on any human characters and it’s done exceptionally well. I’ll go on record and say Dek surpasses Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Schaefer from the original movie and even Amber Midthunder’s Naru from Prey as the most compelling Predator film protagonist, an outcast Predator not respected by his clan and through his journey becomes an unexpected hero. 

            I legit cared for Dek in this movie and thought he and Elle Fanning’s Thia had wonderful chemistry throughout the film, their banter was incredibly fun to listen to and I loved seeing them interact with each other. Also, much of the dialogue and emotional weight does come from Dek himself with an entirely new Predator language invented specifically for this film and subtitles at the bottom of the screen in a way that reminds me of the human and alien communication from District 9 with Thia understanding his language and responding in English. 

            The movie is also just a really fun action film and the PG-13 rating does not hamper it at all. Even though there are no humans whatsoever, there is still plenty of carnage, limbs getting ripped off, creatures/robots getting eaten  with bursts of green slime and/or mechanics in place of red human blood, Trachtenberg found a great workaround for this and best of all, the hits feel satisfying every time a character lands one. 

            The action scenes are very well executed and look magnificent on the big screen (I saw it in IMAX with 3D) whether it’s giant alien monsters attacking Dek and Thia on their adventure or Dek mowing down a bunch of androids or even the climactic duel between Dek and his father. It’s Predator-style action through and through to the point where you forget about the PG-13 rating. 

            Between Trachtenberg’s Predator movies and Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus from last year, we’re in a new golden age for both the Alien and Predator franchises with Predator: Badlands being a damn good sequel to Prey that takes the series to the next level and greatly expanding upon its world. Here’s hoping we’ll eventually get an Alien VS Predator movie that’s actually good this time around given the ties to both franchises in this film, but whether or not that happens, go seek this film out in theaters, Disney/Fox did good with this one.