“A ‘Predator’ movie where the creature is the good guy who teams with a plucky lady robot…” – Don Draper, never.
“Predator: Badlands” proves the aging franchise has an identity crisis. Yes, installments one and two were wildly different, but they still cast a gaggle of humans against an alien fighting machine.
Not enough people cared about either “Predators” (2010) and “The Predator” (2018), and understandably so. And the less said about “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem” (2007), the better.
Now, we get a movie hoping to revive the saga after Hulu’s shockingly competent “Prey.” It might work, but in doing so director Dan Trachtenberg essentially removed the saga’s mystique and mission.
The film opens with a father and son dueling to the possible death.
Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is the runt of the Yautja litter (Yes, we don’t have to call them Predators anymore), and his family expects little from him. Dek wants to prove them wrong, so he sets out to kill a legendary beast to prove his mettle.
Right away, the dialogue and storytelling are at the elementary grade level, not an unforgivable sin for a genre film, but a glimpse at what’s to come.
Our lovable Dek runs into a synthetic human named Thia (Elle Fanning, giving it her all in a tale unworthy of her skills). The two become unlikely allies as they stalk a mythical creature named the Kalisk. Thia has a more ambitious goal – to reunite with her “sister.”
Oh, and Thia has lost the lower half of her body, so she must be carried on Dek’s back. The unlikely duo slowly bond, with Thia cracking wise and Dek shedding some of his Yautja identity.
Awwwww. Get a room, you two.
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That bare-bones plot breakdown doesn’t capture the film’s slick visuals or non-stop action. This film never takes a breath.
Great, right?
Said action feels important but darned if we can follow it as intended. The great action directors – think James Cameron – deliver mayhem with a clarity that matters. Here, the visuals are dark, the action beats are murky and it all just becomes visual noise.
“Predator: Badlands” cribs from across the sci-fi galaxy, especially with a nod to “Aliens.” We’re even treated to a team of synthetic humans stationed on the planet where the Kalisk roam.
The story itself is easy to follow, but in 2025 there’s something a bit … off about a synthetic hero and our willingness to enjoy her human-like qualities. That landed differently in the past, especially with the mighty Data on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Now, with A.I. threatening to overturn so much of society? You decide.
And that’s not all. The Predator is a fierce movie monster, a fighting machine that strikes fear with every sound. Here, he’s just another protagonist, stripped of his aura for all to see.
He’s ordinary. And we’re asked to invest in his family turmoil. Not hard pass, but pass.
“Predator: Badlands” works best as a standalone genre film, one aimed at the teen set. Blame that PG:13 rating and a story that never challenges, only ladles out cute moments and simplistic story arcs.
None of this is terrible. None of this connects to the “Predator” mythos, either.
HiT or Miss: “Predator: Badlands” removes the mystique and villainy from the franchise, turning it into the wacky buddy film no one wanted.
Predators was legit good. Better than Predator 2, which doesn’t hold up. Prey was…yeah, surprisingly competent. But this franchise, and its Alien sibling, is clearly in trouble, given the poor performance at the box office for this one. I can’t imagine it’s going to drive people to stream it either.
and yet your headline is run for the exits? sounds like a you problem
I’m predicting another box office bomb.