Predator: Badlands Takes the Franchise Further In Solid Fashion (Early Review)

Following a couple of false restarts of the Predator franchise over the years with 2010’s “Predators” and 2018’s “The Predator“, audiences were pleasantly surprised by 2022’s “Prey“, a prequel set in the 18th century that followed Naru (played by Amber Midthunder), a Comanche warrior who locks horns with a Yautja warrior sent to Earth to kill the most vicious prey. Since its release, director Dan Trachtenberg has been practically handed the keys to the franchise, following up with the triptych animated feature “Predator: Killer of Killers” earlier this year, which expanded significantly on the history of the Yautja with humanity and vice versa, while also building on the mythos of the species and their society. This is taken a step further with “Predator: Badlands”, Trachtenberg’s third foray into the series.

Dek (Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a young Yautja warrior wanting to prove himself worthy of his clan. He intends to accomplish this by capturing the biggest, most dangerous prey he can, which appears to be an unkillable creature located on the planet Genna. However, once he arrives, Dek quickly realizes that almost everything on the planet is a killing machine and out for blood, and it is at this point he meets Thia (Fanning), a damaged synth who knows her way around the planet, and might help Dek get to the prey he seeks.

Giving a Yautja warrior a coming-of-age, underdog story immediately sets apart “Badlands” from the rest of the Predator franchise. Whereas in previous entries, they were the ultimate killing machines everyone else feared, seeing Dek often outmaneuvered and outmatched in several scenarios, taking more than a few hits in combat makes for a Predator worth rooting for. This also gives “Badlands” the chance to give a Yautja more character. Dek is dead set in his goal of becoming a great warrior and worthy of his clan, often repeating the codes of his species to himself and trying to abide by them as much as possible, but he still makes simple, very avoidable mistakes and doesn’t always have the level of spatial awareness or combat training other cinematic Yautja have showcased. Seeing his growth as the movie progresses is fascinating, and Schuster-Koloamatangi is fantastic in the role, portraying the physicality and even curious nature of Dek to extremely effective degree.

As Dek’s journey progresses and he meets Thia, Fanning adds a wonderful layer of grounded humanity–ironically, as she isn’t human–to the story, and even a surprisingly humorous side to everything taking place. The two don’t seem to get along at first, purposefully so, as her approach to everything on Genna is more nonchalant and familiar, but the more time she spends with Dek, the more her curiosity expands past her programming, wanting to know more about him and what his aspirations are. Fanning, in a double role playing Thia and Tessa, two synths with very different personalities, is terrific here. Much of the film’s runtime revolves around Dek and Thia, along with an adorable critter named Bud who eventually tags along, and Trachtenberg portrays it well, with Bud adding some extra comedic beats to the dynamic. While not every funny moment lands as well as some others, it mostly works to add some levity to the intense situations Dek and Thia find themselves in.

From its very first scene to its last, “Badlands” moves at a thunderous pace, and despite its 14A/PG-13 rating–the only entry since 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” to get that rating–the action is pretty brutal and gnarly in moments. Heads are ripped off, limbs torn apart and creatures sliced in half, with a slew of spectacular visual effects and creature designs on display bringing those sequences to life, all set to a booming score from Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch, coming off of individually composing “Prey” and “Killer of Killers”, respectfully. As Dek encounters more creatures leading to his bigger target, his survival skills and use of the environment to take them on leads to some innovative and clever moments that make for enthralling viewing.

“Badlands” takes many big swings when it comes to expanding the franchise and the lore of the Yautja. Its biggest, however, is when it makes a connection to the “Alien” franchise, as Thia and Tessa are synths issued by the Weyland-Yutani corporation and sent to Genna on a mission, adding another layer to the story unfolding here. In some ways, this aspect is its most fascinating yet, and hints at a future where the two franchises–currently going through a major revitalization thanks to “Alien: Romulus” and “Alien: Earth” on the other side–merge and develop more stories together. As such, it can feel slightly undercooked at the moment and not fully fleshed out.

That said, “Badlands” is still mostly stellar work that leads to a three-peat from director Dan Trachtenberg in the franchise, and a solid action adventure that deserves to be seen on a big, loud screen. While it may not quite reach the heights of the first film or “Prey”, it is among the best entries in the series and sets up a bright future for the Yautja.

still courtesy of 20th Century Studios

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Shaurya Chawla