Predator: Badlands Review: A Bold, Heartfelt, and Gloriously Geeky Reinvention
- Joao Nsita
- 8 hours ago
- 10 min read
It’s a Sunday evening in late September, and a new, more pensive mood is beginning to settle over London. The sun is dipping below the skyline earlier, the air is cooler, and the cozy, introspective season of autumn is in full swing. It is a time for turning inward, for seeking out stories that are as epic, as mythic, and as masterfully crafted as the season itself. And in the vast landscape of modern cinema, no franchise has been more surprisingly and more brilliantly reinvigorated than Predator.
After 2022's taut, historical-thriller masterpiece Prey, director Dan Trachtenberg has proven that he is not just a fan of this universe; he is its most ambitious and exciting new architect. On social media platforms like TikTok and Pinterest, the #Predator aesthetic is a dominant and incredibly creative force. Fans are celebrating the franchise's unique blend of high-octane action and gritty, survival-horror. But with Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg has done something that no one saw coming. He has taken one of the most iconic villains in cinema history and asked the most audacious question imaginable: What if he was the good guy?
This is your definitive, in-depth guide to this bold, bonkers, and absolutely brilliant new chapter. We will explore how Badlands doesn't just reboot the franchise, it completely reinvents it, blending lurid sci-fi, heartfelt comedy, and rowdy, R-rated action into one of the most purely entertaining films of the year.
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The Ultimate Gamble: Making the Hunter the Hunted (and the Hero)
For nearly four decades, the Predator (or Yautja, as we've come to know them) has been a symbol of pure, unadulterated, and terrifying force. As the original film’s tagline famously warned, "There’s no stopping what can’t be stopped, no killing what can’t be killed." The creature was a monster from the id, a perfect, spine-ripping killing machine.
Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands takes that 40-year legacy, looks it dead in its mandibles, and completely flips the script. This film is not a story about humans being hunted by a Predator; it is a story told entirely from the Predator's point of view.
This is a swing so audacious it's almost dizzying. It's a move that, in lesser hands, would be a catastrophic, franchise-killing failure. And yet, somehow, Trachtenberg and writer Patrick Aison have pulled it off with a style, a wit, and a surprising, heartfelt charm that is nothing short of masterful.
The film opens on the Predator home planet of Yautja Prime, introducing us to our hero, Dek. Played with a surprising amount of personality and physical nuance by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Dek is the runt of the litter. He's eight feet tall and bristling with futuristic weaponry, but in the hyper-macho, warrior culture of the Yautja, he's a shrimp. After a brutal, fraternal conflict, Dek is unceremoniously dispatched to the "death planet" of Genna on his coming-of-age ritual: "Choose your prey, bring it home — or never return."
This simple, pulp-sci-fi setup is the launching pad for one of the most creative and wildly entertaining adventures in the entire franchise. The show’s complex hero is a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of the Top 5 Favorite Movie Anti-Heroes of All Time.
A Buddy Comedy for the Ages: A Predator and a Sassy Android
The genius of Badlands is that it understands that to make a monster a hero, you have to give him a heart. And it does this by giving him the most unlikely of foils: a sassy, upbeat, and incredibly yappy Weyland-Yutani synthetic named Thia, played to perfection by Elle Fanning.
When Dek arrives on Genna, he quickly discovers that his primary prey—the "unkillable Kalisk"—is not his only problem. The planet itself is a death trap, a world where even the grass is fatal. He soon stumbles upon Thia, or at least, the top half of her, as her legs have already been chomped by the very beast he's supposed to hunt.
What follows is a buddy-comedy duo that feels like it was dreamed up in a 14-year-old's fever dream, and it is glorious. Dek, the surly, grunting, and completely out-of-his-depth star-beast, is the perfect straight man to Thia's relentlessly cheerful and talkative foil. Being part supercomputer, Thia can speak fluent Yautja (translated for us via subtitles), and their bickering, co-dependent relationship is the warm, beating, and hilarious heart of the entire film. The film’s focus on a powerful friendship is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of 5 Must-Watch Movies About Unlikely Friendships.
Their quest—Dek's for his trophy, Thia's for her missing legs and her "sister" android, Tessa—uncovers a sinister, Alien-universe plot about capturing extraterrestrial wildlife. But the plot is almost secondary to the pure, joyful chemistry of its leads. This isn't just a Predator movie; it's a "found family" story, a Guardians of the Galaxy for the R-rated, sci-fi horror set.
Is It Still a Predator Movie? (And What About the "W" Word?)
Die-hard fans of the original, sweaty, 1987 classic might be choking on their protein shakes at this point. A Predator who makes friends? A Predator who is... the butt of a joke? A think-piece lamenting that the Predator has gone "woke" is all but inevitable.
But to dismiss this film as "soft" is to miss the point entirely. Trachtenberg is a director who is clearly steeped in a deep, and abiding, love for this franchise. Badlands is not a rejection of the original; it is an expansion of it. The film is still wall-to-wall with the kind of rowdy, R-rated action that fans crave. The kill-count is higher than any in the franchise, and by throwing synthetics (like Fanning's Thia) into the mix, Trachtenberg is able to indulge in his most bloodthirsty tendencies (their blood is white, not red), all while keeping the film at a commercially friendly 12A rating.
This is a film that is bursting with a geeky, infectious enthusiasm for its own, pulpy world. It is a movie that gives us moments we never even knew we wanted. You want to see a Predator tool up in a classic, 80s-style "gearing up" montage? You've got it. You want to see the top half of an android and her disembodied legs independently battle a squad of goons in a perfectly choreographed action sequence? You've got that, too. You want to see a Predator use an iconic, M41A Pulse Rifle from Aliens? Christmas has come early.
This film is a celebration, a wild commingling of lurid sci-fi, laugh-out-loud comedy, and high-octane action that gets high off its own supply. It’s a film that is pure, unadulterated, popcorn fun. The film’s incredible soundtrack is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of Top 10 Best Disney Soundtracks of All Time.
The World-Building: A Visual Feast
Where the film truly excels is in its impeccable world-building. Trachtenberg, as he proved with the stunning, pre-colonial landscapes of Prey, knows how to create a world that feels both beautiful and deeply menacing. The planet of Genna is a masterpiece of production design, a lurid, 1960s, sci-fi, pulp-novel cover brought to life.
The flora and fauna are a constant, creative threat. The blobby, CGI monsters that serve as the film's primary antagonists are perhaps its weakest element, lacking the "wow-factor" of an Avatar-level creature. But this is a minor quibble when the practical effects, the creature design of our hero, and the lived-in, rusty, and dangerous world he inhabits are so brilliantly realised.
The Yautja prologue is a particular highlight, giving us our first, real, in-depth look at the Predator home planet. It’s a world that is brutal, that is hierarchical, and that perfectly establishes the "kill or be killed" stakes of Dek's journey. It’s a masterful piece of cinematic world-building that enriches the lore without destroying the mystery. For a deep dive into the history of the Predator franchise, the official 20th Century Studios website is a great resource.
The film’s complex and often fiery relationships are a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of The Top 5 Best Movies About Marriages.
A Different Take: Why Badlands May Disappoint Some
It is important to note that not everyone is along for this particular ride. The film's bold, tonal swing has been a source of fierce debate. In a review for Deadline, critic Damon Wise lamented the franchise's shift, arguing that the Predator, once a "ruthless, unstoppable killing machine, has simply lost its menacing mojo."
Wise argues that the film, by giving the Yautja a "nonsense language," a complex family dynamic, and a "find-your-own-tribe vibe," has diluted the very essence of what made the original creature so terrifying: its pure, unknowable, and monstrous mystery. He notes that the film's stakes feel strangely low, that the action scenes "never seem to galvanize," and that the entire affair feels "a bit, well, silly."
This is a perfectly valid critique, and it is one that will be shared by many fans who crave the sweaty, paranoid, horror-movie tension of the 1987 original. If you are looking for a film that will make you feel the same way Arnold Schwarzenegger felt in that jungle, this is not that film.
But in a franchise that has been running for nearly 40 years, "silly" might just be the most brilliant, and most necessary, reinvention of all. Trachtenberg has made a conscious choice to move away from the subtext of the Vietnam War and the existential dread of the Xenomorph, and instead, to lean into the more playful, adventurous, and, yes, geeky potential of the Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy side of the sci-fi spectrum. The show’s focus on a powerful family is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of The Top 5 Best Movies About Fathers.
This is a film that understands that the modern audience, a generation raised on the complex, found-family dynamics of the MCU and the witty, meta-humour of Deadpool, is hungry for a hero they can root for. And in the process, Trachtenberg has done the impossible: he has made us fall in love with a Predator. This is a key part of building a lasting connection, a theme explored in 10 Habits of Couples Who Stay Deeply in Love for a Lifetime.
Conclusion
Predator: Badlands is a bold, beautiful, and wonderfully bonkers reinvention of a beloved, 80s classic. Dan Trachtenberg has once again proven that he is a master of the high-concept, genre-bending blockbuster. He has taken an iconic villain, turned him into a lovable, underdog hero, and has placed him in the middle of a hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt, sci-fi buddy comedy.
While it may lack the gritty, existential dread of the original, Badlands more than makes up for it with its sheer, infectious sense of fun. It is a film that is bursting with creative energy, with a deep, and very geeky, love for its own, pulpy world, and with a surprising, and very welcome, emotional heart. This is not just another Predator movie; it is a film that has a joy, a wit, and a soul all of its own.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is Predator: Badlands a sequel to Prey? No, Predator: Badlands is a completely separate, standalone story. It is not connected to the events of Prey or the other films in the franchise, although it does take place in the same, shared universe.
2. Is Predator: Badlands a horror movie? While it is part of a classic horror franchise, Badlands is much more of a sci-fi action-adventure and a buddy-comedy than a traditional horror film. It has intense, action-packed sequences, but it is not designed to be a scary, suspenseful thriller like the original.
3. Do I need to have seen the other Predator movies to understand Badlands? Not at all. The film is a perfect entry point for newcomers. It does a fantastic job of establishing the Yautja (Predator) culture and their world, and it features an entirely new cast of characters in a new setting.
4. Where can I watch Predator: Badlands? Predator: Badlands was released in theaters, but as a 20th Century Studios production, it will be available to stream exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US after its theatrical run.
5. What is the "Yautja"? Yautja is the official, in-universe, name for the alien species known as the Predator.
6. Does Predator: Badlands have any connections to the Alien franchise? Yes! The film features the character of Thia, who is a synthetic (android) created by the "Weyland-Yutani" corporation. This is the same, sinister corporation that is a central, villainous force in the Alien film franchise.
7. Who is Dan Trachtenberg? Dan Trachtenberg is an acclaimed American filmmaker who is known for his brilliant, high-concept, and genre-bending films. He directed the critically acclaimed 10 Cloverfield Lane and the Emmy-winning, Predator prequel, Prey.
8. What is the "gorpcore" trend? "Gorpcore" is a popular social media fashion aesthetic that is inspired by the functional, technical, and practical clothing of outdoor activities like hiking and climbing. It is a trend that is all about blending high-fashion with high-function.
9. Are there any plans for a Predator: Badlands sequel? While nothing is officially confirmed, the film's strong box office opening and its positive, "A-" CinemaScore (the best in the franchise's history) make a sequel very, very likely.
10. What is the best way to get into the Predator franchise? The best way is to start with the 1987 original, Predator, which is a masterpiece of the 80s action-horror genre. From there, the 2022 prequel, Prey, is a fantastic, and critically acclaimed, next step.
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